A Filipina caregiver died in Israel while assisting her elderly ward to a bomb shelter amid escalating airstrikes in the Middle East.
32-year-old caregiver, Mary Anne Velazquez de Vera, is the first Filipino casualty in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr confirmed on Sunday.
“She was a caregiver in Israel who was helping her patient get to a bomb shelter, but they were not able to reach it and were caught before they arrived,” Marcos said in Filipino.
“She died after being hit by shrapnel from the bombs that fell.”
Alarm raised for safety of Overseas Filipino Workers
The incident has raised alarm over the safety of over 2.4 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in the Middle East, with a Philippine government official urging heightened monitoring and immediate measures to safeguard Filipinos in the region.
“Our duty now is to ensure that our fellow Filipinos in the Middle East are safe, protected, and accounted for. The situation is even more serious because there has already been a recorded death of a Filipina, caregiver Mary Anne Velazquez de Vera, who died while performing her duties,” Senator Mark A Villar said.
Meanwhile, OFWs in the Middle East have expressed fears about the latest escalation.
Those working in Dubai and Bahrain told Agence France-Presse that they were jolted awake by blasts that shook their windows and saw drones streak across the sky before detonating into nearby structures.
In Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, 44-year-old caregiver Charlot David described sprinting to a bomb shelter as alerts blared on her phone.
“Our flat is three minutes away from the bomb shelter, so we really have to run fast,” David said in an interview with AFP.
“There were several alerts until we concluded, OK, this is no joke. It’s Iran. So, we decided to stay inside the bomb shelter,” she explained.
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Government to provide shelters, transport amid limited repatriation
Following de Vera’s death, the Philippine government has assured that it is monitoring the situation. However, there was no plan yet for massive repatriation.
So far, only about 80 to 100 OFWs in Dubai were seeking to be repatriated, according to the Department of Migrant Workers.
Many have refused to leave their jobs in the Middle East behind, as they are also their families’ breadwinners back home.
The repatriation process will be expensive and complicated, as the airspace in the United Arab Emirates is still closed.
It will only be triggered once the alert level in the UAE increases to 4, Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said.
“We have transport services available onsite for those who feel they are in high-risk areas and wish to relocate. We also have shelters. The shelters are a combination of those provided by the host country, including in the countries mentioned, as well as our own Migrant Workers Office or OWWA shelters onsite,” Cacdac added.
He also said that they were co-ordinating with de Vera’s husband in Israel to repatriate her remains.
Marcos, Israel honours de Vera, offers support to family
Marcos vowed that the government would extend assistance to her family.
Moreover, the Israeli Embassy in the Philippines acknowledged de Vera’s efforts, calling her “selfless” in helping her ward to safety.
“Mary Ann, like so many overseas Filipino workers in Israel, exemplified resilience, compassion, and quiet strength,” they stated. “Israel joins the profound sorrow of her family and the Filipino community.”
“We mourn together and honour Mary Ann’s memory with dignity and respect.”
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