ILOILO – A 34-year-old Ilongga overseas Filipino worker (OFW) expressed relief that she made it home safe. The situation in Lebanon is worsening, she said.
“I will never forget the moment one Friday when missiles passed by our (residential) building, targeting a Hezbollah leader. We heard loud explosions,” said Donna Jean Gabasa-Berniz, a resident of Barangay Botlog, Concepcion, Iloilo.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist organization based in Lebanon that the Israeli military has vowed to crush for supporting Hamas, a Gaza Strip-based terror group which has vowed to annihilate the Jewish state.
Gabasa-Berniz had been working as a domestic help for 10 years in Hadath, a municipality that borders the southern periphery of the Lebanese capital Beirut and is considered part of its metropolitan area. She returned to Iloilo on Tuesday, October 15.
Around 11:30 p.m. that Friday, according to Gabaza-Berniz., they were warned to evacuate “because our area was the next target.”
“We hurriedly left the building. The fear and anxiety were overwhelming. We were given just two hours to evacuate,” she said.
Less than two hours after they left their residential building, the bombing began, an emotional Gabasa-Berniz recounted during a media interview at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol on Wednesday morning, October 16, alongside her husband, Eladio Berniz.
Gabasa-Berniz is the first Ilongga OFW repatriated from Lebanon with the assistance of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Iloilo provincial government through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) – Iloilo Province.
She said she decided to return home because Hadath had become unsafe due to Israeli military airstrikes targeting Hezbollah.
Gabasa-Berniz proceeded to the Philippine Embassy, where she was placed in a shelter.
She briefly returned to her employer’s house, only to find the area in ruins, with buildings destroyed by the bombing, including her employer’s home.
Despite the devastation, Gabasa-Berniz said her employer and their family were safe and had also sought refuge in a shelter.
Grateful for her early return to the Philippines, Gabasa-Berniz said, “I’m happy because the anxiety is gone. Every day, it was hard to work because of the constant fear.”
“I’m thankful to the government for bringing her home safely,” said her husband, Eladio.
What assistance will the provincial government provide?
According to PESO-Iloilo acting head Cynthia Parcon-Dario, Gabasa-Berniz is eligible to receive P10,000 in financial assistance for repatriated OFWs.
In addition, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. has ordered that all available assistance be extended to Gabasa-Berniz.
As of now, 85 Ilonggo OFWs in Lebanon have been profiled by PESO, with most of them marked safe. However, Dario noted that more Ilonggo OFWs are expected to be returning home in the coming days as the national government’s repatriation program continues./PN