TEL AVIV – Philippine embassy officials may soon recommend the easing of the government’s travel advisory to Israel if the ceasefire with militant group Hezbollah holds up and the situation does not deteriorategamebet, a top diplomat told The STAR.
Anthony Achilles Mandap, charge d’affaires at the Philippine embassy here in Israel, said the recent 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is a step in the right direction.
“What we told them (Israeli officials) in recent meetings is that as soon as we have seen positive development, especially if this ceasefire holds up and the situation doesn’t deteriorate, we will consider recalibrating this travel advisory,” Mandap said in an interview earlier this week.
“In fact, I already consulted my team and our consensus is give it a few days, give it a few weeks. If the ceasefire holds and there are no more attacks coming our way, maybe we can recommend that the travel advisory be at least adjusted or recalibrated, if not totally lifted,” he added.
The Philippine government placed Israel under Alert Level 2 following escalation of conflicts in the region, particularly in the Gaza Strip in the south and in Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
The alert level issued by the Philippine government restricted non-essential travel and barred the deployment of new overseas Filipino workers to Israel.
Aviv Ezra, deputy director general for Asia and the Pacific of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, appealed to foreign governments to consider “fine-tuning” their travel advisories, saying recent developments have led to the “dramatic” decrease in threat levels in the country.
“Because of the arrangements, the level of threat has diminished dramatically, drastically,” Ezra told reporters at a briefing in Jerusalem.
Mandap said they understand the Israeli government’s concern regarding the travel advisories.
“It’s a black eye for every country to be the subject of a travel advisory. We understand that, but of course we have to look after our kababayans,” Mandap added.
There are about 30,000 Filipinos in Israel. Latest embassy figures showed that over a thousand have availed of voluntary repatriation.
Mandap said those who availed of the program were mostly “newcomers” who are still not used to the situation in the region.
Many OFWs, he said, are “satisfied with their work and their stay here in Israel.”
“They are confident of Israel’s capability to protect them. They value their work and their income,” he said. “They are happy here, most of them think that it’s worth the risk that they have to face.”
He assured OFWs and their families and friends in the Philippines that the embassy is ready to respond in case the situation deteriorates.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation and we are ready to render assistance if necessary. We have contingency plans in place, which we can execute at a moment’s notice,” said Mandap.
“We have arranged services which we can providegamebet, including repatriation if they decide to leave for the Philippines under these conditions,” he added.
