Duterte to meet 1,400 Filipinos in
Jerusalem; working conditions of OFWs in
Published September 2, 2018, 3:12 PM
JERUSALEM, Israel — President Duterte is
expected to meet some 1,400 Filipinos here
as he kicked off his historical visit to the Holy
Land Sunday evening Israel time.
In an interview with Philippine Ambassador to
Israel Nathaniel Imperial, because of
limitations of space, only around 1,400
Filipinos out of the some 29,000 are expected
to meet the President at the Ramada Hotel in
Jerusalem around 8 p.m. here.
However, he said Filipinos in the Holy Land
are excited to meet the President.
“Well the President won by a landslide in the
last elections in Israel. And they are very
excited,” he said.
Duterte was supposed to make his trip to
Jerusalem last year but had to postpone his
plans due to the war in Marawi City, Lanao
del Sur last year.
“He was supposed to come in May of last
year. But because of the Marawi incident, he
had to postpone his overseas travel,” he said.
“And so this is a fulfillment of that promise.
And they are very excited, they are ecstatic,
and we expect a very good crowd when the
President meets the Filipino community upon
his arrival on Sunday,” he added.
Imperial said that of the 29,000 Filipinos
working and living in Israel, 24,000 of them
are caregivers of the elderly and disabled
children in the Holy Land.
“In a way, you can say that we are helping
Israel cope with an aging population,” he said.
Imperial also commended the working
conditions of overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) in Israel as one of the best in the
Middle East.
“We are very happy to report that the labor
conditions in Israel are some of the best in
the Middle East. Our workers here receive the
highest minimum wage in all of the Middle
East. And they have days off, they have the
right to worship and practice their faith,” he
said.
“As you know this is the Holy Land. It’s a
special place for Filipino Christians and
they’re having a very good time here and
enjoying their work even though it’s a very
difficult and demanding type of work,
caregiving,” he added.
Imperial also said the rights and welfare of
OFWs are being promoted and protected by
the Israeli government, making the job of the
Embassy a lot easier.
“It’s very different from the condition of our
workers in other parts of the Middle East. But
we do provide our regular services to them,”
he said.
Among the services provided by the embassy
are Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar where
OFWs are informed of the unique culture of
the Jews in Israel, and the importance of
respecting their religious practices.
Emergency assistance is also being provided.
Imperial said the Embassy is also helping
negotiate a bilateral labor agreement in Israel
to make sure that OFWs are not charged
illegal and exorbitant, even exploitative,
placement fees and recruitment fees.

According to the Department of Foreign

Affairs (DFA), a memorandum of agreement
on the employment of Filipino caregivers is
one of the accords expected to be signed
during Duterte’s visit here.