DFA ready to repatriate OFWs in Middle East if conflict worsens

With tension escalating between the United States and Iran, President Duterte ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday to prepare for the possible evacuation of Filipinos from the Middle East.

President Duterte met with top police and military officials yesterday afternoon to discuss what steps to take in case tension continues to escalate in Iran and Iraq, where there are 1,600 and 6,000 Filipinos, respectively.

Duterte called an emergency meeting at Malacañang yesterday afternoon with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, newly installed AFP chief Lt. Gen. Felimon Santos Jr. and Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa to discuss contingency plans.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Sunday, January 5, assured that the Philippines is ready to evacuate Filipinos and President Rodrigo Duterte is capable of handling such crisis.

Locsin made the statement in Twitter posts in response to a query on the country’s preparedness to cope with the impact of the conflict.

There are 1,006 registered Filipinos in Iran, who are mostly permanent residents with their family members, according to the DFA. It added there are also 50 documented Filipino workers in the country.

The DFA had warned Filipinos against going to Iraq until further notice and told Filipinos who were already in the country to coordinate with the Philippine embassy and their employers in the event there is a need for mandatory evacuation.

The crisis alert level for all areas in Iraq is currently in Alert Level 3 or voluntary repatriation, except in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region which is still under Level 1 or the precautionary phase. There is also an existing ban on deployment of new workers and household workers to Iraq.

There are currently 1,190 documented and 450 undocumented Filipinos in Iraq, according to DFA which cited the Embassy’s latest figures. More than half are in the Kurdistan region while 847 are in the Baghdad area. Most of those in Baghdad are working with US and other foreign facilities, while others are in regular commercial establishments, particularly in Erbil.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Sunday gave the assurance that migrant Filipino workers in Iran and Iraq who may be repatriated due to the two countries’ rising tensions with the US will get benefits once they return home.