The Philippines is preparing to evacuate thousands of Filipinos working in the Middle East as regional tensions rise following the killing of a top Iranian commander by the U.S.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo on Tuesday said this in Manila.
About 2.3 million people from the Philippines are working in the Middle East as domestic helpers, construction workers, engineers, and nurses.
Duterte has ordered the armed forces to prepare air and naval assets for the evacuation of Filipinos in Iraq, Iran, and nearby Arab countries, Panelo said.
Duterte told reporters he sent a special envoy to Tehran and Baghdad to get assurances that Filipinos would be provided safe passage in case of evacuation as he is deeply worried about the prospect of a ‘Protracted war’
“We have so many Filipinos working mainly in the Middle East. I am nervous. Iran seems to be hell-bent on retaliation, which I think, will come,” Duterte said in a speech on Monday.
There are close to 7,000 Filipinos working and living in Iraq and more than 1,000 in Iran, according to government data.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who heads a newly created committee to prepare the evacuation, said the government is readying aircraft to ferry Filipinos in Iraq and Iran who wish to come home or be evacuated to safer areas.
“We can send transportation to fetch them,” Lorenza said, adding that hiring a cruise ship was among the things the government was considering to safely evacuate those who would wish to be repatriated.
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