Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr wants to make sure Filipinos in the Middle East are safe, Malacañang said Monday, March 2, after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
US-Israeli attacks on Saturday, Feb. 28, also killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran retaliated with missiles against Israel and other Gulf countries hosting US bases.
“Sa ngayon, ang inuuna ng pangulo ang mga kalagayan ng kababayan,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said when asked of Marcos’ personal stance on the conflict.
[Translation: For now, the president’s priority is the condition of our countrymen.]
“Ang pangulo naman ay laging sa rule of law, laging pagtupad at pagpapa-enforce ng international law. In general, ganun ang pananaw ng pangulo,” she said.
[Translation: The president is always for the rule of law, the enforcement of international law. In general, that’s the view of the president.]
More than 2.4 million Filipinos are working and living in the Middle East, including an estimated 975,000 in the United Arab Emirates, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Philippines, a major ally of the US in Asia, has expressed concern about “the escalation of the situation in the Middle East region and calls on all parties to resort immediately to dialogue and negotiations to bring peace and stability to the region,” the DFA said Saturday.
Marcos announced on Sunday that an overseas Filipino worker was killed in Israel amid Iran’s retaliatory attack.
Mary Ann de Vera, a 32-year-old caregiver, was assisting her elderly ward to a bomb shelter when she was hit with shrapnel.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said they have contacted the family and De Vera’s husband, who is also a worker in Israel, and assured them of coordination in the repatriation of her remains.
The government is facing difficulties as Israel closed its airspace.
Cacdac said the government is not yet conducting a mass repatriation for Filipinos in the Middle East.
