MANILA – The Philippine government maintained its Alert Level 2 status for Israel in light of the retaliatory strike made by Iran over the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
Alert Level 2 is being issued if there are real threats to the life, security, and property of Filipinos arising from internal disturbance, instability, or external threat.
On Wednesday morning, the DFA stated that the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv is recommending all non-essential travel from the Philippines to Israel be postponed indefinitely.
“The Philippine Government confirms that its previous declaration of Alert Level 2 for the State of Israel, restricting further deployments of overseas Filipino workers there, remains in place,” the DFA said.
If travel to Israel is absolutely necessary, Filipinos should “follow all precautions,” it added.
“Filipinos in Israel are also advised to be alert and updated with the security pronouncements of host governments,” the DFA stressed.
For contingency planning purposes, they are encouraged to coordinate with their overseas community leaders and our Philippine embassies or consulates, the DFA continued.
The DFA has issued an Alert Level 2 status in Israel in October last year following the attack of Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Recently, the Philippine government, through DFA, has expressed concern over the tensions between Israel and Iran and urged parties to work on resolving the conflict.
“We urge all parties to refrain from escalating the situation and to work towards a peaceful resolution of their conflict,” the DFA said in an earlier statement.
The DFA earlier said it is ready to provide assistance for the possible repatriation of Filipinos amid the ongoing tension between Israel and Iran, where there are about 30,000 and 2,000 Filipinos, respectively./PN
