RP urges workers in Iraq not to panic

RP urges workers in Iraq not to panic

PHILIPPINES: Manila is closely monitoring the situation in Iraq amid rumors of a possible military strike by the U.S. and has prepared contingency plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Filipinos working the Middle East, the presidential palace said on Sunday.

"The families of the country's overseas workers in the region should not panic," a palace statement quoted Foreign Secretary Blas Ople as saying.

He said that all Philippine embassies and consular posts will immediately activate contingency plans to provide for the "safety and protection of all Filipino nationals in the Middle East," once an alarm has been raised.

The government also noted that the large concentration of Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia were also not in immediate danger since Saudi officials have assured the government that the kingdom was beyond the reach of Iraqi Scud missiles, the statement said.

About 25,000 Filipinos working in the region were repatriated during the 1991 Gulf War. --AFP