Israel reiterates it will protect OFWs

Israel again stressed that it is committed to protecting Overseas Filipino Workers, days after an OFW was killed in a missile strike there.

"I know we cannot protect your loved one 100%, but we are doing it in 99%, in the same way that we are protecting our own citizens," Israeli Ambassador Dana Kursh said at the Israel-Philippines Cybersecurity discussion in Bonifacio Global City on Thursday. "We are grateful and thankful for the amazing selfless work that each OFW is dedicating for families in Israel, and we will do everything in our power that [Mary Ann de Vera’s] tragic loss will be the last one,” she said.

Mary Ann de Vera, a caregiver, was killed on March 1, in a retaliatory strike by Iran after Israel and the US attacked the Islamic Republic, killing its supreme leader and hundreds of other people, including dozens of children in a school.

Kursh said that she remained hopeful that the conflict will end quickly with a peaceful resolution for the safety of people in the Middle East, including Filipinos.

Israel has also bombed the Gaza Strip and is currently conducting airstrikes on Lebanon, where many Filipinos also work and live.

Kursh said Israeli authorities have met with de Vera’s family and committed to providing with the necessary assistance.

“The government of Israel decided that if there is a person affected by terror attack or by war, never mind if it is an Israeli or an OFW, a foreign worker who lives in Israel, he or she and their relatives will get compensation and will be taken care of,” she said. — BM, GMA Integrated News