Filipinos in US urged to stay alert amid Iran conflict fears

Filipinos in the United States are advised to remain vigilant following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

In a radio interview, Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez urged members of the Filipino community to stay alert and follow instructions from local authorities should tensions escalate further.

“As always, we tell our kababayans to be on alert as well, because of course, we ask them to follow whatever alert notices local officials may issue in their communities—just in case any situation arises out of the current developments in the Middle East,” Romualdez said.

With the “serious” actions of the Trump administration, Romualdez said the Filipinos in the US must “stay alert” on possible retaliatory attacks from Iran.

“Well, just be careful — definitely. Of course, you know, whenever something like this happens — especially in this case, which is very serious because of what the US did in Iran—they have to stay alert to any possible threats on an individual level,” he said.

Romualdez said there is currently no immediate threat or disruption affecting Filipino communities in the U.S., but that authorities are monitoring developments in the Middle East closely.

“So far, there’s nothing yet. Right now, everything is still normal in one sense, but of course, they’re closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East, especially in Iran, following what happened last night,” he said.

“So we’re waiting to see what will happen in the next couple of days or weeks—whether the conflict becomes more intense. We can’t really give a prognosis yet on what the next steps will be,” he added.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, about 4.1 million Filipino Americans were living in the United States as of 2022.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said the US military carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran "must now agree to end this war.”

Trump said the US military carried out a "very successful attack" on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.

Iranian media reported that the Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear sites were hit.

In response, Israel raised its alert level, restricting activities to essential operations until further notice, according to its military.