Duterte braces to evacuate Philippine workers in Middle East as US-Iran tensions soar
- The increasingly volatile situation in the Middle East is putting Filipinos in ‘grave peril’, said the president
- The Middle East is the Philippines’ largest destination for land-based workers, with about 1 million Filipinos heading there to work annually
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has 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, reflecting Asia’s growing fears for its citizens in the increasingly volatile Middle East.
“We, Filipinos, are really in grave peril,” Duterte said in a televised speech on Monday. “I am nervous. Iran seems to be bent on a retaliation which I think will come. It’s a matter of time.”
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.
Other Asian nations with large populations of expatriate labour may face similar decisions amid the rapidly escalating tensions between the US and Iran following last week’s American air strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
South Korean government ministries have discussed strengthening protections for the nearly 1,900 South Koreans in Iraq and Iran.
