More and more Filipinos are requesting repatriation from West Asia even as the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government admitted helplessness amid the crisis.
In a briefing in Malacañang Palace on Tuesday, Marcos said 1,416 Filipinos are now requesting repatriated, including stranded workers whose contracts had expired and permanent residents who want to get out of the danger areas.
Marcos said that while his government is ready with evacuations plans, including sending Philippine Air Force planes to bring Filipinos back home, it remains unable due to the ongoing closures of airspaces in Western Asia.
Evacuation by land is also near impossible, he admitted.
“Our assessment is that it is very dangerous to fly over there. Even if we bring in our own airplanes, we still cannot repatriate our countrymen since airports remain closed,” he said.
Marcos said majority of those who want to return to the Philippines are from the United Arab Emirates (UAE): 586 from Dubai and 270 from the capital Abu Dhabi. Others seeking repatriation include 297 OFWs from Israel, 231 from Bahrain, 22 from Jordan, and 10 from Iran.
While waiting for the opportunity to ensure their safe exit, the President urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to stay put and keep themselves from danger.
In addition to a Filipino casualty in Israel, the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers reported that an OFW was reported injured in Kuwait.
‘Enough of excuses’
A migrant organization rejected Marcos’ pronouncements, calling his inability to act an attempt at “downplaying” the war’s impact on overseas Filipinos.
“Filipinos across the globe must reject any attempt by the Marcos Jr. government to downplay yet again the conflict in the region and its impact on our OFWs and the Filipino people. We must demand the Marcos Jr. government to act now,” Migrante International in a statement said.
The group said Marcos must protect and provide immediate assistance to all OFWs affected.
“The administration must implement measures to regularly communicate and disseminate important information, secure safe and accessible shelters, evacuation centers and transportation routes and vehicles, and provide immediate medical and livelihood assistance, rescue and reintegration assistance,” Migrante said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
