Leave Gaza — PHL envoy tells Filipinos in war zone | The Howie Severino Podcast

Name: Leave Gaza — PHL envoy tells Filipinos in war zone | The Howie Severino Podcast
Uploaded: 2023-11-18T13:26:17+00:00
Duration: 44 min 3 s
Channel: GMA News

00:00 Gandang araw, podmates! Howie Severino muli, na nagpapaalala na nakakatalino ang mahabang

00:05 attention span. For the past months, the world's attention has been focused on the war in Israel

00:10 and Gaza and its impact on civilians, including 136 Filipinos living there, 111 of whom have

00:18 already been evacuated through Gaza's border with Egypt. On the front lines handling this

00:24 evacuation effort has been the Philippine Ambassador to Egypt, Ezzedine Tago, a career

00:31 diplomat and Arabic speaker. Magandang araw sa inyo, Mr. Ambassador. Thank you for your

00:35 service and thank you for helping evacuate Filipino citizens from the war zone of Gaza.

00:41 Magandang araw, Howie. Salamat sa itong opportunidad para i-update mga Pilipino at yung mga pamilya

00:50 nang nasa Gaza tungkul sa mga efforts ng gobyerno at saka sa mga kondisyon ngayon sa Gaza at

00:58 yung amin yung effort para mailabas ang mga Pilipino at pawiin sila sa Pilipinas. Sir,

01:05 so you've actually already evacuated the majority of Filipinos from Gaza. You're talking about

01:12 Filipino citizens. Most of these Filipino citizens in Gaza were what? Did they have

01:19 Palestinian spouses? That's why they were there? Or are they OFWs? Tell us about these

01:28 people. The breakdown of Filipinos in Gaza is actually as follows. There was initially

01:34 one OFW that our embassy in Amman had known of, but then we later found out that there

01:40 was an additional one who was there on a temporary visit. So, dalawang OFW po. The rest are actually

01:47 mga first, second, and even third generation Filipinos. At the beginning, mostly women

01:55 married to Palestinians, and subsequently they've had children and grandchildren who

02:02 have Philippine citizenship. So, other than the two OFWs, lahat po yan actually mga pamilya.

02:11 Some of them worked there. Yung sa pag-uusap ko sa mga ibang nakatawid, yung iba na meet

02:17 nila yung mga asawa nila sa other country, Cyprus, GCC, Gulf Cooperation Council countries,

02:25 whether Dubai, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, other countries around the world, and they ended

02:32 up staying in Gaza. Kung 111 na yung nakalabas, may 25 pang natitira, ayon sa inyong bilang.

02:41 So who are these 25? Are they choosing to stay there, or is it just difficult to get them

02:48 out? Our embassy in Amman is the one that actually has consular jurisdiction over them.

02:55 And they're the ones who contact them, and almost daily since this conflict started,

03:02 they try to contact everyone on their lists. And from the beginning, there was already

03:08 a group of people who were either undecided pusila or sabinila hindisila a'alis for various

03:17 reasons. And they want to stay with their family, their spouse, who's Palestinian, or

03:24 they just feel that dunas talaga sila sa Gaza. The number changed over the past few months

03:33 from going up and down, pero at the end of the day, wala sa kanilang nagkocontact sa

03:39 aming imbahada sa Amman para humingi ng tulong or magsabi na they are going to move towards

03:46 the border. So ang Philippine Embassy pala sa Amman,

03:49 Jordan, you're my jurisdiction sa Gaza. That's why they're handling the consular requirements

03:55 of Filipino citizens there. Kayo, nasa Cairo, you're the Philippine ambassador to Egypt.

04:01 And then you're involved because these Filipinos are exiting Gaza through what is called the

04:07 Rafah crossing into Egypt. So I guess there's a lot of communication between the embassies

04:14 in Jordan with your embassy in Cairo. But my question is, what is the role of the Philippine

04:23 Embassy in Tel Aviv when it comes to this matter?

