Marcos vows repatriation of caregiver slain in Israel-Hamas conflict
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reassured the family of the third deceased Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) of the repatriation of her remains.
In a phone call with the victim's family on Sunday, Marcos said that the remains of Loreta Alacre can be repatriated to the country once the Egypt and Gaza is opened.
"Hinihintay muna natin kung ano ‘yung magiging sitwasyon doon sa Israel dahil talagang napakagulo masyado ngayon at sarado lahat,” Marcos said.
(We are just waiting for the development of the situation in Israel because right now it's chaotic and everything is closed.)
Alacre, a 49-year-old OFW from Negros Occidental, is the third Filipino casualty of the ongoing conflict. She is a caregiver working on Haifa and Tel Aviv.
In a statement on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also hopes for the opening of the Rafah border in order to evacuate Filipinos affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“DFA is hopeful for a solution to be reached soonest in order for the Rafah crossing to start receiving foreign nationals, so that our kababayans in Gaza will be allowed to cross into Egypt,” the agency said in a statement on Monday.
“From there, our teams will work on their repatriation to the Philippines,” it added.
The agency released a statement a day after declaring Alert Level 4 in Gaza, which made evacuation of Filipinos mandatory.
On October 13, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said that there are 131 Filipinos in Gaza citing data from the Philippine Embassy in Jordan.
Rafah crossing, which is the sole border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, is the only possible humanitarian corridor for refugees due to the Israeli blockade on the West Bank.
Although there is no specific date announced, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken assured that the Rafah crossing will be opened for humanitarian purposes.
"Rafah will be reopened. We’re putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, a mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it," Blinken said in a press conference in Cairo airport on Monday (PST).
However, according to an Egyptian official in a Saturday interview on CNN, the Palestinian side of the border has been damaged due to the aerial bombardment of Israel.
Reports also mentioned that Cairo is hesitant to open the crossing, citing concerns about the current migrant situation. The presence of nearly a million refugees from other African countries makes them uneasy about accommodating additional Palestinian refugees, numbering over a thousand.
Meanwhile, in an update on Monday afternoon, Israel prime minister's office denied reports of any 'ceasefire' in Gaza. — with reports from Agence France-Presse
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