US-Iran tensions endanger work, lives of Pinoy migrant workers – ACTS-OFW


The heightened tensions between the US and Iran endangered, not only the jobs of Filipino migrant workers in the Middle East, but their very lives as well, ACTS-OFW chairman John Bertiz III said on Sunday.
In a statement, Bertiz, who was also a former representative of the ACTS-OFW party-list, added that he also feared that Filipino sailors on Western oil and gas tankers could be attacked by Iran in retaliation for the killing of its top general Qasem Soleimani by the US.
“Right now, hundreds of Filipino sailors on Western oil and gas tankers navigating through the Strait of Hormuz every day are already in harm’s way, given that Iran has warned of swift and severe retaliation,” Bertiz said.
The former lawmaker said Iran was in a position to attack Western merchant ships passing through the strait as it provided the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.
“Any eruption of open hostilities in the Middle East involving the US is bound to drag its major military allies such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, both of which host large numbers of Filipino workers,” Bertiz said.
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“In an extreme scenario, even Filipinos in some parts of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar might be exposed to danger, considering that they also host American military facilities and/or personnel,” he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs had earlier released a travel advisory calling on Filipinos to cancel travel to Iraq due to heightened tensions in the region. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/720978/pinoys-in-iraq-advised-to-prepare-in-case-of-mandatory-evacuation/story/
In its travel notice, the DFA urged Filipinos "to cancel, until further notice, any travel to Iraq in view of the current situation in the country."
Filipinos in Iraq were also "strongly advised to coordinate closely with the Philippine Embassy and their employers in the event mandatory evacuation will be necessary." — Erwin Colcol/DVM, GMA News

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