04:29 Actually, they have a major role as well, based on a 2005 agreement between Palestine,

04:38 Israel, and also involving Egypt. This has to do with the access and movement of people

04:44 in and out of the territories, Gaza, and also the West Bank. Based on this agreement, there

04:53 has to be coordination on the entry and exit of both people and goods. There is a process

05:01 of inspection and security clearance. And so in this actual conflict right now, all

05:08 those who exit Gaza, the list has to be provided also to the Israeli side, which also looks

05:20 and gives approval for it. Right before November 1, there was no mechanism yet agreed upon

05:27 between all parties on what to do during this conflict for the exit of dual citizens, people,

05:34 and injured Palestinians. But what happened is that with the facilitation of Egypt and

05:42 Qatar and the US, there was an agreement reached that for the exit of dual citizens, injured

05:51 Palestinians, and third country nationals like Filipinos and so on. And now the information

05:58 is that there are about 7,000 of these. The process would be that names would be submitted

06:05 to the Israel side and to the Egypt side. And there has to be mutual agreement on these

06:12 lists of people leaving out of Gaza Strip. These are pre-approved. These are the lists

06:19 that are coming out every day of who can leave.

06:23 And speaking of which, the ones evacuated were just the Filipino nationals. But as you

06:31 mentioned, some of them have Palestinian spouses. So were the Palestinian spouses allowed to

06:38 go with their Filipino spouses? Or were they left behind mostly?

06:44 Yes, actually, they were allowed a total of 16 were in the approval list. Others were

06:53 also added. There are some that weren't on the list, but they were approved at the border.

07:01 I don't have the total list of the Palestinians that have been helped. We have them at the

07:09 border, then they reach Cairo. And then from Cairo, we arrange with the IOM for them to

07:14 shoulder or to fund their tickets to the Philippines. So there's at least a good 20, 25 Palestinian

07:25 spouses who were able to join these 109 that the government, the Philippine government,

07:32 had shouldered to go home to the Philippines.

07:34 I understand that this has been a very delicate process. You're doing this during a

07:38 war. So what were the more challenging issues encountered by the Philippine embassy in Cairo

07:47 during this effort to repatriate Filipino nationals and their Palestinian spouses from

07:55 Gaza to Egypt through the Rafa border crossing?

08:00 Well, I will talk first, perhaps, about our role as a country that's receiving or an

08:08 embassy that's receiving and talk about those challenges. But there are also usually general

08:16 challenges that are related to any crisis in my experience. And I see it also here.

08:24 I think the first for us here, there is the distance and the logistical requirements to

08:32 be able to reach the border. The border is about 400 kilometers and at least 20 or so

08:41 checkpoints along the way. Every day we are required to submit a request to be able to

08:48 go there or to at least renew on a daily basis our approvals. So I just want to stress that

08:56 it's not as easy as the Filipino national getting to the border and we are expected

09:00 to be there all of a sudden. So it takes a lot of coordination for them, for us to know

09:06 when people will be at the border. And we also need to submit to the authorities here

09:13 the requests to be able to cross the Suez Canal. Usually there's a tunnel or ferry

09:22 boat, but also who's going to be there. And on the way, there are several checkpoints.

09:30 So the first day I went, I left Cairo at 5 o'clock. I arrived there at 3 o'clock in the

09:39 afternoon. So for a 10-hour trip or 350 kilometers is actually quite long. Every time we do that,

09:49 we travel. I think also a logistical thing is people, because we are a small embassy,

10:00 we're not very big and to be able to send three or four or five people every day, that

10:06 also limits our resources here in Cairo.

10:12 There's a lot of news about how the Israeli Defense Force has been shutting down communications,

10:22 I mean the internet connections, telecommunications. So how have you been able to communicate with

10:31 the Filipinos who want to leave?

10:33 That's a very good question, Howie, because the lists come out usually late in the evening

10:41 and people are expected or are supposed to be at the border the following morning. And

10:50 what happens I think is our Amman embassy tries to contact them or receives their calls

10:57 the night before or in the morning itself of when they're supposed to be there. I understand

11:02 that many of them are not too far away from the border. So once they get the go signal,

11:09 our embassy in Amman calls them, tries to call them. When you're right, you're absolutely

11:13 right there is a possible connection, phone connection or internet available there. So

11:21 they contact them and if they're able to proceed to the border, then we are there to receive

11:27 them. But on days where there are no phone lines and no mobile working or internet, then

11:35 it's really us waiting till the next day.

11:38 Well, I read that you have embassy personnel at the border or near the border, partly to

11:46 help process travel documents of people who are fleeing Gaza. How are they able to prove

11:56 that they are Filipino if they don't have travel documents?

