DFA completes Gaza repatriation

With the arrival of the last batch of Filipinos from Gaza on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has successfully completed its repatriation program in the war-torn territory.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said on Thursday, Feb. 22, during the Bagong Pilipinas briefing that only the Filipina nun – Sister Elisabeth of the Missionaries of Charity – remains in Gaza out of the 137 Filipinos recorded there. “Ang update natin is kumpleto na ang repatriation...kaya puwede nating sabihin na kumpleto na, successful repatriation; minumonitor din ng ating embahada sa Amman, sa Cairo iyong situation ni Sister (Our update is that the repatriation is complete...we can already say that it is a successful repatriation; our embassies in Amman, in Cairo are monitoring the situation of Sister),” he said.

Sister Elisabeth, De Vega said, requested to remain in Gaza because it is part of her mission. De Vega said that the nun is asking for prayers from Filipinos to enable her to be able to complete her mission there.

Fourteen Filipinos, composed of three families and two Palestinian spouses, arrived the other day. They were welcomed by the DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

“Sila iyong huling batch na narepatriate natin so that means isa na lang natitira (We have already repatriated the last batch so it means only one remains there),” De Vega said, assuring that Sister Elisabeth is in good condition as she has food and they received a photo of their congregation last week.

The DFA official stressed that they are ready to assist her if she wants to come home to the Philippines. “We are monitoring her situation pero ayaw niyang ma-repatriate siya dahil nga iyon ang kaniyang misyon ‘no (but she doesn’t want to be repatriated because of her mission there),” he added.

De Vega said that there are no more Filipino hostages held captive by the Hamas militant group after two Filipinos were released. “At wala na tayong hostage din. May mga iba pang hostage ng ibang mga nationalities, nandoon pa; wala tayong hostage (We don’t have any hostages there anymore. There are other nationalities being held hostage),” he said.