MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has tasked the Armed Forces of the Philippines to prepare its aircraft and ships in the event of a possible evacuation of Filipinos if tensions escalate between United States and Iran.
Duterte issued the order during an emergency meeting with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and officials of the military and police in Malacañang Sunday night.
“Inalerto niya ang Sandatahang Lakas na lahat ng assets that can be utilized for the evacuation of our countrymen ay ihanda nila,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. “Para any time na may hostilities that will imperil the lives of our countrymen, i-evacuate natin ang ating mga kababayan.”
In a separate statement, the Department of National Defense said the President has tasked the AFP to prepare its air and naval assets to evacuate and bring home our countrymen if and when open hostilities erupt in the Middle East that may endanger their lives.
Based on the data from the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are 1,600 and 6,000 Filipinos currently working and residing in Iran and Iraq, respectively.
The DFA have earlier advised Filipinos to cancel all travel to Iraq as tensions escalate in the region, while Filipinos in Iraq were also “strongly advised” to coordinate closely with the Philippine embassy and their employers in the event that mandatory evacuation would be necessary.
The crisis alert level for all areas in Iraq is currently on Alert Level 3, which prescribes for voluntary repatriation. The Iraqi Kurdistan region, however, remains under Alert Level 1, which is a precautionary phase.
Tensions escalated between the United States and Iran following a US drone strike killed military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Friday.
Iran condemned Donald Trump on Sunday as a “terrorist in a suit” after the US president threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites hard if Tehran attacks Americans or US assets in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani./PN
