PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has formed a Cabinet-level committee to draw up an evacuation plan for Filipinos in the Middle East should the increasing tension between the United States (US) and Iran escalate into war, Malacañang said on Tuesday.In a statement, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte issued his directives during the Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Monday night.'The President is gravely concerned with the condition and safety of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, Iran, and nearby Arab countries, as a result of the escalating tension between Iran and the United States of America,' Panelo said.'The Chief Executive articulated before the members of his official family during their 45th Cabinet meeting last night, January 6, his fear for the imminent danger that our countrymen face arising from the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran. He stressed that it is the paramount duty of the government to give protection to the Filipinos whenever their lives are in peril and wherever they are,' he added.Panelo said the new 'special working committee' created by the President will be composed of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.The new group will 'draw up plans and measures for the evacuation of our countrymen,' he added.The President, according to Panelo, has also deployed two emissaries to the Middle East to relay his concern about the safety of Filipinos and coordinate their evacuation in the event that the US-Iran tension escalates into an armed confrontation.'President Duterte likewise tasked Secretary Roy Cimatu, his Special Envoy to the Middle East prior to the latter's appointment at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to fly to the Middle East immediately to establish coordination with the host countries and lay the groundwork for the evacuation,' he said.Cimatu served as the President’s special envoy to the Middle East prior to his appointment to the DENR.'In a parallel move, PRRD (President Duterte) has instructed Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Abdullah Mamao to proceed to Iran and Iraq today to deliver the special messages of the President of the Philippines to the Iranian and Iraqi Governments on the safety of the Filipinos working in the aforesaid countries, specifically conveying his urgent desire that no Filipinos be harmed in the course of the ongoing conflicts,' he added.Panelo said the Armed Forces of the Philippines has also been directed by the President to prepare their air and naval assets for the evacuation of Filipinos.'He stressed that it is the paramount duty of the government to give protection to the Filipinos whenever their lives are in peril and wherever they are,' Panelo said.'PRRD likewise directed the appropriate government instrumentalities to prepare for contingencies that will absorb displaced workers to government projects so as to prevent the economic dislocation of their families upon their return,' he added.The Palace official maintained that the safety of the Filipinos in the Middle East was 'foremost in the mind of the President.''He (Duterte) assures the Filipino community and the nation that the Philippine government is doing everything it can in making sure that our fellow citizens abroad are out of harm’s way,' Panelo said.According to government data, about 1.26 million OFWs in 2018 are in the Middle East or West Asia, which included Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.On Monday, the President called for the establishment of a government standby fund to secure the Filipinos in the Middle East in case the US-Iran tension escalates into a full-blown war.Duterte also suggested to Congress to hold a special session to tackle the welfare of Filipinos in the oil-rich region.The tension between the US and Iran escalated after a targeted airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq killed Iran’s top general, Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Friday.Iran has promised to retaliate against the US for the killing of its top general, saying it was targeting certain American assets as revenge.US President Donald Trump warned that if Iran strikes any American or American asset, 52 Iranian sites, some at very high levels and important to Iran and the Iranian culture, would be targeted in retaliation.'Those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!' Trump said in a tweet.The US President claimed that they spent $2 trillion and said they will not hesitate to send some of their 'brand new beautiful equipment' on Iran’s way if they attack any American or American base.'Should Iran strike any US person or target, the United States will quickly and fully strike back, and perhaps in a disproportionate manner,' Trump said.
