Contingency plans in place in case of Korean conflict – PHL envoy



Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul Hernandez said on Tuesday that contingency plans for the repatriation of Filipinos were in place in case fighting broke out on the peninsula.
"The plan involves several exit points in the south where our kababayans will be picked up for repatriation to our country," Hernandez explained.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) estimated that there were more than 65,000 Filipinos in South Korea.
"We constantly update the plan which entails coordination with our area coordinators and Filipino community leaders," the envoy added.
Tensions in the Korean peninsula rose after North Korea tested a ballistic missile and US President Donald Trump responded with threats of "fire and fury."
Nevertheless, Hernandez said it was "business as usual in [South] Korea."
"Filipinos here are monitoring the situation and are constantly in touch with the Embassy for new developments," the ambassador added.
On Tuesday, Filipinos and government officials living in Guam expressed relief, while remaining alert, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would wait and see before firing any missiles.
Hernandez had spoken with DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano over the phone on Sunday to iron out coordination matters should missiles be launched from North Korea.
Cayetano had likewise spoken with Consul General Marciano de Borja in Guam.
The Philippine Consulate in Guam had planned to use chartered planes to fly Filipinos back to the Philippines. They also planned to open the consulate to shelter some of the 34,000 Filipinos on the island in the event of a missile strike. — Margaret Claire Layug/DVM, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more