MANILA, Jan 13 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines will send two military ships, with “a small contingent of unarmed servicemen,” to help repatriate Filipino workers in the Middle East, Philippine Defence Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana said, on Sunday night.
Lorenzana told reporters that, Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, ordered the deployment of two battalions of troops to the Middle East, to help repatriate thousands of Filipino migrant workers in the region, amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
He changed his statement, however, saying the Philippines is no longer sending two battalions of troops, after meeting with his colleagues in the foreign and labour departments.
“It may not be wise to send uniformed servicemen to the Middle East, due to the sensitivities of the countries there,” Lorenzana said in a statement, late on Sunday night.
“Hence, it was agreed that we recommend the sending of a small contingent of servicemen instead of two battalions, but they will be in civilian attire and will not be armed should they be needed on the ground,” he said.
Lorenzana said, Duterte approved the changes when he discussed the developments during their meeting.
Already, Lorenzana said, the Philippine Navy is preparing two ships to sail for the Middle East.
The Middle East is home to over 2.1 million Filipinos, who are legally working in that region. Philippine officials said, the number could be more as thousands more illegally sneaked into the region to work.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said, Iraq is home to 450 undocumented and 1,190 documented Filipinos. “More than half are found in the relatively safer Kurdistan region and around 847 in the Baghdad area,” it said.
Last Saturday, Arsenio Andolong, the spokesperson for the Philippine Department of National Defence, issued a statement saying, the situation in the Middle East remains unstable. “Our contingencies for massive repatriation are still placing,” he added.
Andolong said, 14 Filipinos had agreed to be repatriated. He added that a Philippine Coast Guard ship is in Malta “and ready to sail anytime to nearby countries, where Filipinos are in danger, to ferry them to safer areas.”– NNN-PNA