Leave Iran, Iraq now, Duterte orders Pinoys
Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2020 16:31:55 +0000
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos in Iraq and Iran as tensions between Washington and Tehran continued to escalate, his spokesman announced on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, Salvador Panelo said the Philippine government intends to move Filipinos from Iraq and Iran to a safe place, possibly Qatar.
“The President has ordered the mandatory evacuation of all Filipinos in those areas to put them in safety, out of harm’s way. That’s precisely why the two members of the Cabinet were sent there to liaison with the host country, to prepare for the repatriation of our countrymen,” Panelo added during a media interview in Malacañang.
“They have to be in a safe place, in a secure place. Pinagpipilian yata nila (I heard that they are choosing) Qatar and other places,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday confirmed the highest threat alert was raised in Iraq over the escalating US-Iran tensions.
“As a result of the government’s coordination meetings on the situation in the Middle East in the past few days, the alert level in the entire Iraq has been raised to alert level 4 calling for mandatory evacuation,” according to the DFA.
Alert level 4 is issued when there is large-scale internal conflict or a full-blown external attack, it said.
Citing a statement of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Panelo said the government had already deployed a ship to assist in the repatriation of Filipinos in the Middle East.
“Per Secretary Lorenzana, there is ship, which we recently bought, coming from Malta and is already on its way to the Middle East. And then we have three frigates going to the same direction to secure that ship. And there are also 200 ships ready to go,” he added.
“The instruction [of the President] has not changed. It is the repatriation of the Filipinos in the areas of conflict. Right now, the concern is the evacuation of the Filipinos to a safe place,” the Palace spokesman said.
Speaking to reporters also on Wednesday, Lorenzana said two battalions each coming from the Philippine Marine Corps and the Special Operations Command would be deployed to the Middle East for the repatriation effort.
But he clarified that the troops would not be sent out “to engage in combat [with] anybody” and would only be there to assist in the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially those in Iraq.
Lorenzana said the Philippines was still in the planning stage for the deployment while DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. was still negotiating with other countries for documents required for the entry of soldiers and military logistics.
“[We are prioritizing] those in Iraq since this is a challenge and because some Filipinos don’t want to leave their jobs, because they also asked what they are going to do in the Philippines,” he added.
“Hopefully, we will be able to convince them to return to the Philippines if their lives are indeed at risk,” Lorenzana said.
He pointed out that combat soldiers were tapped because they could defend themselves when ambushed by hostile forces.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the country’s first-ever offshore patrol vessel (OPV) was all set for its first-ever mission — repatriation of the OFWs in the Middle East.
The OPV can ferry approximately 500 people at one time and is more than capable to perform beyond its contractual specification of 20 knots.
It has a range of 8,000 nautical miles at 15 knots and an endurance of up to five weeks of operation.
The OPV has an excellent seakeeping ability and maneuverability on top of the great comfort it offers for people onboard.
“Rest assured that the PCG will ensure the safety of our OFWs,” PCG Admiral Joel Garcia said.
Armed Forces chief Felimon Santos Jr. said they were awaiting approval diplomatic clearances so they could position their troops and assets in their recommended locations.
Among countries that the Philippines will be asking for clearances are Saudi Arabia and Qatar, according to Santos.
Though he admitted that risks are expected for Philippine troops since Manila is an ally of Washington, Santos said he had considered these risks “very little,” adding that “Iran would not like to involve other countries just like what they did this morning [to a US presence in bases in Iraq].”
The tensions between the US and Iran continued after a targeted airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq killed Iran’s top general, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, on Friday.
Locsin said the Philippine Embassy in Washington had reported that no Filipinos were hurt in Iran’s missile attack on two military bases in Iraq housing American troops.
“So far [Philippine Embassy in the] US said no Filipinos found to have been hurt. But search and damage assessment not complete. [Report came] From Washington DC PE (Philippine Embassy),” Locsin said on Twitter.
The Philippine Embassy in Baghdad has been tasked to effect the mandatory evacuation of Filipinos estimated to be around 1,640 in that country.
“In accordance with the instructions of [President Duterte], Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu is set to go to the Middle East to oversee the repatriation,” the DFA said.
There are about 450 undocumented and 1,190 documented Filipinos in the region, it added.
“More than half are found in the relatively safer Kurdistan region and around 847 in the Baghdad area,” according to the DFA.
“In Baghdad area, many working with US and other foreign facilities, in other areas, particularly in Erbil, in regular commercial establishments,” it said.
The embassy has suspended the consular mission to Erbil from January 9 to 12 until further notice.
Filipinos in Iraq were requested to check the mission’s advisories.
“Filipinos in Iraq are strongly advised to coordinate closely with the Philippine Embassy and their employers in the event mandatory evacuation will be necessary,” the embassy said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) assured that the government has enough funds for the repatriation of the OFWs in the Middle East.
During the weekly economic news briefing in Malacañang, Budget Assistant Secretary Rolando Toledo said the government could tap funds from the 2020 appropriation of the DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which could total around P1.8 billion.
The DBM official said the P13-billion contingent fund in the 2020 budget might also be utilized subject to the approval of the President.
The Department of Finance is looking into possible funds from other sources, he added.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) is eyeing alternative labor markets that can absorb the OFWs from the Middle East.
In a news conference also on Wednesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said negotiations were in progress for deployment of Filipino workers to other countries.
“We are now working out for alternative markets just in case we have to repatriate two million plus OFWs. We are already fast-tracking negotiations with alternative countries to deploy them, like China. Russia, Canada, Germany and Japan,” Bello added.
There are 2, 174,611 documented Filipino workers in the Middle East, including Israel, but with most of them in Saudi Arabia.
For the OFWs who would prefer to go home, Bello said an alternative livelihood program has been prepared for them by
Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Emmanuel Piñol in coordination with the OWWA.
In the Senate, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the chamber’s economic affairs committee, called on the government to closely monitor the movement of prices of various commodities amid the US-Iran tensions.
He said the latest developments in the Middle East could possibly affect local oil prices and trigger the rise in prices of commodities in the country.
WITH REPORTS FROM DEMPSEY REYES, BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO, WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL, RAFFY AYENG AND JAVIER JOE ISMAEL