Phl ready to evacuate Filipinos from South Korea

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government expressed readiness on today to evacuate the 40,000 Filipinos in South Korea to the extent of tapping commercial vessels in the event that the recurring tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate further.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the government has just reactivated the contingency plan that it had when the tensions increased in the area sometime in early 2011.

"We consider all options. One of the options will be to employ commercial vessels. You've seen that in the case of our evacuations in Libya, also in Syria, and also earlier in Lebanon," she said in a press briefing.

But Valte said that the government was hoping that the tensions in the Korean Peninsula would not escalate so that evacuation of Filipinos would not be necessary.

"We are one with everybody in hoping that the tensions decrease in that particular area," she said.

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) recently declared that it is in a "state of war" with South Korea.