Thursday, January 08, 2009 RP joins calls for truce between Israel, Hamas
THE Philippines joined the United Nations (UN) in calling for the silencing of the guns and the observance of a truce between Israel and the Hamas, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Wednesday.
Ermita, in a briefing at the Mabini Hall in Malacañang, said the Philippines is among the signatories to the UN and it goes along the international body's call to "stop the violence that they (Israel and Hamas) inflict on each other so that peace will be attained."
He hoped that a ceasefire would soon be in effect and observed properly.
He added that the Philippines, not being a stranger to violence, knows the importance of peace which is why locally the country has been trying to talk peace for the last 40 years with groups fighting the government in hopes of reaching an agreement soon.
Ermita said violations of a ceasefire could be considered as normal as it is the "nature of conflict. We have just live with it, and with God's help we will be able to sustain the yearning for peace so there will be peace in the world."
Vice President Noli De Castro, in a statement, reassured that the Philippine government is doing all it can to ensure that Filipinos caught in the Gaza crossfire will be extracted safely to Jordan regardless of the cost that it entails.
De Castro issued the statement after the evacuation of Filipinos living in Gaza had been postponed for the last two days due to heavy fighting occurring in the area.
“Every postponement of evacuation would necessarily follow rebooking fees for the flight tickets obtained for the supposed 69 Filipinos to be repatriated to Manila. But of course, we all agree that the lives of Filipinos far outweigh any operational cost. What is important is the safety and welfare of Filipinos in Gaza. The cost is not an issue,” he said.
“As of date, extraction operation is being handled very carefully by our embassy officials there. I enjoin the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and our embassy officials to closely coordinate with the Red Cross office in Gaza to safely implement our evacuation plans,” he added.
Special envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu, who is now in Jordan, had already been instructed by DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo to assist the Philippine Embassy officials in Tel Aviv in the extraction.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said the Philippine government has been warning Filipinos living in the Gaza Strip since November 2008 on the danger stemming from the Israel-Hamas conflict, but they have appeared to have been "complacent" due to the observance of a ceasefire. (JMR/Sunnex)
