Centralized bomb shelter for OFWs in Israel ‘not feasible” –diplomat

It is not feasible to build a centralized bomb shelter for Filipinos in Israel following the retaliatory aerial attack there by Iran, Philippine Embassy in Israel Deputy Chief of Mission Anthony Mandap said Thursday.

The diplomat made the remark during a House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs hearing, when House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas raised concerns for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel who reportedly had to rely on Bayanihan spirit “to fill the gaps of the Philippine government.” 

“For example, wala daw [there are no] centralized bomb shelters. OFWs in Israel last year have created lists of their own apartments or homes that have bomb shelters. Cinirculate nila ang listahan na ito sa mga kababayan natin in need [they circulated this list to our countrymen in need],” Brosas said. 

“Now, amidst the military fighting in Israel, OFWs are reaching out to fellow OFWs in need. Some are giving food and clothes, spending money from their own pockets,” she added. 

In response, Mandap explained that when there are attacks in Israel, people are usually only given a minute to find a place to hide. He said Filipinos do not get leisure time to travel to a supposed centralized bomb shelter during times of danger. 

“‘Yung binabanggit na centralized bomb shelter dito sa Israel, wala pong ganyan. It doesn’t exist here. Kasi po by the very nature of these incidents, wala tayong time na tumakbo pa sa isang central bomb shelter,” Mandap said. 

(There’s no centralized bomb shelter here in Israel. It doesn’t exist here. Because by the very nature of these incidents, we don’t get the time to run to a central bomb shelter.) 

“Hindi feasible na magkaroon ng centralized bomb shelter kasi we do not expect people to still travel to find that bomb shelter kapag nagsi-sirena na,” he added. 

(A centralized bomb shelter is not feasible to have because we do not expect people to travel to find that when the siren goes on.)

While admitting that the Philippine Embassy in Israel has already heard about such an idea, Mandap said that there are already bomb shelters in every place in Israel where Filipinos could go should there be attacks. 

“Kahit kayo’y naglalakad sa daan at dinatdatan kayo, actually ‘yung mga households dito, they will welcome you. ‘Yun ang kaugalian dito,” he said. 

(Even if you are walking in the streets and suddenly there is an attack, the households here will actually welcome you. That’s the custom here.) 

He added that the embassy has allocated budget and identified mechanisms to evacuate the Filipinos in Israel should the tensions further rise.

He also said that they will help all Filipinos in Israel, whether they are documented or undocumented.

On April 1, Israel launched an air strike against Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing two generals and five military advisers.

Last Saturday (Sunday, Philippines time), Iran responded, launching explosive drones and firing missiles at Israel, in response to Israel’s 

The Iranian attack caused only modest damage, with most of the missiles and drones shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, according to a report by Reuters. 

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday raised concerns over the tensions between Israel and Iran and urged parties to work on resolving the conflict.

Despite the ongoing conflict, the DFA said no Filipinos either from Israel or Iran have requested assistance to return back to the Philippines. 

“I’d like to announce that no requests for emergency repatriations have been received from our embassy in Tel Aviv, other than normal routine repatriations kasi nawalan na ng trabaho, wala nang employer [because they’ve lost their jobs or employers],” DFA Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer said. 

“No Filipino has requested for repatriation dahil natatakot sa rockets ng Iran [because they were afraid by the rockets of Iran]. No similar requests for emergency repatriation from our embassy in Tehran in Iran,” he added. 

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega earlier said that the Philippines is ready to provide assistance for the possible repatriation of Filipinos amid the tension in the two Middle East countries. — Reuters