MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte will side with the United States in the event Filipinos based in the Middle East are harmed amid the heightened tension between the US and Iran, his spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
“Hindi tayo magiging neutral. The President was very specific in saying that if Filipinos are harmed, he will side with the Americans,” Panelo said Tuesday, adding the country is bracing to evacuate its workers in Iraq and Iran should violence break out, which was brought about by the death of Iran top general Qasem Soleimani due to US airstrike.
There are some 1,600 and 6,000 Filipinos in Iran and Iraq, respectively, and at least 4 million migrant workers in the Middle East, according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
“Kung papatayin ang Filipinos, gusto mong sabihin, hindi na tayo iimik? Eh ang kalaban nila Amerikano. Kaya nila gagawin ‘yun, dahil kakampi tayo ng Amerikano,” Panelo said.
On Monday, Duterte called an emergency meeting at Malacañang with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, newly installed Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Lietenant General Felimon Santos Jr. and Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lieutenant General Archie Gamboa to discuss contingency plans.
The President ordered the military to prepare to deploy its aircraft and ships “at any moment’s notice” to evacuate thousands of Filipino workers in Iraq and Iran should violence break out.
The Middle East is the Philippines’ largest destination for land-based workers with deployment at more than 1 million annually, according to latest government data. The region also is the second-largest source of cash remittances from overseas Filipinos, based on central bank data./PN
