Philippines suspends deployment of nurses to Israel

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the prevailing tension in Israel, the Philippine government has deferred the deployment of Filipino caregivers to that Middle Eastern country.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III though clarified that there is no deployment ban and the government is only delaying the sending of Filipino caregivers until the situation in Israel improves.

“The processing of those who already qualified continues. We are merely suspending their actual departure while the tension is still high,” Bello said in a statement.

He urged caregivers and health care workers, who were already scheduled to leave the country, to delay their departures by a few days to avoid the risks, adding that the government wants to ensure their safety.

Malacañang said it supports the move, with presidential spokesman Harry Roque saying there is no logic if the government would allow the deployment of workers when it is mapping out a strategy to evacuate and repatriate Filipinos from the area.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration previously reported that close to 400 Filipino caregivers are set to be deployed to Israel by the end of May.

POEA chief Bernard Olalia gave assurance in a virtual briefing Wednesday that the Filipino caregivers “will not be deployed to areas with ongoing hostilities” as he reminded them not to leave the house of their employers.

The deployment of Filipino caregivers is part of the labor agreement for government-to-government hiring of home-based caregivers in Israel. Aside from this scheme, Olalia said the Philippines also allows private recruitment and deployment of OFWs to Israel.

However, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that evacuation plans for Filipinos in Israel and Gaza will be activated as soon as the borders open and a humanitarian corridor is established.

The DFA raised Alert Level 1 (Precautionary Phase) over Israel and the West Bank and Alert Level 2 (Restriction Phase) over Gaza. Together with the Philippine embassies in Tel Aviv, Amman and Cairo, they are jointly monitoring the situation in Israel and the Gaza Strip and are prepared to assist Filipino nationals who may be affected by the ongoing conflict.

“The Department is on standby with evacuation plans ready to be activated as needed and as soon as the borders open and a humanitarian corridor is established,” it said.

The embassies have not received any report of Filipino casualties or injuries in Israel, the Gaza Strip or the West Bank since the recent escalation of violence in certain areas within the region.

According to the DFA, there are 29,473 Filipinos in Israel and 91 Filipinos in Gaza.

The United Nations urged the international community to do “all it can” to de-escalate the violence in Gaza and Israel which has left hundreds dead and injured. It also called on all those involved in the fighting to allow for the “intensification of mediation efforts,” which can also help stem a growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

At least 60 youngsters have been killed in Gaza and another 444 have been injured in less than 10 days of conflict with Israel, the head of UN Children’s Fund said, in a call for an immediate ceasefire and aid access to “stave off disaster.” – Christina Mendez, Pia Lee-Brago, Delon Porcalla