Press Release
June 17, 2019

De Lima to DFA: Look into plight of Filipinas set to be deported by Israeli gov't

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima called on the government to extend all necessary assistance to some 100 Filipina workers in Israel who are set to be deported together with their Israeli-born children to ensure that their rights and welfare are protected.

"I call on the Department of Foreign Affairs to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the rights of our fellow Filipinos and their children in Israel will not be violated," said De Lima, an advocate of women's and children's rights.

"Dapat ibigay ng DFA ang lahat ng kailangang tulong para masigurong protektado ang karapatan ng ating mga manggagawang Pilipino at kanilang mga anak na naiipit sa sitwasyon," the lady senator from Bicol added.

De Lima made the call in the wake of reports by Israeli newspaper Haaretz that around 100 Filipina workers and their Israeli-born children will be deported in July as ordered by Israel's Population and Immigration Authority.

According to the Population and Immigration Authority, many of these Filipino workers entered Israel legally, mostly as caregivers, but their visas were not renewed because they gave birth in the country, leaving them without any legal status.

De Lima said the government should exert all efforts in finding a win-win solution on the matter through diplomatic channels so that the livelihood of hundreds of Filipina workers will not be affected and the welfare of their children will not be compromised.

"Hanapan sana ng agarang solusyon ang problema dahil kabuhayan at kapakanan ng ating mga kapwa Pilipino ang nakataya rito," De Lima stressed.

Even while in detention due to fabricated drug charges filed by the Duterte administration, De Lima has authored and co-authored several measures and resolutions advocating women's and children's rights.

She filed Senate Bill No. 1438 seeking to protect women in state custody while she sought Senate inquiries on the increasing cases of child cybersex abuses in the country and the implementation of the GAD plans and programs under the present administration through Senate Resolution No. 945 and 1438, respectively.

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