5 Filipinos cross West Bank border to Jordan

MANILA, Philippines — Five Filipinos have crossed from the West Bank to Jordan amid the Israel-Hamas war, the Philippine embassy in Amman said yesterday.

They were scheduled to return to the Philippines yesterday.

The embassy facilitated the border crossing of the Filipinos to the Jordanian side at the King Hussein Bridge, bordering the West Bank and Jordan.

“The Philippine Embassy provided transportation to the five Filipinos, who were fetched at their respective residences in the West Bank and brought to the Allenby border crossing on the Israeli side, where they were met and assisted by Amman Philippine Embassy officers and personnel who facilitated their entry to Jordan through the King Hussein bridge crossing,” the embassy said in Facebook post.

Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Wilfredo Santos and Second Secretary and Consul Angeli Payumo also met with King Hussein Border Authority head Col. Rafat Al Maietah to express their gratitude – through an interpreter – for the assistance extended to the embassy and discussed the possible crossing of more Filipinos from the West Bank if the situation in the area worsens.

Department of Migrant Workers officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said they expect the four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to usher in more positive developments.

“It’s a welcome development, and we hope to see further improvement in the situation,” he said in a radio interview.

According to Cacdac, all Filipinos in Gaza were already able to cross to Egypt. Most of them are non-OFWs with Palestinian spouses. He said 42 OFWs arrived yesterday from Israel.

Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus University Council has expressed its solidarity with the people of Palestine and accused the Israel government of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” over its unceasing attacks in Gaza.

“The University Council of UP Diliman expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation and condemns the state of Israel for its unceasing genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,” the university said in a press statement posted on its website on Wednesday. — Mayen Jaymalin