11:59 A good majority have travel or valid passports or expired ones. So those are always a good

12:07 basis to issue a travel document without requiring additional proof of identity.

12:15 We are grateful that our embassy in Amman had already processed who needs travel documents,

12:24 who has expired documents. So before they arrived at the border, we looked at the documents

12:30 and already issued the travel documents before getting there and just handed them over when

12:37 they reached there. We also extended help to Palestinians without a valid document and

12:44 just a Palestinian ID and issued them a travel document and placed there that they're Palestinian.

12:50 Travel documents are not a proof of citizenship, they're just for the purpose of that travel.

12:55 So they would need to down the line apply for a passport from their embassy.

13:01 So these Palestinians that you're referring to, you mean these are the Palestinian spouses

13:06 of Filipinos, that's why you were also handling their exit?

13:12 And part of the process also is that we facilitate. We not only issue documents and give them

13:18 out at the border, but we also facilitate with the border authorities the whole process.

13:24 We have to submit their names and verify the identities of some who may be questioned by

13:30 the border authorities. Like you said, if it's just a travel document, the immigration

13:36 authorities and the other authorities there, because they're different. There's also, I

13:42 think, intelligence and so on. They check and we're there to verify who are those who

13:49 are there. All the first generation Filipinos know how to speak Filipino or Tagalog. Some

13:57 also regularly go home to the Philippines, some for a few years, but it's easy to actually

14:05 spot them and talk to them immediately once we get to the border.

14:09 So these evacuations have actually occurred just in the last two weeks, but this war has

14:15 been going on since the first week of October. What were the most critical moments during

14:23 this time? Could you provide an idea or description of how the Philippine embassy in Cairo negotiated

14:32 this and coordinated with our posts, our embassies in Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan, as well as

14:40 with the DFA?

14:42 The most difficult thing is really the uncertainty of everything. As you had said, this started

14:49 in October 7, and for the first two weeks, there was no clarity on how, if, and when

14:57 people will be able to go out, what the process was. We could just look back and try to imagine

15:05 our previous experiences with evacuation and see what requirements could be and try to

15:13 prepare accordingly. Here in Egypt, we also evacuated in April and ongoing until now,

15:19 our nationals were coming out of Sudan. And so we tried to see what the process would

15:26 be like. But of course, then it was just going to the border and waiting for our nationals

15:32 and arranging their transportation from wherever to the Sudanese border. But in this instance,

15:39 for I think the most stressful and challenging really is knowing for certain how and when

15:47 people would be allowed to exit. And after that, when there was a process that was announced,

15:56 I think on October 30th or 31st, the next step would be when would be our turn, really.

16:08 So about every day, 500 to 600 foreign nationals are on a list of those who can leave. And

16:17 for a few days, for the first few days, really, it was just trying to see when we would be

16:23 on, how many would be on that list, and our capacity to contact them immediately so that

16:31 they can be at the border the following day.

16:34 Were there instances or points where you were personally worried and afraid that the Filipinos

16:41 in Gaza might not be able to leave and would be there when, you know, when this full-scale

16:50 war started?

16:53 Absolutely, yes. I mean, no one is immune from any, as the term they're using now is

17:01 collateral damage. There are about 11,000 people who have been already killed in Gaza

17:10 now. And so there is no way really to inform them in advance where these fights could be

17:17 and so on. So they say that they're able to manage. Thankfully, we don't have any information

17:26 of any Filipinos up to this time that have been injured or victim of any of these strikes.

17:37 But yes, that's always a fear there.

17:40 So when the evacuations began, as you mentioned, there was some uncertainty, and then there

17:44 was an announcement that people would be allowed to exit through the Rafah crossing. When the

17:52 evacuation started, what was it like? Was it well organized? Was it a bit chaotic?

17:59 Well, our first group was on the 7th of November. So we did receive notice on the 6th, and we

18:09 proceeded there early morning and reached there in the afternoon. The land border of

18:15 Rafah crossing does receive people throughout the years, and it is the only exit between

18:22 Egypt and Gaza. For Gaza, there are, as I understand it, six exits. Most of them, the

18:31 five are towards Israel. There's only one towards Egypt. We reached there at 3 o'clock,

18:39 and to be absolutely honest, it was one of the shortest because we finished at 10 in

18:44 the evening. Over the past week or so, the four batches, it has really depended on the

18:53 numbers of the people and how many are processed easily, and if there were questions on the

18:59 identities of some, my colleague had to stay till 5 in the morning for one of them. My

19:05 vice consul was left there for one of the batches. So, from afternoon until 5 in the

19:12 morning.

