Palace says PH to back US if Filipinos in Iran are harmed

Panelo said that the President is wary that some Iranians may harm Filipinos in Iran because the Philippines is a close military ally of the United States. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

In the midst of the escalating tensions between Iran and the United States (US), Malacañang stated on Tuesday that President Rodrigo Duterte will side with the US in case Filipinos based in Iran are harmed.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo reveals that the Palace plans to repatriate the Filipinos that are based in Iran and prepares for their evacuation in the event of a military warfare between the US and Iran.

“Hindi tayo magiging (We will not be) neutral. The President was very specific in saying last night that if the Filipinos are harmed, he will side with the Americans,” Panelo said in a news conference.

The spokesperson also said that Duterte “will not sit idly and watch” and directed Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Abdullah Mamao to deliver a “friendly caution” to the Iranian and Iraqi government.

Panelo said that the President is wary that some Iranians may harm Filipinos in Iran because the Philippines is a close military ally of the United States.

“We’re supposedly allied with the Americans, and ‘yung (the) enemies (Iranians) might also attack not only the Americans but also the allies of the Americans,” Panelo explained.

Duterte has expressed his worries on the brewing tension between the US and Iran and has called on Congress and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to prepare funds for the possible repatriation of Filipinos for their security.

“Kinakabahan ako (I am nervous). Iran seems to be hell-bent on a retaliation, which I think will come. It’s a matter of time,” Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang after the signing of the 2020 national budget.

“I do not have anything, nary a worry, were it not for a fact that there are a lot of Filipinos there… We need the money. I need it before it actually starts,” he added.

Asked if it was a change of foreign policy, the spokesperson said, “Hindi naman. Ang sinasabi lang ni Presidente huwag niyong idamay ang aking mga kababayan d’yan (Not really. What the President is saying is that they should not involve our countrymen in the conflict there).”

According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, there are some 1,600 and 6,000 Filipinos in Iran and Iraq, respectively, and at least four million migrant workers in the Middle East.