Push Admin

Filipinos in Iraq to be repatriated; highest crisis alert raised

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/01/04/20200104-iraq-1.jpg"/><figcaption>People gather at the funeral of the Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, top commander of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, January 4, 2020. <em>Wissm al-Okili, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — The Philippines will repatriate its nationals in Iraq after the killing of an Iranian general in a US drone strike there stoked fresh tensions, authorities said Wednesday.</p><p>The Philippine Embassy in Iraq said it raised the highest in a 4-step crisis alert system, which called for a mandatory repatriation of Filipinos.</p><p>Alert Level 4 is issued &quot;when there is large-scale internal conflict or full-blown external attack,&quot; according to the Department of Foreign Affairs website.</p><p>&quot;Magkakaroon na po ng forced evacuation d&#x27;yan (there will be a forced evacuation there),&quot; Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello added in a DZMM interview.</p><p>Filipinos in Iraq should keep their passport at all times and coordinate closely with the embassy and their respective employers, said Chargé d’Affaires Jomar Sadie in a live video on the embassy&#x27;s official Facebook page.</p><p>An exit visa and ticket, which must be secured through employers, are needed during the repatriation, he said.</p><p>&quot;Kung walang employer o biktima ng human trafficking, tumawag sa amin para matulungan namin kayo o pumunta directly sa embassy,&quot; Sadie advised.</p><p>(If you have no employer or you&#x27;re a victim of human trafficking, call us so we can help you or go directly to the embassy.)</p><p>Overseas Filipino workers may reach the embassy at hotline numbers 07816066822, 07516167838, 07518764665 and 07508105240; via email through baghdad.pe@dfa.gov.ph or mbaphilbaghdad.secretary1@gmail.com; and its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PHinIraq/?ref=br_rs" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</p><p>There are some 1,600 Filipinos in Iraq, a defense official earlier said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OjMnAOlQwZ0?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Bello said he would also send 2 officials to neighboring Saudi and Kuwait to brief Filipinos on what to do should tensions in the Middle East escalate.</p><p>About a quarter of the total 2.3 million OFWs are in Saudi, while Kuwait hosts 262,000 Filipinos, according to government data.</p><p>In response to last week&#x27;s killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, Tehran on Wednesday <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/08/20/iran-launches-missiles-on-iraq-base-housing-us-troops-state-tv" target="_blank">fired &quot;more than a dozen&quot; ballistic missiles</a> against 2 airbases in Iraq where US and coalition forces are based, the Pentagon said.</p><p>There were no immediate reports of casualties at the bases.</p><p>The attacks came after pro-Tehran factions in Iraq had vowed to &quot;respond&quot; to a US drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad last week.</p><p>Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq&#x27;s Hashed al-Shaabi military network, was killed in the US drone strike alongside Soleiman, seen as the &quot;godfather&quot; of Tehran&#x27;s proxy network across the region.</p><div><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Alert level 4 has been raised over Iraq amid rising tension following the United States' killing of an Iranian military commander, the Philippine Embassy in Iraq said early Wednesday (Manila time).</p>

Alert level 4 has been raised over Iraq amid rising tension following the United States' killing of an Iranian military commander, the Philippine Embassy in Iraq said early Wednesday (Manila time).