Philippines Orders Its Citizens In Middle East To Evacuate After Iran Missile Attack

Thousands of Filipino foreign workers are being ordered to leave the Middle East as a precaution against expected Iranian retaliation over the American led drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3. Iran has already attacked two bases in Iraq housing American troops.

Eduardo Menez, a spokesperson at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said, “The Alert Level in the entire Iraq has been raised to Alert Level 4 calling for mandatory evacuation.”

During a speech on Monday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said, “We have so many Filipinos working mainly in the Middle East. I am nervous. Iran seems to be hell-bent on a retaliation, which I think will come.”

On Tuesday, Duterte spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the president ordered his armed forces to prepare air and naval assets for the evacuation of Filipinos in Iraq, Iran and nearby Arab countries. The president himself told reporters he had sent a special envoy to Tehran and Baghdad to get assurances that Filipinos would be provided safe passage in case of evacuation.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the government is readying aircraft to ferry Filipinos in Iraq and Iran who wish to come home or be evacuated to safer areas. He said, “We can send transportation to fetch them,” and added that the use of a cruise ship was one option under consideration to relocate the workers.

The mandatory evacuation will undoubtably affect many Filipino families that depend on funds sent home by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Out of a population of about 105 million, over 2 million work outside the country with most of them in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait. The evacuation affects about 7,000 OFWs in Iraq and an estimated 1,000 still in Iran.

The OFWs include domestic helpers, construction workers, engineers and nurses who get paid about double what they would get in the Philippines if they could even find an equivalent job. Housing and medical care and sometime a meal allowance are usually paid by the employer allowing them to send a substantial amount home to support their families.

All eyes will be on U.S President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhaniin the next few days and weeks. Trump is in the beginning of an election year and is facing a Senate impeachment trial. Rouhani will need the approval of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, the ultimate political and religious authority in Iran, on any major decision.