The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Saturday that it is closely monitoring potential security threats in the Middle East as the first anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel approaches, which ignited the ongoing Gaza conflict.
“Either Israel will do something symbolic, or the other side will,” said DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega during a media forum in Quezon City.
DFA Assistant Secretary Marlo Miranda also urged Filipinos in the region to stay vigilant and to regularly check with the Philippine embassy for the latest safety advisories.
“The ambassadors and our colleagues in the Middle East, those affected countries… nagmamanman sila, tinitignan kung ano yung mga senyales na may puputok.
Sa mga ganung pagkakataon, yung advisories pa rin ng mga embahada natin doon ang aasahan ng mga Pilipino,” said Miranda.
(Our ambassadors and colleagues in affected Middle Eastern countries are monitoring the situation and watching for signs of trouble.
In such cases, Filipinos should rely on embassy advisories.)
Despite the heightened concerns, De Vega expressed confidence in Israel’s ability to safeguard itself and the 30,000 Filipinos residing there.
“They even feel more safe in Israel because they have the defense mechanism necessary to repel all these missile attacks,” he said.
Meanwhile, over 100 Filipinos are set to be repatriated from Lebanon in stages, starting October 11 through October 28, as Israel’s bombardment continues.
This group includes 15 Filipinos whose original September 26 flight was twice postponed.
The DFA affirmed its readiness to assist even undocumented Filipinos, including those whose passports have been confiscated by their employers.
“Kung walang passport, we can always issue travel documents for them to go home,” De Vega assured.
(If they don’t have passports, we can issue travel documents for their return.)
However, De Vega noted that most Filipinos in Lebanon are choosing to stay.
“If they say they want to stay, we will respect that because it’s not yet a full-scale war like in Sudan or Ukraine.
They’re still receiving their salaries and maintaining their jobs,” he said.
At this time, the DFA is not considering raising the alert to Level 4, which would trigger mandatory evacuation.
“Israel has not conducted a full-scale ground assault like we’ve seen in ‘82 or 2006… Of course, we need prayers that, as we’ve analyzed, this will not escalate,” said De Vega.
He also confirmed that Filipinos in southern Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have been concentrated, have already been evacuated.
The DFA is also weighing the concerns of other OFWs in Lebanon, who fear that if they are forcibly evacuated, they might not be able to return to their jobs after the conflict ends.