DAVAO CITY —- President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday, January5, convened the officials from the security sector at the Malacañan Palace to discuss matters regarding the country’s contingency measures to ensure the safety of Filipinos based in the Middle East.
During the meeting, Duterte ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines 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.”
Tension gripped between the United States and Iran after General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, the wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for military activities outside Iran, was killed in a United States air strike in Baghdad last Friday.
The death of Soleimani has triggered condemnation among leaders.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei warned that “a harsh retaliation is waiting” .
Meanwhile, Pope Francis during the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican appealed for self-control as he called on the leaders of US and Iran to dialogue “I call on all sides to keep the flame of dialogue and self-restraint alight and ward off the shadow of hostility.”
The Pope said “War only brings death and destruction.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, January 3, in an advisory called on all Filipinos to cancel, until further notice, any travel to Iraq in view of the current situation in the country.
Filipinos in Iraq are strongly advised to coordinate closely with the Philippine Embassy and their employers in the event mandatory evacuation will be necessary, the DFA stressed.
Duterte ordered concerned agencies to prepare for any eventualities and possible impact on the country. -EZC