19:13 How important is the Rafah crossing?

19:17 It's very important. The Rafah crossing is very important because of, one, the entry

19:23 of humanitarian aid. As you may be aware, one of the first things that were important

19:30 to Egypt and to other countries also is the entry of aid. At the beginning, there were

19:37 only about 20 trucks, I think. There's an agreement now for them to reach up to 100.

19:45 So, food, water, other medicine is allowed so far, but not few. Rafah border also is

19:54 where injured Palestinians have been allowed to exit every day, anywhere from 20 to 50

20:02 exit and are given medical attention here in Egypt. And right now, it's the only exit

20:07 for those who are coming out from Gaza. It's not actually open every day. Sometimes there

20:14 are security issues that, and so they announced that it's closed for the day. And your people,

20:23 anyone, Filipinos and other nationals could be at the other side that is controlled by

20:29 the Palestinian side or Hamas. And if there is a security issue, they may close.

20:36 Early on, there were at least three bombs that hit in the vicinity of the border. So,

20:46 it's really the only entry and exit into Gaza at this point.

20:51 Have there been any reports of deaths of Filipinos or injuries?

20:58 No, there have been no deaths of Filipinos in Gaza so far. That's the information that

21:06 we've received from our embassy in Jordan. At the beginning, there was one slight injury,

21:12 but then we understand she's absolutely okay. When they cross, the Egyptian Red Crescent

21:19 is there and they give them immediately some food. They look at them and Egyptian side

21:25 has also set up a medical quarantine. I've witnessed them giving shots to children, checking

21:32 if they've taken shots and they give them on the spot.

21:36 The Egyptian Red Crescent has been great both at the Egypt-Sudan border and also at the

21:44 border with Rafah. They're available there. The foreign ministry also informed us that

21:50 there are at least three frontline hospitals that are close to Rafah that are open to anyone

21:57 who may face or need immediate medical attention. But thankfully, I can say that when we get

22:05 there, we've always seen that they're okay. There are two cases at least that we've had

22:11 to deal with later on when they've reached Cairo. One was nine months almost about to

22:17 deliver and when she reached here in Cairo, we couldn't get her on a flight because she

22:25 was already due. And there was another case of a Palestinian spouse that needed medical

22:35 escort to be able to go to the Philippines. And that was provided by IOM who provided

22:42 also immediate medical assessment for everyone arriving in Cairo.

22:46 Sir, just for the information of our listeners, the IOM stands for International Organization

22:53 for Migration. Sir, you mentioned Palestinian spouses. Most of the Palestinian spouses of

23:00 Filipinos in Gaza were able to leave through the Rafah border crossing to Egypt after being

23:09 granted security clearance. Who actually gives the clearance, number one? And number two,

23:15 not all of the, I understand, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that not all the

23:19 Palestinian spouses of Filipinos were given security clearance. Well, why weren't they

23:28 given security clearance? What could have gone wrong?

23:30 For clearances for Palestinians exiting and actually anyone exiting the Gaza Strip that

23:37 is done or they are cleared by all sides, that being Israel, Palestine, and also Egypt.

23:46 But how can we be sure that someone in Gaza is just posing as a spouse of a Filipino national

23:57 and is actually, let's say theoretically or hypothetically, a member of Hamas and wants

24:03 to escape whatever is going to happen in Gaza and ends up in the Philippines because Yunga

24:12 was able to successfully pose as a spouse? I mean, what are our safeguards, sir, to make

24:19 sure that the Philippines is secure from that happening?

