Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega (PNA file photo by Joan Bondoc)
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday remembered the four Filipinos killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel while calling for deescalation of rising tensions in the Middle East.
One year since the conflict, DFA Undersecretary for Migration Eduardo Jose De Vega reiterated the Philippines’ call on parties to make effort in easing tensions.
“Gusto lang namin (to) deescalate tensions (We just wanted tensions to deescalate). It affects everybody —the entire region, including the hostages,” he said.
The government, he added, remains concerned over the welfare of Filipinos residing and working in the region as Israel, the Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah trade fires.
READ: PH ‘gravely concerned’ over tensions in Middle East
“We have a million Filipinos there. So, the Israelis have to understand while we're friends with them, the way we vote in the UN (United Nations), the things we say are reflective of our concern for our Filipinos in the Middle East region,” he said.
“And their lives are affected by the fact that there's all these conflicts now, whether in Gaza, Lebanon, sometimes even Iran or Yemen,” he added.
Israel has vowed to continue fighting on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack while dealing heavy blows on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, De Vega said the alert level remains in Lebanon and that no mass repatriation is being planned anytime soon.
“The situation in Lebanon is still, it's not the best, but it's not like it's a war zone. Gaza is a war zone,” he said.
“So, (ang) mga kababayan natin, ayaw pa rin umuwi. Some want and we're getting the flights for them (So, our fellow Filipinos still don’t want to return. Some want and we’re getting the flights for them),” he added. (PNA)
