DFA waiting to extract more Pinoys from Gaza

MANILA, Philippines — Buoyed by the repatriation of 16 Filipinos from Gaza, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is now working to extract more Filipinos from the war-torn area. Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr., head of the DFA’s migrant workers affairs office, said they are now waiting for word from the Philippine Embassy in Tel-Aviv, Israel on when the extraction will occur. He said that there were 118 Filipinos in Gaza, of which 20 are women married to Palestinian men and their children. Only one was a domestic helper. Of the 91 who have remained in Gaza, 69 have expressed intention to leave for the Philippines. The first batch of 16 Filipinos — 3 mothers and their children — arrived home in Manila Friday night. "Our embassy in Tel-Aviv is in constant communication, may point person (there is a point person) to contact," he said in an interview on dzRH radio. But he admitted the DFA will have nothing much to do but wait, as the situation is still very dangerous in Gaza. "’Yan ang ating problema sa Gaza, walang facility, walang relocation site, pati ang Red Cross at UN walang relocation center (Our problem in Gaza is that it is too dangerous there. Even international agencies like the Red Cross and United Nations have no relocation centers there)," Conejos said. Conejos said the DFA will keep the plane tickets bought by the government for the Filipinos in Gaza "open," paying rebooking fees in the process. He did not say how much in rebooking fees the government has so far paid for the plane tickets. "Ang mga ticket binili one week ago continuously open. May bayad daily (rebooking) fees pero balewala yan para sa kaligtasan ng ating kababayan (The tickets were bought a week ago and are kept continuously open. We have to pay daily rebooking fees but it's a small price to pay to ensure our fellow Filipinos' safety)," he said. - Kimbely Jane Tan, GMANews.TV