DFA: 13 Pinoys in Gaza to return Tuesday

Jul	04
2009

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/05/2009 10:10 AM

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At present, only 13 out of the 121 Filipinos stuck in the Gaza-Israel violence can be repatriated, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Monday.

DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said that airline tickets have been purchased for the 70 Filipinos scheduled to depart Monday, but only 13 of them can be extracted from Gaza due to intense military operations in the region.

"Only 13 of them can leave Gaza because they're having difficulty leaving. They're scared," Conejos said in an interview at ABS-CBN's "Umagang Kay Ganda."

Conejos said that the 13 Filipinos are likely to return home by Tuesday as they will have to pass through Israel and Jordan before taking their flight to Manila.

"Immediately upon arrival in Jordan, they have to take a plane back to the Philippines. The country doesn't want the Filipinos to stay there for too long," he said.

For her part, Philippine Ambassador to Israel Petronila Garcia said that the 13 Filipinos will be escorted by the Philippine Red Cross and will be escorted by embassy officials upon their exit from Gaza.

Meanwhile, Garcia said that the remaining Filipinos will be extracted should another opportunity arise. "It will be more dangerous to extract them now than for them to stay where they are," Garcia said in an interview at ANC's "News at 8."

Garcia said that the embassy is in close contact with the remaining Filipinos, saying that they are supplied with food and medicines.

as of 01/05/2009 7:15 PM