One out of the four overseas Filipino workers or OFWs affected by an airstrike in Israel has been admitted into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to a severe injury, while two others have been discharged from the hospital.
In a press conference at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Patricia Caunan revealed the woman in the ICU is currently in critical condition, having been wounded in the neck.
Another victim, a man, is in a moderate but serious condition. The other two have been released from the hospital, one a Filipino man and the other a dual citizen.
“Led by of course, the efforts of our Philippine embassy sa Israel at ang team ng DMW at OWWA, kami po ay naka-monitor at handang magbigay ng assistance. Hindi lamang po sa kanila, we’re also contacting their families,” Caunan said.
(Led by the efforts of our Philippine embassy in Israel and the DMW and OWWA team, we are monitoring and ready to extend assistance. Not just for them, but we’re also contacting their families.)
Moreover, 18 OFWs, supposedly headed for Israel and Jordan but stranded in Dubai, are being repatriated. According to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, 15 of them had just come from vacation and intended to return to their respective jobs in Israel, while three were freshly-employed and bound for Jordan.
The workers were stranded for 48 hours before the government was able to escort them on their way back to Philippines. They were given ₱50,000 in financial aid each, approximately equivalent to two months’ worth of wages.
Iran and Israel have been trading airstrikes for three days now, despite calls from world leaders to de-escalate conflict.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel’s recent strikes to be “nothing compared to what they (Iran) will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days.”
