Stay put in Iran, DFA orders envoys

Stay put in Iran, DFA orders envoys | Daily Tribune

All the diplomats at the Philippine Embassy in Tehran will stay put to monitor the situation and assist in the evacuation of Filipinos affected by the conflict, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said there were initial plans to include non-essential embassy staff in the first batch of Filipinos to be evacuated amid the Israel-Iran conflict.

Currently, there are nine diplomats in the Tehran embassy, including Ambassador Robert Manalo.

But De Vega quoted Manalo as saying the mission cannot withdraw “even one” staff member, as all are essential for maintaining embassy operations.

“They can’t pull out anyone. They will send home their wives and dependents, who can leave anytime,” he said.

“Right now, they remain at the embassy. This is what we signed up for,” he added.

The embassy earlier said it was exploring ways to evacuate Filipinos from Iran, including land routes through neighboring countries like Turkmenistan.

There are roughly 1,200 Filipinos living in Iran who are married to Iranian citizens, with only a dozen or so employed as overseas workers.

Meanwhile, DFA Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer said nine Filipinos have requested repatriation.

“We are considering all safe border exits from Iran. Tehran is now almost a ghost town. Many have left, including Filipinos,” Ferrer said.

“Those still in Tehran are mainly embassy staff, so the mission remains open,” he added.

He noted that the Philippine embassy is one of the few foreign outposts still operating in the Iranian capital.

Ferrer said the DFA is awaiting instructions and will announce evacuation plans for diplomats’ dependents once these are finalized.

“It’s still in the planning stage, but we will announce it once the plan is secure. No diplomats will be sent home, all staff are essential, according to Ambassador Robert,” he said.

Alert level 3, or voluntary repatriation, has been raised in both Israel and Iran.

Ferrer said the Philippine embassies in Tel Aviv and Tehran have not yet recommended upgrading the alert to mandatory repatriation.

“There’s a lot of misinformation in Manila, not Tel Aviv. Most Filipinos in Tel Aviv are calm and trust the Israeli system to protect them,” he said.

So far, only 191 of over 30,000 Filipinos in Israel have requested repatriation, with the first 26 evacuees scheduled to return to the Philippines next week.