Worried Filipinos urged the Philippine government to make the protection of lives and welfare of compatriots in countries affected by the US/Israel-Iran war its top priority.
As Iran launched repeated retaliatory salvoes after suffering airstrikes from US and Israel, Migrante-Middle East demanded that the Philippine government implement “immediate, decisive, and fully funded evacuation and protection measures for all Filipinos in affected areas.”
“Safe shelters, accessible communication channels, swift documentation processing, and unconditional repatriation must be guaranteed,” the Filipino group said.
With more than two million Filipinos in the region, Migrante-Middle East said the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government must go beyond “advising” compatriots to “limit their movements.”
The group said Philippine authorities must put in place repatriation plans throughout the region as the war shows no signs of de-escalation.
“We are deeply concerned about the rapidly escalating conflict between Israel-USA on one hand, and Iran on the other, which endangers the lives and limbs of more than two million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East,” it said.
It said repatriated workers must be provided with substantial financial aid, livelihood assistance, and long-term reintegration support.
The group added that the Filipinos in the region are victims twice over by the war.
“These OFWs left the Philippines because of landlessness, unemployment, lack of job opportunities, and poverty at home, but now find themselves trapped in a wars they did not choose,” Migrante-Middle East said.
“We are reminded now that it is ordinary people, not the war-makers, who greatly suffer in times of conflict,” it added.
The group also stressed the Philippine government scrap its labor export policy and instead focus on creating decent jobs and opportunities within the country.
“It is high time for the [Philippine] government to prioritize the welfare of its citizens by ending the reliance on overseas employment and investing in local industries that can provide sustainable livelihood for all Filipinos,” it said.
Oppose another US war
An international alliance of Filipino activists echoed Migrante-Middle East’s calls, pointing out that working peoples bear the brunt of the “US-Israel instigated war.”
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said in its condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s “major combat operations” that Filipino migrants, local families and children waking to sirens are paying the price for Washington’s wars.
It also called on Filipinos to intensify their opposition to the expansion of US military bases in the Philippines in anticipation of a shooting war against rival China.
“The $144 million in new US military funding and the deployment of intermediate-range missile systems like Typhon on our soil directly implicate the Philippines in Washington’s aggressive stance against its geopolitical rivals, including Iran,” BAYAN said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
