President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. said that the number of Filipinos requesting repatriation has reached 1000 due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Marcos reported during the Palace briefing that 10 Filipinos in Iran requested repatriation as of early morning. The highest number of requests came from Israel with 297, followed by 22 from Jordan, 231 from Bahrain, 586 from Dubai, and 270 from Abu Dhabi. Filipino nationals have submitted 1,416 repatriation requests through the formal process.
Marcos also said that the repatriation process is a challenge now, especially since multiple airports in the areas are barely functional.
”We have heard reports of attacks on different airports around the region, generally by – this is by Iran. ‘Yung mga tumulong sa Amerika at ‘yung mga tumulong – ‘yung mga bansa na tumulong sa Amerika ay inaatake ngayon ng Iran as retaliatory strikes,” Marcos said.
”Kaya’t very fluid ang situation. Ang assessment namin is delikado siguro magpalipad. Kahit na kaya nating kumuha ng eroplano at ipasok, wala tayong magagawa dahil number one, the airports are closed. They are all no-fly zones. This is a combat area,” he added.
Land travel also poses risks, including the possibility of friendly fire incidents.
