Eighteen Iloilo City residents working in Israel have been accounted for and are safe based on the profiling by the city government through its Public Employment Service Office (PESO).
PESO manager Gabriel Felix Umadhay said they were able to get in touch with them as of 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, and they are “generally safe”.
Three of them, however, are still in the war zone area as of Wednesday, Umadhay said.
“They are in bomb shelters, and they said they are in safe condition. We reached out to them through their family members with the help of our barangay PESO,” he said in vernacular.
The 18 were calmed when they spoke to them, Umadhay said.
They claimed they were used to this kind of situation, referring to fighting that broke out over the weekend when Hamas launched a surprise attack and the eventual retaliation of Israeli forces that led to the killing of several people, mostly civilians.
“There is an alarm. Once they hear it, they will immediately seek shelter. It is like a routine for them that once they hear the alarm, there is a threat, and they need to hide,” Umadhay added.
The 18 Ilonggos from Lapuz, Mandurriao, Jaro, La Paz, Molo, and Arevalo districts consist of 12 caregivers, and the rest are engineers, a nurse, and a hotel worker. Two of them are 67 and 64 years old.
Umadhay said they do not have plans to leave Israel despite the ongoing hostilities.
The PESO office can be reached at 333-1111 (local 517) or through the PESO-Iloilo City Facebook page for those who would like to report the situation of their relatives in Israel for proper coordination with concerned agencies of the government.
The city government has also activated its help desk to help in distress OFWs on Wednesday, Oct. 11.Perla Lena/PNA
