Philippine closely monitoring situation in Iraq, Libya

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is closely monitoring the situation in Iraq and Libya following recent developments seen to have escalated tensions in the region.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has urged Filipinos to cancel, until further notice, any travel to Iraq after the United States killed a top Iranian official in Baghdad’s international airport on Friday.

While direct conflict between the US and Iran is presently unlikely, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Ed Meñez said the government is monitoring the situation in Iraq and is ready to send a rapid response team if needed.

“Filipinos in Iraq are strongly advised to coordinate closely with the Philippine embassy and their employers in the event that mandatory evacuation becomes necessary,” he said.

Latest figures from the embassy showed that there are 1,190 documented and 450 undocumented Filipinos in Iraq.

More than half are located in the relatively safer Kurdistan region, while around 847 are based in the Baghdad area.

Many of the Filipinos working in the Iraqi capital are with the US and other foreign facilities, according to the DFA.

All areas in Iraq are currently under Alert Level 3 or voluntary repatriation, except in the Kurdistan region, which is under Alert Level 1 or the precautionary phase.

Tensions in the region have significantly escalated after the US confirmed killing top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike in Baghdad on Friday.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “severe revenge” for Soleimani’s death.

Meanwhile in Libya, new skirmishes in the capital of Tripoli prompted the DFA to tell Filipinos to avoid and, if necessary, evacuate areas close to where fighting is taking place.

The Philippine embassy in Tripoli issued the appeal after eight Filipino nurses were evacuated Thursday afternoon from a clinic where intense clashes have taken place.

Chargé d’Affaires Elmer Cato said the embassy is ready to assist other Filipinos in relocating to safer areas, so long as the situation on the ground would allow its rescue teams to reach them.

The DFA said more than 20 Filipinos have recently evacuated from their residences in Salahuddin District, with Cato saying that the embassy is ready to provide temporary shelter to those who will be displaced due to ongoing clashes.

“The embassy will also continue to assist Filipinos who may want to avail of repatriation,” said the DFA. “Three Filipinos have so far requested assistance in returning to the Philippines since the start of the year.”

A total of 149 were repatriated last year from Libya, which is currently under Alert Level 4 or mandatory evacuation.

Threat of retaliation

A senior Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) anti-terror official, who asked not to be named, said Iran is likely to tap its global terror networks to avenge the death of Soleimani.

The AFP official, whose unit is actively monitoring terror activities here and abroad, said Iran’s threat to launch retaliatory attacks against US targets will not come in the form of conventional or unconventional warfare but through acts of terrorism.

“While we are miles away, there might be some troubles coming our way in the future as Iran, in most likelihood, will resort to launching intense terror attacks and other forms of atrocities against the US and allied states across the globe,” the senior army official said.

He added, “Most likely, Iran’s media declaration that it will avenge the death of its top general, Qassem Soleimani, will be in the form of terrorism, and terrorism is a threat to the Philippines.”

Escape plan sought

Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philipines (TUCP) yesterday urged President Duterte to come up with an evacuation plan, in advance, for some 1.2 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East.

“With these inauspicious fast turning of events, the fate of our OFWs in the Middle East now hangs uncertain. With the growing instability in that region, there is an urgent need for a Philippine government escape plan that takes every OFW from harm’s way either by land, sea or air,” TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.

Mendoza added Duterte should “convene a multi-agency government panel that would devise an early escape plan which would lead or supervise a possible relocation or repatriation of our OFWs before they are directly affected by the escalating armed conflict in the region.”

He said the plan should also include sending an advance notice to the OFWs and “allay anxiety among them and their families back at home.”

The sentiment was echoed by ACT-CIS Rep. Niña Taduran, who said tensions in the Middle East are expected to escalate and result in retaliatory attacks, hike in oil prices and possible job losses.

“We should prioritize the safety of our OFWs in the Middle East should there be a retaliation after the death of Iran’s commander of the elite Quds forces,” the lawmaker suggested.

Militant lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc led by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate shared this view and also believed that the tension would escalate and could have repercussions for the Philippines.

Zarate agreed that it could also lead to higher oil prices, higher prices of basic goods and services and higher poverty incidence.

With these, the progressive lawmakers condemned the US airstrike.

“This ill-considered action is emblematic of US imperialist terrorism and blatant disregard for the sovereignty of other countries,” said the progressive solon.

“US President Trump’s inane and reckless act seems to be aimed to deflect the domestic issues he is facing but may have very serious economic, political and military implications not just for the Philippines but for the whole world,” he lamented.

Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev – in an interview at Camp Aguinaldo where he attended yesterday’s military command turnover rites – described the US drone attack as “irresponsible and highly dangerous.”

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that while the US killing of Soleimani has no immediate impact in the country, the defense and military sectors are closely watching security developments in the Middle East. – With Jaime Laude, Edu Punay, Sheila Crisostomo