By John Lester Naguna
MANILA (PIA) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. confirmed Sunday the first Filipino casualty in the ongoing Middle East conflict, pledging full government assistance to the victim’s family.
Marcos identified the victim as Mary Anne Velazquez de Vera, a caregiver from Pangasinan working in Israel, in a video message released Sunday night.
According to reports received by the Philippine government, de Vera was helping her ward reach a bomb shelter when they were caught in an attack before reaching safety.
The President said de Vera’s husband, also an overseas Filipino worker in Israel, identified her remains.
“Lahat po ng tulong na kakailanganin ng kanilang pamilya ay ihahatid ng ating pamahalaan,” Marcos said.
The President said the government continues monitoring the situation of Filipinos in the region as hostilities persist.
Philippine embassies and labor offices in the Middle East are on heightened alert to ensure the safety of overseas Filipinos amid escalating tensions, the government said.
The United States and Israel launched a major military operation against Iran on Saturday, which U.S. President Donald Trump said aimed to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities and neutralize what Washington described as a nuclear threat.
Iran retaliated by firing drones and missiles toward Israel and struck U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, sparking renewed tension and instability in a region with millions of overseas Filipino workers.
The death underscores the risks facing Filipino workers in conflict zones and the Marcos Jr. administration’s ongoing efforts to protect and repatriate citizens from areas affected by military operations. (JLN/PIA-NCR)
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