MANILA — Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Thursday said another Filipino has died amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
This fatality brings the number of killed Filipinos to four.
“I regret to inform the nation that we have received confirmation from the Israeli government of another Filipino casualty in Israel,” said Manalo in a tweet.
“Out of respect for the wishes of the family, we shall be withholding details on the identity of the victim. But we have assured the family of the Government’s full support and assistance,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a radio interview, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the fourth Filipino fatality is a female caregiver who was killed on Oct. 7.
“She is one of the three missing Filipinos. Israel has confirmed. According to their record or testing, she is one of those who died due to the attack on October 7. She works in the Kibbutz as a caregiver,” said de Vega over Radyo 630 on Thursday.
Two Filipinos remain unaccounted for as of Oct. 19.
Repatriating Filipinos in the Gaza Strip in Palestine in the middle of the ongoing armed conflict there would be way more difficult than repatriating those in Israel, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials admitted to a House of Representatives panel last week.
In Israel, the repatriation would be handled by the Department of Migrant Workers as mandated by Philippine law, said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.
In Gaza, the lead agency would be the DFA, as there are no Philippine representatives, with the embassy in Jordan monitoring the situation.
“So in Gaza, we need a lot of political diplomacy to be able to repatriate them,” De Vega said. “Of course, we can’t give details as to how we’re going to work on it. It’s a sensitive issue, but we will work on it in accordance with the president’s instructions.” (Charie Abarca © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
