DFA to repatriate OFWs' children born in Israel

The Foreign Affairs Department assured over the weekend it is ready to repatriate children of overseas Filipino workers born in Israel. Israeli law orders the sending of migrant workers' children born there back to their home countries if the overseas workers are to continue their employment. The Israeli government vowed the deportation would be in "the most humane way possible," Philippine Ambassador to Israel Petronila Garcia said. "The (Philippine) Embassy (in Tel Aviv) has made representations with the Israeli government about the imminent deportation of Filipino children, and we were informed by the Foreign Ministry that it will be handled in the most humane way possible and in the best interest of our two countries," Garcia said in an article posted Friday on the Department of Foreign Affairs website. Garcia added, however, that the final decision of the Ministerial Committee in Israel is still pending. Militant migrant workers' group Migrante earlier appealed to the Israeli government to stop what it called the crackdown against some 1,200 children of illegal immigrants in north Hadera and the southern part of Gedera. In an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site, Migrante Middle East coordinator John Monterona cited reports from some OFWs in Tel-Aviv that there were gross violations of migrants’ rights during the crackdown. Monterona said in 2006, 400 to 500 children were granted citizenship with their parents, entitling them to all the rights and benefits under Israel laws, but was reversed by President Benjamin Netanyahu when he came to power. Monterona claimed undocumented Filipino workers there fear for their safety as the crackdown continues, adding that many of them were women and former caregivers or domestic helpers with expired contracts. The DFA said, meanwhile, that there was a planned deportation of children in August 2009, but was postponed due to public outcry and protests of Israeli activists, and to give time for the Committee to study the issue and present its findings. The inter-ministerial committee, composed of officials from the welfare, education, finance justice and interior ministries, is expected to formulate a final draft of the said plan soon, which will be submitted to Interior Minister Eli Yishai. — with Nikka Corsino/LBG, GMANews.TV