Marcos assures families of 'utmost support' for Filipino victims in Israel

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reached out to the families of Filipinos who were killed in the Israel-Hamas war.

Describing it as among “the most difficult phone calls I’ve had to make as president,” Marcos talked with relatives of the first two fatalities on Wednesday, October 11, and a relative of a third fatality on Sunday, October 15.

“The government will help you, give you everything that you and your family need – assistance in going here plus financial assistance for [families of] overseas Filipino workers who lost their lives,” Marcos said in one of the phone calls, as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Thursday, October 12.

“We will provide the utmost support to the families they were taken from,” he added in a statement also on Thursday. “This tragedy will not deter our spirit. We will continue to stand for peace.”

Victims’ families will receive P200,000 in cash assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and P50,000 in cash assistance from the Department of Migrant Workers, the PCO added on Monday, October 16.

The fatalities are:

Angelyn Aguirre, a 33-year-old female caregiver from Pangasinan who was shot dead along with her employer
Paul Vincent Castelvi, a 42-year-old caregiver from Pampanga who was among those captured by Hamas militants
Loreta Alacre, a 49-year-old caregiver

In the PCO’s press release on Monday, Marcos said he guaranteed that Alacre’s remains would be repatriated as soon as a human corridor opens for affected civilians.

Three Filipinos remain missing since the war broke out on October 7. The Philippine government previously said it is “not losing hope that they will show up.”

At least 30,000 Filipinos live in Israel, and 100 in the Gaza Strip.

The Philippine government already raised the alert level in Gaza to four – the highest – making evacuation of Filipinos there mandatory.

Inside the besieged Gaza, the humanitarian crisis has worsened, as the Israeli military is preventing fuel, food, and water from entering the area.

The tensions flared up after Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,300 people.

Israel retaliated by carrying out its most intense bombardment of Gaza, leaving at least 2,670 people dead, a quarter of whom were children.

Marcos recently met with Israeli Ambassador Ilan Fluss, assuring him that the Philippines “will always stand with Israel in this war against the inhuman terrorist attacks by Hamas.” – Rappler.com

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