Amb. Romualdez urges Filipinos in US to be on alert after airstrikes vs Iran

Filipinos in the United States (US) should be on the lookout for any eventuality that may occur following the attacks of the US forces on three nuclear sites in Iran, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said Monday.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Romualdez said the US authorities have already alerted citizens after President Donald Trump announced over the weekend that the US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The ambassador said the move was “very serious” as it was the first time that the US used its “special bomb” against another country. 

“As always, we tell our kababayans to be on alert. We ask them to follow whatever the local officials whatever alert, notice that they give out to their communities to be on the lookout for just in case there’s any situation that may arise out of this situation in the Middle East right now,” Romualdez said. 

Asked if Filipinos in the US are already being advised to avoid crowded areas such as subways, Romualdez said they should just be careful “definitely.”

“Syempre [of course] whenever we have something like this, especially this very particular case dahil very serious itong nangyaring ginawa ng US in Iran [because what the US did to Iran was very serious], they have to be on alert for any eventuality,” he added.

The Philippines has called for de-escalation of tensions and called on concerned parties to pursue diplomacy after the United States struck Iran's nuclear sites over the weekend.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the country, which has a huge presence of workers in the Middle East, is "greatly concerned" over the developments in the region "in these last few hours."

Trump has said the US "obliterated" Iran's key nuclear facilities — Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow — and called the strikes a "spectacular military success." Iran, on the other hand, vowed to retaliate.

According to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, eight Filipinos got injured amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, seven of whom were already discharged from the hospital.—AOL, GMA Integrated News