18 OFWs from Israel Avail of Voluntary Repatriation Program
Welfare Officer Dina Ponciano (second from left) answers questions from repatriates on arrival procedures at NAIA as they wait to check-in. (Tel-Aviv PE photo)
TEL-AVIV 27 November 2020 – A total of 18 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Israel availed themselves of the Voluntary Repatriation Program (VRP) of Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) and returned to the Philippines on 23 November 2020, safely-arriving in Manila on 24 November 2020.
The OFWs were assisted by Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv’s Welfare Officer Dina Ponciano and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrative Assistant Antonio Sanchez. One of the repatriates is a cancer patient who was finally given clearance to travel to be with her family in the Philippines.
“Thanks to the open and direct communication between the Embassy and PIBA, our overstaying nationals in Israel who expressed their intention to go home to the Philippines for good have been able to do so through the VRP,” said Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv Chargé d’Affaires Consul Reichel Quiñones.
On 01 and 05 October 2020, two groups of 53 and 36 Filipinos were earlier repatriated to the Philippines through the VRP, respectively.
The VRP is an on-going program of PIBA intended to provide assistance to foreign nationals who have overstayed in Israel and wish to return to their home countries. Its grantees are exempt from arrest and detention, and are provided free tickets to the Philippines.
The Embassy encourages Filipinos without a valid visa to contact the Embassy for guidance and information on the VRP, as well as the Philippine government’s reintegration programs for returning Filipinos via landline at 054-466-11-88 or email the Embassy’s Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Section at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., subject line: VRP. END
Welfare Officer Dina Ponciano and a medical officer attend to a cancer patient joining the voluntary repatriation program. (Tel-Aviv PE photo)
For more information, visit https://www.telavivpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.org.il or https://www.facebook.com/PHinIsrael/.