DFA spokesman assures Filipinos in London are safe

Manila, Philippines—After reassuring that the three Filipinos reportedly hurt in the London riot were already out of harm’s way, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said normalcy in the affected cities will return very soon.

“We believe the statement of Prime Minister David Cameron that with the deployment of 16,000 policemen, the situation will be back to normal in the following days,” Hernandez said in an interview with co-anchors Willy Matawaran and Louie Garcia of “In Desk Corner” on 990 AM Radyo Inquirer early Friday morning.

Hernandez added the DFA is in constant communication with the Philippine embassy in London for more updates. He also pointed out the effect on remittances from OFWs in the whole Europe, citing the crises in the global financial markets.

Matawaran asked Hernandez on the situations of our OFWs in Libya and recent invitation of Moammar Gaddafi’s government to send more workers in the war-torn country.

“We still impose the Alert Level 4 in Libya, meaning the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos there. We cannot send our workers anymore for safety concerns,” Hernandez said. He cited the bombings and deaths being shown on cable news channels.

“We also do our own assessment, for now, despite assurances that our workers will be sent to areas far away from the bombings. It’s still better to be safe than sorry,” he said.

Hernandez also tackled the issues on Saudization.

For more, listen to the attached audio clip from 990 AM Radyo Inquirer.