DFA urges Israel to ensure exit of Filipinos from Gaza

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has appealed to its Israel counterpart to ensure the exit of Filipinos from Gaza as soon as possible.

“On 02 November, Secretary (Enrique) Manalo requested a call with (Israeli) Foreign Minister (Eli) Cohen to follow up his letter and appeal to ensure as soon as possible (the) exit of Filipinos across the border Rafah,” DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said on Thursday, November 2.

Daza said the department is prioritizing the “safety and protection of Filipinos in the Middle East,” noting that it has been securing permission from relevant authorities for Filipinos to cross through the Rafah border.

“It bears noting that Gaza remains under a total blockade, with the movement of people and goods severely curtailed, necessitating close coordination with the relevant foreign governments,” the DFA official said.

“While it is taking some time to secure permission from relevant authorities for Filipinos to exit Gaza and enter through Rafah, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs and the relevant units in our headquarters in Manila, as well as our Ambassadors in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan have been working closely with authorities of Israel and Egypt and are ready to undertake the movement should the list of Filipinos for evacuation from Gaza be approved,” she added.

Manalo has written and met with officials from key countries, and spoke with some of his counterparts to follow up on the situation of affected Filipinos amid the ongoing war.

The DFA chief wrote to Cohen and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Shoukry on November 1 following an advisory that a limited number of evacuees may finally be permitted to exit Gaza through the Rafah border crossing to once again request their governments to issue the necessary permits for the safe passage of Filipinos.

“Ang situation, lahat ng mga foreign nationals na gustong lumabas ng Gaza makakalabas daw, ang problema 7,000 lagpas sila. E, hindi naman kaya ng Rafah border na iisa lahat tumawid so unti unti nilang nire-release ‘yung mga approvals maybe 500 a day at most. So we are asking na kasama tayo diyan (The situation now is that all foreign nationals who want to exit Gaza will be allowed but the problem is, there are more than 7,000 of them. And Rafah border cannot handle all of them at once so they are releasing the approvals gradually, maybe 500 a day at most. So we are appealing that we are included),” DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo de Vega explained in a press briefing on Thursday.

“Today, merong a few na narelease pero wala pang Filipino citizens... although nasa Israel at Egypt na ‘yung pangalan nilang lahat (Today, there are few who were released but there were no Filipino citizens from them... although their names are already given to Israel and Egypt). So we are making the diplomatic representations,” De Vega added.

“At every opportunity, the department’s men and women in the region have sought to ensure the safe evacuation of Filipinos out of the danger zones,” the DFA said.

“The DFA remains committed in ensuring the protection of ‘kababayans’ (countrymen) who are caught in this unfortunate situation,” it added.

Meanwhile, two Filipino doctors were among those who exited Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, the DFA confirmed on Thursday.

“Yes, the two Filipino doctors have crossed into Egypt, based on an update from the post,” Daza said.

Daza also disclosed that the latest number of Filipinos in Gaza “who want to leave and are just waiting for the signal to cross the border” is at 115.

“Only 19 Filipinos remain undecided, including one Filipino nun,” the DFA official said.

Daza added that the count does not include the two Filipino doctors who have crossed the Rafah border into Egypt.