Meanwhile, Philippine National Police Officer-in-Charge Archie Gamboa said they have been tasked by Duterte to monitor possible retaliatory actions from sympathizers in the country.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 6) — The country’s troops are preparing for the possible repatriation of Filipino workers in the Middle East amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday said the country’s top security officials are already devising a plan following the orders from President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday.
“The President has already expressed his instructions, his guidance. The AFP have planned for it. We’re going to give him the details as soon as possible so he’ll be able to give us and tell us what date and time to execute our plan,” AFP spokesperson BGen Edgard Arevalo told CNN Philippines.
He said a Navy asset and three Air Force planes are ready to bring home Filipino workers in the area in the wake of heightened tensions between the US and Iran.
AFP acknowledged the repatriation will be a challenge as this will be the first time the troops will carry out such mission that far away from the Philippines. Commercial planes are typically tapped for repatriation efforts.
“With distance this far, I don’t have in my recollection of such repatriation missions executed… If what is at stake is the welfare of fellow Filipinos then we’re going to embark on this mission and we’ll get this done,” Arevalo said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the government will not forcibly evacuate or repatriate Filipino workers in the Middle East as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated after Washington launched an airstrike that killed Tehran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States committed a “grave mistake” in killing Soleimani and that Americans “will face the consequences of this criminal act not only today, but also in the coming years.”
But US President Donald Trump said on Twitter that Washington has targeted 52 Iranian sites for attacks in case Tehran strikes any American or American assets.
There are 1,006 registered Filipinos in Iran, who are mostly permanent residents with their family members, according to the DFA. It added there are also 50 documented Filipino workers in the country.
The DFA has warned Filipinos against going to Iraq until further notice and told Filipinos who were already in the country to coordinate with the Philippine embassy and their employers in the event there is a need for mandatory evacuation.
The crisis alert level for all areas in Iraq is currently in Alert Level 3 or voluntary repatriation, except in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region which is still under Level 1 or the precautionary phase. There is also an existing ban on deployment of new workers and household workers to Iraq.
There are currently 1,190 documented and 450 undocumented Filipinos in Iraq, according to DFA which cited the Embassy’s latest figures. More than half are in the Kurdistan region while 847 are in the Baghdad area. Most of those in Baghdad are working with US and other foreign facilities, while others are in regular commercial establishments, particularly in Erbil — over 300 kilometers from Baghdad.