24:24 Well, actually we've sent the list to the DFA for any restricted national and restricted

24:31 Palestinians require clearance from NICA to be able to be granted. That's first. Second,

24:41 from what I've seen immediately, all the Palestinians coming, the spouses are actually, they have

24:46 Filipino children, even grandchildren. And so they've, looks like they've had long relations,

24:53 established relations with the spouses. I think two or three even had blogs and a young

25:01 couple there, one had been talking about, "Hindi siya aalis rao kung hindi aalis, sasama

25:08 yung asawa niya." Yung asawa niya marunong mag-aral, I think, sa Pilipinas at marunong

25:12 mag-Tagalog. And on the question of why some would not get clearance, to be absolutely

25:19 honest, I'm not privy to what the criteria of each country would be. But like you mentioned,

25:29 some may have affiliations to certain groups, may have done something that are not appropriate,

25:40 and therefore would get them on any list. So those involved, whether Israel and Egypt,

25:50 have their own also process, security clearing process. And because they required the names

25:57 long ago, these names had gone through their own vetting process.

26:03 Okay, sir. But earlier you mentioned that there were two doctors who were evacuated

26:10 through other means. They were doctors with the MSF, that's the Medisin San Frontier,

26:17 right? It's a kind of a medical volunteer group that works in a lot of developing countries.

26:26 So these are Filipino citizens, but they were also connected with this international group.

26:32 So what kind of work were they doing, these Filipino doctors in Gaza?

26:36 They were able to leave Gaza the first day on November 1st, together with several other

26:43 NGOs and UN personnel. And our embassy in Amman asked if, because all those who were

26:52 lumped together did not say they were Filipino, just said international, international. So

26:57 had we known, we had also gone to the border to help out. But our embassy in Amman contacted

27:05 them and asked if they needed any assistance from us. And they said, they're fine, they're

27:09 okay. And MSF would take them to, I think, Brussels or Italy, where their headquarters

27:15 and their other next assignments would be. But they were probably doing a lot of volunteer

27:21 work in hospitals there. You know, Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in

27:30 the world. There are like 2.7 million in what is 300 square kilometers. And I understand

27:40 now that, of course, there's a great need for health care, and they're probably out

27:46 there in Gaza helping out.

27:48 And you mentioned that there are about 25 Filipino nationals left in Gaza. And I guess

27:55 that's not including their Palestinian spouses and children born in Gaza. Is there any kind

28:03 of service our government can extend to them?

28:06 I think, actually, Howie, that's one thing that earlier when you asked about challenges

28:14 that I didn't mention. I mentioned that in general, my experience is that there are always

28:20 a group of Filipinos who hold out, who say that they don't want to leave or that they're

28:28 them living in a certain places really all they have, and they consider really their

28:35 last choice. If I can go off tangent a little bit, in Sudan, we still have 120 people there

28:44 although we've evacuated over 185. But up to now, we have another 15 who are asking

28:51 to leave six months after. In Gaza, our embassy in Amman, in Jordan, continue to call them

28:59 all the time up until yesterday or the day before to try to stress and try to convince,

29:05 actually, that's the word there that our embassy is using is try to convince them to leave.

29:11 Because this is not a very short term thing. This can go on for a while. And as we see

29:18 the places running out of water, electricity, food, and any services, and I'm not going

29:27 to say that definitely the Philippine government cannot ensure or guarantee or even help ensure

29:33 that they are in a safe space because this is a theater of conflict. So there is no one,

29:40 there is no guarantee that we can tell anyone to please exclude this area, there are Filipinos

29:46 there. So I continue to call on them to consider leaving and crossing while it's still possible.

29:59 It's not going to be any easier for the next two weeks or even for the next month. I think

30:05 they should decide now. And we're ready. We are ready to be there and to go there and

30:10 help out. In fact, I think the Philippine government has granted financial assistance

30:17 to each family, knowing that many of them will be uprooted in the Philippines. So there's

30:24 an amount that we give once they cross and before they leave.

30:28 At this point, I just want to interject. The reason why you've been mentioning the situation

30:33 in Sudan is because your jurisdiction covers Sudan as a non-resident Philippine ambassador.

30:42 You're a resident in Egypt, but your responsibility covers Sudan. I just want to mention that

30:48 to our listeners. They might be wondering why. And Sudan has also been having various

30:56 crises, and that's why people also have been wanting to leave. But Mr. Ambassador, you

31:02 mentioned that the Philippine government provides some financial assistance. I guess that would

31:08 help encourage Filipino citizens to evacuate because I'm sure some of them would wonder

31:14 where they're going. Their home is in Gaza, their families are there, they might even

31:20 have jobs there. But you mentioned also the IOM, the International Organization of Migration.

