From The Manila Times -
(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said that the Filipinos waiting to leave Gaza will finally be able to do so by Saturday.
The President told reporters in Malacañang that Israeli President Isaac Herzog assured that the 115 Filipinos stranded for days at the Rafah border crossing could finally exit into Egypt.
"They have a promise to us that the Filipinos will be allowed to leave by today or tomorrow. ... They said it would be Saturday, at the latest," Marcos said.
He said the exit process was set in motion after Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss got in touch with the Israeli foreign minister and Philippine Ambassador to Tel Aviv Junie Laylo.
Laylo met with the foreign minister on Thursday and got a commitment to allow Filipinos to leave Gaza.
"I hope it will happen soon so we will be able to bring out those who want to exit and bring them back home to safety," Marcos said.
He said the Philippine Embassy in Cairo is ready to assist the Filipinos fleeing the fighting in Gaza.
"I know many people are worried about our people, our Filipino nationals in Gaza, in Israel in the middle of the war. And we received news that those in Gaza are still not being allowed to exit through the Rafah crossing. And others are wondering why not. Well, it is unfortunately completely out of our hands. We have no control over this. It is between the Israelis and the Palestinians," Marcos said.
Of the 134 Filipinos in Gaza, 115 have been waiting for permission from the Israeli government to cross the border, while 19 remain undecided.
The DFA said their exit is taking time because of various factors, including the limited number of foreign citizens allowed to cross the border daily and the securing of permission from authorities.
Two Filipino doctors were among those who left Gaza through the Rafah crossing on November 2.
Rafah is the only access point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Marcos also said the Philippine government has offered assistance to Thais, Vietnamese and other nationals from Southeast Asian countries who were stranded at the crossing.
The President said the situation became complicated because the Palestinian husbands of some of the Filipinos were not allowed to leave Gaza.
He said that many of the Filipinos cannot decide whether to leave their husbands and children in Gaza, which has been under heavy bombardment and assault by Israeli forces.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said on Friday that, on instructions from the President, the department is preparing the reintegration of Filipinos returning from Gaza.
De Vega added that the department will be working with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) to help address the needs of Filipinos returning from the besieged Palestinian enclave.
De Vega said the Philippine embassies in Jordan and Egypt have long submitted to Israeli and Egyptian authorities the names, profiles and papers of Filipino nationals who want to leave Gaza.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo has written and met with officials from key countries and spoke with some of his counterparts to follow up on the requests.
In New York, Philippine Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Antonio Lagdameo told the UN General Assembly that the country is calling on the Security Council to coordinate efforts by UN agencies for the safe evacuation and protection of migrants in conflict zones.
On Friday, the body of caregiver Angelyn Peralta Aguirre, who was killed along with her elderly Israeli patient by Hamas fighters, arrived home.
Aguirre's casket was handed over to her family by officials of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
The 32-year-old Aguirre died on October 7 when her employer's village in southern Israel was attacked by the militants. She refused to leave her patient despite having the chance to escape.
The government has flown home the remains of two of the four Filipino fatalities in the conflict. The first was that of Loreta Alacre, which arrived on October 21.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Friday reiterated their condolences to Aguirre's family in Binmaley, Pangasinan.
"We are currently preparing her home so we can give her a well-prepared funeral, and we can give her family more time to grieve for their loss," OWWA Administrator Arnell Ignacio said in a briefing.
Ignacio said that the government is preparing a "hero's welcome" ceremony in Aguirre's hometown.
Aside from burial and funeral aid, the government has provided her family with P220,000 in combined financial assistance from DMW, OWWA and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Ignacio said the government of Israel also vowed to provide a lifetime monthly subsidy of around P90,000 to P100,000 for the family.
The government has also provided medication and assistance to one of Aguirre's siblings who has eye complications and employment assistance to her midwife sibling, according to Ignacio.
Another batch of 50 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) from Israel is expected to arrive next week, bringing to 145 the number of repatriates from that country.
For more, check out The Manila Times.