(Eagle News)–Fifty-three Filipinos who were stranded in Israel amid the COVID-19 pandemic have returned home.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Filipinos arrived in Manila on Oct. 2 from Istanbul via the Voluntary Repatriation Program (VRP) of Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA).
The DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv assisted the Filipinos, many of whom had overstayed their visas in Israel.
The Filipinos constitute the first batch of Filipino beneficiaries under the program, the DFA said.
According to the department, the group included a medical case, six senior citizens (the oldest at 70), a student, and a one-and-a-half-month-old baby born in Israel who was issued an emergency travel document by the embassy.
“The Embassy expresses its great appreciation to PIBA for arranging the repatriation of Filipinos who have long wanted to go home but were stranded due to the global pandemic starting in March and the series of lockdowns imposed by the Israeli government,” Philippine Ambassador to Israel Neal Imperial said.
Imperial also lauded the VRP, which he said have seen the embassy and PIBA working together since last year.
Under the program, the embassy evaluates the applications and endorses them to PIBA, for further assessment and approval.
VRP grantees are exempt from arrest and detention, and are provided free plane tickets to the Philippines, Imperial said.
“The embassy would also like to thank our kind-hearted kababayan who have not stopped providing support and assistance to the stranded Filipinos and those affected by the lockdowns,” Imperial added.
The second batch of 36 VRP grantees were expected to depart Tel Aviv on October 5.