31:28 Those remaining can count on possibly two sources of financial assistance, the Philippine

31:35 government and the IOM. In other words, if they leave Gaza, they will be getting some

31:44 kind of support for this transition.

31:49 The Philippine government, yes, we have granted support. We've given it to them before they

31:54 leave. I also understand that upon their arrival, some of them have asked for, I guess, somewhere

32:03 to stay because it's going to be difficult for them. Some don't have family anymore.

32:10 They're going home as a big family. So we've referred the matter to the SWB also. I see

32:18 that other agencies are accepting them at the airport and are willing to help. I'm not

32:24 sure what exactly would be granted by them, but there are.

32:28 Yeah, interesting, right? Because you said there are Filipino nationals in Gaza who have

32:35 been there for a long time, right? They've been there. And you said earlier, among the

32:42 evacuees are even third generation Filipinos who were born and raised in Gaza and are still

32:49 Filipino nationals. Some of our listeners may not understand the rules of citizenship

32:55 here. Let's say if you're a third generation, let's say Filipino born in Italy, are you

33:03 still considered automatically a Filipino? I know that Filipinos born in the US have

33:08 to apply for dual citizenship or Filipino citizenship. But in Gaza, what are the rules

33:16 for citizenship there? I mean, you can be third generation Filipino and still automatically

33:21 have Filipino citizenship or is this something that they had to apply for or their parents

33:25 had to apply for for them?

33:27 Actually, as long as the parents apply for Philippine passport or citizenship for their

33:34 children, when they, so for example, one Filipino married a Palestinian, then she had children.

33:42 As long as she applied for her children's Philippine passport, at the same time when

33:49 she did so, she still holds Philippine passport, then the children are entitled. And what happened

33:56 is that in Gaza, these children grew up, became 20 years old, some of them married either

34:08 Palestinian or other Filipino, and then there are children too. So many of the people who

34:15 came home, the repatriates, are children. I don't have the stats in front of me, but

34:21 there are many minors and all of them are entitled to Philippine passport as long as

34:26 their parents were holding Philippine citizenship when they gave birth to the children.

34:32 Can you clarify, Mr. Ambassador, because if you were born in Gaza, because of course,

34:40 we know that Gaza is not a country and neither is Palestine. I mean, that's part of this

34:46 big conflict. Some Palestinians want their own country, their own state. So if you were

34:53 born, if you're a Filipino, you have Filipino parents, or you have a Philippine, one Filipino

34:57 parent and you're born in Gaza, what citizen are you?

35:02 You're entitled to Philippine citizenship. And there is a Palestinian passport as well.

35:07 So some of them actually are dual. So some of the children there have a Palestinian passport,

35:14 and we also gave them a Philippine passport, or if not, then a Philippine travel document

35:20 so that they won't have to apply for a visa if they're just minors. We issue that travel

35:26 document because they're entitled to a Philippine citizenship.

35:29 Okay. Sir, you know, this crisis is still far from over. You've evacuated the majority

35:36 of Filipinos, but I'm sure you're still monitoring it. There are still over two dozen

35:43 Filipinos there and they have spouses, they have children, we don't know their situation

35:50 now. And you've been in Egypt since 2021, tama ba? And I'm sure you've been keeping

35:56 track of the situation there. It befuddles even experts, but I'm wondering what your

36:03 view is with your long service in the Middle East. I know you've also been a previous ambassador

36:12 to other Middle East countries. What is your view of what is going on and how do you think

36:20 all this will end? What's the long game here? What do you think will happen?

36:27 Well, in the past, I think we always get into this thing that this has happened before.

36:37 So many times, almost every year, every two years, something happens between Israel and

36:42 Gaza or West Bank. So we sort of get used to the idea that sandali ila mita, but maybe

36:48 because October 7 was of larger scale and intensity, then that's why this is not ending

36:55 so quickly as the others. I think Egypt even helped mediate the last time. And after two

37:02 weeks, the conflict was over. And maybe this is why a lot of the some Filipinos are still

37:09 hoping that there will be a ceasefire soon and they can stay there. Some even of those

37:17 who came out asked, kum paramsila maa kabalik na nGaza? But like you said, at this point,

37:24 honestly, I don't know what the end game is, because I think it's the Israeli side that

37:30 we need to ask what they want from this. The international community is all pushing for

37:36 a ceasefire and for a return to talks, which I think also is an important way forward,

37:46 because this will not end very soon unless there is political discussions and negotiations

37:53 for a more permanent solution of the whole question of Palestinians. And as you mentioned,

37:59 the state that they are supposed to get.

