MANILA: Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in South Korea will be evacuated when the need arises, Malacañang said.
Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said the government will defer to the judgment of the South Korean government.
“There are thousands of expatriates, not just Filipinos, living in South Korea, and not a single government has encouraged their citizens to leave at this point.
“I guess what I’m saying is we’re simply taking the same sort of actions that other countries that have citizens in South Korea are taking. We have to tread a very fine line between not under reacting and not overreacting to this issue. It’s a very delicate issue, and we don’t want to add fuel to what is already a tense situation. For now, it looks like everyone is staying put.”
“We’re closely monitoring the situation,” he said. “The DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) is in touch with our allies and the governments that are involved in this, the South Koreans.”
“The best we can do at this point is to support our allies who are trying to de-escalate the situation and to make sure that the Filipinos living there will be provided all the necessary assistance that they need should the situation deteriorate,” he said. Carandang said Manila hopes to support South Korea, Japan, the US and China in finding a peaceful resolution to the situation.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR
