Palace: Safety of OFWs top priority amid Saudi-Iran row

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MALACAÑANG on Wednesday said the safety of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East will be the government’s top priority amid the escalating tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said President Benigno Aquino III, in a meeting with the Cabinet and other government officials, ordered concerned agencies to be on the lookout to ensure the safety of Filipino workers torn in the diplomatic row.

“President Aquino directed the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to continue monitoring closely the situation in the Middle East, in view of political tensions in the region. He emphasized that government’s top priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of Filipinos,” Coloma said.

“He said that comprehensive contingency measures must be put in place and implemented with maximum coordination among all concerned agencies,” he added.

The conflict between the two countries worsened following the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran after protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

According to DFA records, more than 800,000 Filipinos are working in Saudi Arabia, 4,000 in Iran, and an estimated 2 million in the entire Middle East.

Present during the said meeting were Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia, Secretaries Edwin Lacierda, Coloma, and Julia Abad, and DFA Undersecretary Jesus Yabes.

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