Garin: Contingency funds makakatulong sa mga OFW sa Israel

IGINIIT ni Deputy Majority Leader at Iloilo First District Representative Janette Garin na maaaring gamitin ng gobyerno ang contingency funds para tulungan ang mga apektadong Pilipino sa Israel matapos pag-atake ang Palestinian Islamist group na Hamas noong Sabado.

"Contingent fund may be used for their repatriation and generate jobs for affected Filipinos. The government must come up with economic plans to cushion their abrupt termination of work," aniya ni House Appropriations Committee vice chairperson nitong Lunes at idinagdag na ang contingency ay mahalaga para sa mga emergency situation.

Hinimok din ng mambabatas ang Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) na siguruhin ang kaligtasan ng mga Pilipino sa Israel, at idiniin na ito prayoridad ng pamahalaan.

Nauna nang sinabi ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) na “closely monitoring” ang kalagayan ng 24,807 Filipino sa Israel.

Sinabi ni OWWA Administrator Arnelle Igancio na nasa 200 empleyadong Pilipino ang nakabase sa Gaza Strip, na sinasalakay na lugar ng militanteng grupo ng Hamas.

Samantala, sinabi ng Presidential Communications Office (PCO) na nagbukas ang DMW ng hotline at ilang Viber at WhatsApp hotline numbers na tatanggap ng mga tawag at katanungan mula sa ating mga Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) at Filipino community na nangangailangan ng tulong ng gobyerno.

“With wars like this, even if far from our country, outbreaks and epidemics are expected to spread globally.  Remember the war in Syria and Lebanon and conflict in Pakistan, measles and polio spread to the Phils.  Outbreaks of norovirus and rotavirus also happened leading to outbreaks of diarrhea," sinabi ni Garin.

"Interruption of clean water, hygiene, congestion creates a Petri dish for various outbreaks can spread globally. Our main defense is to have herd immunity via a high vaccination coverage," dagdag pa niya.

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