Over 110 flights to and from the Philippines have either been canceled or diverted due to the ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) reported.
A total of 114 flights were affected as of 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 -- 113 of which have been canceled, while one was diverted.
The government is working to mitigate the impact of the armed conflict in the Middle East on price hikes by providing subsidies for public transport operators and farmers and fisherfolk, and possibly rolling out free bus rides.
According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the national government is working with agencies to ensure that the everyday transport and logistics needs are supported amid the volatile global markets.
Senators Raffy and Erwin Tulfo raised concern Thursday about the supposed difficulty of contacting certain Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) offices in the Middle East amid the escalating tension in the region.
Sa gitna ng nagpapatuloy na kaguluhan sa Middle East, ginagawa ng pamahalaan ang lahat ng paraan para matulungan ang mga Pilipino na nagnanais na makauwi sa bansa.
Sa pinakahuling tala ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), umabot na sa 1,979 ang mga Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) na humiling sa Migrant Workers Office para maiproseso ang kanilang repatriation.
“Rest assured the effort continuous to look out for those who remain. we are finding ways yung airspace still rather limited when in comes to Dubai,” ani Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.
Nearly 300 Filipinos from Dubai arrived in the Philippines Thursday morning after being evacuated by the government amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East due to the United States-Iran conflict.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said a total of 299 Filipinos were on board the flight that landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 at 6:45 a.m.
Repatriation flights were due to depart from the Middle East on Wednesday as governments rushed to bring home tens of thousands of citizens stranded by the intensifying U.S. and Israeli conflict with Iran.
Commercial air traffic remained largely absent across much of the region, with major Gulf hubs - including Dubai, the world's busiest airport for international passengers - largely shut for a fifth straight day, in the biggest travel disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. military asked mining companies on Friday to help boost domestic supplies of 13 critical minerals used to make semiconductors, weapons and other products, a document reviewed by Reuters showed.
The request, the day before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, is the latest example in recent weeks of Washington's push for more access to the materials used widely in warfare.
A US submarine sank an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.
Sri Lanka's deputy foreign minister identified the warship as the frigate IRIS Dena, and said it was heading back to Iran from an eastern Indian port.
The attack happened hundreds of miles across the Indian Ocean from the Gulf, where US and Israeli forces are striking Iran and Tehran is retaliating with missile and drone attacks.
Spain "will not be vassals" to another country, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Wednesday, defying US President Donald Trump's threats to cut trade with Madrid over its stance against the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Trump floated imposing a trade embargo on Madrid over its refusal to allow US aircraft to use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran. Spain has denounced the US and Israeli bombings of Iran as reckless and illegal, while most other European nations have withheld direct critique of the attacks.
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