LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (March 8, 2026)

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has declared the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz as a “War Risk Operations Area” amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

In Jamie Santos’ report on “24 Oras" Weekend on Sunday, DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac advised Filipino seafarers to avoid sailing through the area due to the security risks.

“Filipino seafarers, particularly those under ship owners employing Filipino crews, are not expected to be in that area. Otherwise, our Filipino seafarers must be given the right to refuse sailing, and as much as possible, this part of the world should be avoided as it is currently extremely dangerous,” Cacdac said.

Sixty-one stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Sunday, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

In a social media post, the DMW said the returning OFWs included three minors.

They arrived from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, aboard Emirates flight EK 334. The DMW, along with other concerned agencies, provided the returnees with financial and transportation assistance to help them travel back to their respective provinces. Temporary accommodation, as well as psychosocial and medical support, was also provided.

Eleven overseas Filipinos from Iran have safely evacuated to Van, Turkey amid the tensions in the Middle East, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. 

The evacuation was made possible through efforts of the Philippine embassies in Tehran and Ankara.

The 11 Filipinos are scheduled to depart for the Philippines in the coming days, the DFA said. 

“The DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Tehran, remains committed to assisting the estimated 800 Filipinos currently residing in Iran who may wish to return to the Philippines,” the Foreign Affairs department said in a statement. 

The government needs an additional P7 billion for the repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) should the conflict in the Middle East worsen, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Sunday.

The Philippines has a two-month supply of petroleum products amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Bureau of Customs said Sunday.

Kuwait's defence ministry said on Sunday that fuel tanks at the Gulf nation's international airport were targeted in a drone attack, as Iran continued its strikes across the region.

At least four people were killed when an Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Ramada hotel building in central Beirut, Lebanon's health ministry said, the first strike to hit the heart of the capital since Israel-Hezbollah hostilities resumed last week.

The House of Representatives will conduct a congressional briefing on the safety of overseas Filipino workers amid the continuous attacks in the Middle East, Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos said Sunday.

Oil-poor Philippines is to shift to a four-day work week with fuel prices set to rocket up amid the Iran war, President Ferdinand Marcos said Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) raised the possibility of the war against Iran ending only once that country no longer has a functioning military or any remaining leadership in power.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he is not interested in negotiating with Iran at this point and later added the air campaign could make it a moot point if all potential leaders of Iran are killed and the Iranian military is destroyed.