38:02 Sir, were you able to speak with any of the Filipinos who have exited Gaza? I'm just wondering

38:11 what their experience was. We haven't been able to get in touch with them yet. We're

38:18 trying to get these personal stories. But have you had access to any of them? Have you

38:24 encountered or met them?

38:25 Actually, I went to the crossing, the first group, and I came back with them on the bus.

38:33 And every time, during the time, we were just waiting. Either we were waiting for their

38:40 papers to be processed or we were waiting at a checkpoint for three hours. We were just

38:47 talking. I think the others were highly educated. Like I said, they met their husband outside.

38:55 And then the point is that they often say, "Oh, we've been here for four, six times,

39:03 and some of them were evacuated for the second or third or fourth time." So after a while,

39:10 they become desensitized. But then, as mentioned, they said that this is the most intense. And

39:19 the sad part is that all of them were told that their homes are gone. They will never

39:30 return. And that's what's really, I think, more difficult this time than in earlier cases.

39:38 Normally, we do meet all of them at the hotel once they arrive in Cairo. And I've also gone

39:49 to the airport. And it can be difficult to listen and to hear from them because we don't

39:58 know what the future will hold for them. And I think that's what worries them more. If

40:03 you look at them, they all are, I would say, they're all in a state of still shock. They

40:09 have not been able to process this information.

40:13 Most of these Filipinos are women, right?

40:16 Most, except for the second generation, but the original 100% are women.

40:26 Most of them have been repatriated to the Philippines. They're not staying in Egypt

40:31 waiting for, as you said, some are still hoping for a ceasefire, to return. They're not waiting

40:36 around in Egypt or another country there. They've all been flown back to the Philippines?

40:41 Yes, actually. 102 out of 109 that had been organized by the embassy have gone home. That's

40:49 the case because we are required to repatriate them. Their transit visa is only 72 hours.

40:57 So they're granted entry and the guarantees that will help will make sure that they leave

41:03 within 72 hours.

41:05 Well, I'm sure that's also not that easy for many of them if they've been living in Gaza

41:10 for years and even generations. You said it, their home is Gaza. So when they go home to

41:17 the Philippines, especially if they have children and grandchildren, that's not really their

41:22 home. So who takes over for their welfare? The SWD or the DFA? I'm sure that's another

41:29 set of, that's another kind of transition.

41:32 So they land in Manila and then do many of them have actually have homes to go to? They

41:39 still have provinces? I'm sure they all have relatives, but I mean, these relatives could

41:45 be distant. Maybe they've never even met some of these people. What is their situation like

41:49 in the Philippines? What have you heard?

41:51 Well some do or have planned and will be going to the province. Some of them will go there.

41:57 Others will just stay in Manila. That's why they asked for help from the government to

42:03 find a more long-term accommodation because hotels and so on can be expensive even if

42:10 we give them a little help. You're right. I see that the Commission on Filipinos Overseas

42:17 as well as the DSWD are involved and we write to them before the arrival of the Filipinos.

42:27 And you're right, it's going to be difficult because like the other kids, I asked the mother,

42:31 "How will your child ride a jeep?" Or even if they go abroad. Gaza may be very different

42:42 from the Philippines, which is overcrowded and chaotic and so on as well. But these are

42:49 certainly issues that they will need help about, need for.

42:56 Yeah, yeah. And as you said, many of them said their homes are gone. So they won't be

43:02 able to return. And who wants to go back to Gaza now? We don't know what's going to happen.

43:09 This war appears far from over. We want to thank you for what you're doing for fellow

43:16 Filipinos and especially recently in this crisis. So thank you for your service. Philippine

43:25 Ambassador to Egypt, Ezzedine Pago, may you all stay safe.

43:36 Hi, I'm Howie Severino. Check out the Howie Severino podcast. New episodes will stream

43:42 every Thursday. Listen for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other

43:47 platforms.

43:47 [MUSIC]

Leave Gaza — PHL envoy tells Filipinos in war zone | The Howie Severino Podcast

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