By Liza Soriano
MANILA — Senator Raffy Tulfo on Thursday made a commitment that he would provide assistance to the affected Filipinos in the Israel-Hamas war.
Tulfo met with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs along with some lawmakers at the DFA Central Office to discuss the current situation of Filipinos in Israel.
Among those who attended the meeting were DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo, Usec. Eduardo de Vega of Migrant Workers Affairs, Usec. Maria Theresa Lazaro of Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, Asec. Mardomel Melicor of the Middle East and African Affairs, Pampanga Second District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, OFW Partylist Marissa Rep. “Del Mar” Magsino, KABAYAN Partylist Rep. Ron Salo and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro.
Ambassador to Israel Pedro Laylo Jr., Ambassador to Lebanon Raymond Balatbat, Ambassador to Jordan Wilfredo Santos, Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago, and Charge d’affaires to Syria John Reyes also joined the meeting virtually.
“Patuloy pa rin ang close monitoring sa mga Filipino community sa mga lugar na apektado ng giyera kabilang na ang Israel, Gaza at West bank pati ang mga kalapit na bansa. May contingency plan na din ang gobyerno sakaling mas lumala ang sitwasyon sa rehiyon,” Tulfo said.
There were some OFWs who had already expressed their interest in returning to the Philippines due to the war in the said country.
Among these were the 16 OFWs, along with one infant, who arrived on October 18 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. They were welcomed by Tulfo at the airport.
“Gagawin ang lahat ng gobyerno para masigurong ligtas at maayos na makakabalik ang mga OFW dito sa Pilipinas. May mga ayuda ring ibibigay para sa mga nakabalik na sa bansa at scholarship mula sa TESDA para sa kanilang mga anak,” he said
“Puspusan din na nagtratrabaho ang Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) at Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) para sa repatriation ng mga Pinoy sa Israel,” he added.
(ai/mnm)