The Philippine government sees possible negative economic impacts as tension between the United States and Iran increases following the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. airstrike.
This was according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, as he warns of possible overseas jobs losses and hikes on oil prices.
“Any eruption of open hostilities in the Middle East involving the US is bound to affect the lives of our countrymen.”
ACTS-OFW Partylist, a coalition of organizations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), also expressed that the brewing tension endangers not just the jobs but also the lives of the Filipinos living in the Middle East.
“Right now, there are more than a thousand Filipinos residing, and working as OFWs in Iran. Any eruption of open hostilities in the Middle East involving the US is bound to affect the lives of our countrymen,” said ACTS-OFW chairman and former congressman John Bertiz.
Bertiz also emphasized that Filipinos in US-allied countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait can also be placed in danger once either the US or Iran escalates the ongoing exchange of threats and tension.
“I encourage our government to monitor our countrymen in the tension-affected places.”
“In an extreme scenario, even Filipinos in some parts of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar might be exposed to danger and job loss. The Philippine government must prioritize the safety of our workers despite the possible impact on the flow of cash remittances,” Bertiz added.
Land-based Filipino workers in the Middle East sent home a total of $6.7 billion in cash in 2018 and another $5 billion from January to October 2019, according to Bertiz.
“I encourage our government to monitor our countrymen in the tension-affected places. We have to make sure that each one of them is safe and secure and that we would be able to assist them when they request to go back home because of the fear to be involved in any attacks committed by the two warring parties,” Bertiz concluded.