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)

Image Courtesy of: House of Representative

HOUSE Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Friday called upon the Department of Health (DoH) and local government units (LGUs) to provide assistance to individuals affected by the volcanic smog, known as vog, originating from Taal Volcano.

He emphasized the importance of helping residents in areas surrounding Taal Volcano, such as Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, and even Metro Manila, in dealing with this temporary issue.

Speaker Romualdez urged the DoH and LGUs to distribute N95 face masks and other protective gear to those affected.

He mentioned that Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo informed him that the DoH still has an ample supply of N95 face masks acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In order to shield affected residents from volcanic dust and harmful gases, Speaker Romualdez made this request to the DoH through Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co, who chairs the House Committee on Appropriations.

He suggested that if face masks are currently unavailable, residents could consider using makeshift face coverings such as cloth.

The leader of the 311-member House of Representatives also called upon the DoH and LGUs to be prepared for potential respiratory issues that may arise due to volcanic smog in the affected regions. He recommended prepositioning drugs for respiratory ailments in areas where they might be needed.

Reports on Thursday indicated that haze from Taal Volcano’s emissions had spread over Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Metro Manila, leading to the suspension of classes.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and the air monitoring office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) later clarified that the observed smog originated from vehicle emissions rather than from Taal Volcano. Phivolcs noted that Taal’s emissions were drifting west-westward, away from Metro Manila.