By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – Locations for possible “staging area” are now being finalized should evacuations be ordered for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East which is now caught in a conflict following the U.S. and Israel joint strike in Iran last weekend.
“Again the moment (these plans) are finalized the appropriate information will be released,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea and Inspector General, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, said Wednesday when asked whether the government has identified possible sites where Filipinos wanting to go home can gather safely for repatriation.
There are around 2 million OFWs in the Middle East as of this posting.
Without giving specifics, he added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has a lot of contingency plans for this matter.
“We are constantly updating them in the event that we would need to come in to provide expertise through planners when it comes to expatriation of our OFWs in the Middle East or any other conflict area if needed around the world. It is too early to discuss details of that but rest assured that we have our complans (comprehensive plans) which we are constantly updating,” Trinidad added.
Earlier, the government said that funds are already in place to assist OFWs wanting to be repatriated from the Middle East. (PNA)
