36 Filipino evacuees from Gaza arriving today

MANILA, Philippines — Only 36 of the 40 Filipino evacuees from Gaza who crossed the Rafah border into Egypt on Nov. 7 will be flown to the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

A mother and her two children chose to stay in Egypt with her Egyptian husband while a Filipino who was 38 weeks pregnant could not travel.

Among the 36 evacuees is a Palestinian spouse.

They will arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 today at around 4:30 p.m. onboard Qatar Airways.

President Marcos thanked the Philippine embassies in Israel, Jordan and Egypt, as well as the Israeli and Egyptian governments for the safe passage of Filipinos.

“I am happy to report that 40 of our countrymen have safely and successfully crossed the Rafah crossing in Egypt,” he said.

2 Pinoys kidnapped?

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Israel Pedro Laylo Jr. told Israeli President Isaac Herzog of the country’s request for information regarding the possible kidnapping of two Filipinos – Gelienor Pacheco and Noralin Babadilla – by Islamist group Hamas.

“I thanked President Herzog for the (Israel Defense Forces) rescue of Filipinos who were trapped in the kibbutzim attacked by Hamas and expressed my hope that they would also find our two missing kababayan,” Laylo said.

Herzog organized the meeting with ambassadors from the Philippines, Thailand, Nepal and Tanzania at his residence in Jerusalem.

Laylo and Herzog also talked about four Filipinos – Angelyn Aguirre, Grace Cabrera, Paul Vincent Castelvi and Loreta Alacre – who were murdered after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. — Rudy Santos