Israel-Iran conflict no impact on OFW remittances — Palace

The raging conflict between Israel and Iran will not affect the overseas Filipino workers' remittances, Malacañang said Thursday. 

This was according to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro.

''Nakausap po natin si Usec. Alu ng DOF at sinasabi po niya, sa ngayon po ay wala pa pong impact na ganoon sa OFW remittances. (I talked to Undersecretary Alu C. Dorotan Tiuseco of the Department of Finance and he said there's no impact yet on OFW remittances.) Ang sabi po niya and I quote ‘the impact on remittances remains limited for now, given the remittances from Israel and Iran amounted to 106.4 million U.S dollars in 2024 .03% of total remittances,'' Castro said.

''However, an escalation that could include the rest of the Middle East will have a substantial effect on overall remittances,''' she added. 

Israel and Iran have traded missile strikes for a week, trapping civilians and foreign nationals on both sides of the conflict, triggering international alarm.

There are around 30,000 mostly Filipino caregivers in Israel and over 1,000 in Iran.

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has said there is no need yet to impose the mandatory repatriation of Filipinos amid the escalating tension between the two countries. 

Meanwhile, at least 150 Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel will be repatriated to the Philippines amid ongoing missile strikes, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has said. 

DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the exchange of airstrikes between Israel and Iran have reached an unusual level, to say the least, but not yet to a point of a need of mandatory repatriation due to the existence of bomb shelters both in private and public properties in Israel. — RSJ/RF, GMA Integrated News