logo
AFP updates crisis plan for OFWs in Middle East

AFP updates crisis plan for OFWs in Middle East

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is ramping up its crisis preparedness to ensure the swift evacuation of Filipinos in the Middle East, following the death of a Filipina caregiver caught in the recent Iranian missile attack on Israel.
AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military has activated its contingency protocols and is closely coordinating with other government agencies in case a mass evacuation becomes necessary.
'Meron po tayong mga contingency plan. Ang tawag po natin dito ay non-combatant evacuation operation,' Brawner said.
The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed the death of Leah Mosquera from Negros Occidental due to the injuries she suffered after an Iranian missile hit her apartment.
Brawner emphasized that the AFP is prepared to deploy its air and naval assets, including C-130 planes and military vessels, should the government decide to repatriate Filipinos in harm's way.
He also directed AFP units to update existing evacuation plans to reflect the current security landscape, which has become increasingly volatile.
'Matagal na po nating ginagawa ito. Noong nakaraang dekada, noong nagkaroon ng problema po sa Middle East, ay nagpadala tayo ng dalawang barko na sunduin 'yung mga Pilipino na gustong umuwi po sa ating bansa,' the AFP chief said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

After Iran, will Israel target Pakistan?
After Iran, will Israel target Pakistan?

Middle East Eye

time6 hours ago

  • Middle East Eye

After Iran, will Israel target Pakistan?

When Pakistan's defence minister, Khawaja Asif, warned last month that Muslim countries must unite or else 'everyone's turn will come', it was less a diplomatic lament than a coded SOS. As Israel struck Iranian territory last month, and western leaders and media inverted reality by declaring Iran to be the threat, a chilling question emerged: who is next? You'd be forgiven for calling this paranoia. But after decades of watching nations demonised, delegitimised and dismantled in the name of 'global security', the pattern is too obvious to ignore. The West no longer needs tanks or UN resolutions. The playbook has evolved. Today, sovereignty is overthrown via headlines, economic chokeholds and narrative warfare. If that fails, the perceived well-being of Israel becomes justification enough for pre-emptive strikes. For once, give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credit: he says the quiet part out loud. For decades, he has warned of rogue Muslim regimes gaining nuclear capabilities. Iraq was bombed. Libya was disarmed. Iran is being strangled. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters And Pakistan? That's the final frontier - not because it has invaded anyone, but because it represents strategic, ideological and technological defiance of western and Zionist hegemony. This argument is gaining traction. The Times of India recently amplified a report suggesting Pakistan is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US. No confirmation needed; the insinuation alone is enough to rally suspicions. Hollow narrative This isn't 2001. No one is selling 'weapons of mass destruction' on grainy satellite footage. But the ambition remains: to make Pakistan's nuclear capabilities look like a global liability. British tabloids and security think tanks now routinely describe Pakistan as an unstable state, susceptible to extremism and on a hair-trigger for nuclear escalation. A recent Daily Mail piece parrots a tired narrative: Pakistan's military leadership is supposedly on the edge of conflict with India, driven by zealotry, not reason. The commentary - attributed to yet another Indian 'security analyst' - paints Pakistan as morphing into an 'extremist Islamic state'. The West's problem with Pakistan is not what it's done. It's an Islamic republic, a nuclear power, and an ally of China. In today's world order, that trifecta is the ultimate red line Such claims ring hollow to anyone with even a cursory understanding of the region. Despite its many crises, Pakistan has never elected a religious party to power - not in more than seven decades. The electorate has consistently rejected overt theocracy at the ballot box. India, by contrast, has repeatedly and enthusiastically voted for a man widely believed to have presided over - or at best, turned a blind eye to - the 2002 Gujarat pogrom. That man, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, now leads a party openly committed to the creation of a theocratic Hindu state, built on the marginalisation and scapegoating of Muslims and other minorities. Yet, in much of the British and western media, India remains the adult in the room - the rational actor, the democratic beacon. The hypocrisy would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous. Consider the events of this past April, following the tragic Pahalgam attack on Hindu pilgrims. India, without presenting credible evidence of Pakistani involvement, launched cross-border military action. Western media outlets largely accepted New Delhi's narrative at face value. Pakistani officials, meanwhile, were subjected to hostile interviews and again made to answer for the spectre of terrorism - a framing that has become depressingly routine. There is an unspoken but unmistakable logic here: Hindu nationalism, no matter how violent, is framed as a political choice - perhaps regrettable, but legitimate. Islamist politics, even when nowhere near power, are treated as an existential threat. Regional imbalance This isn't just lazy journalism; it enables impunity. By refusing to hold India to the same standard, western media reinforces a regional imbalance in which Pakistan is the perpetual provocateur, and India - despite its authoritarian bent - gets a free pass. This isn't just about fairness. It's about whether peace in South Asia can ever be achieved when one state's aggression is minimised and the other's very existence is seen as a threat. If the media wants to play a constructive role in the region's future, it must stop seeing it through the prism of prejudice and power. The idea of a nuclear Pakistan has long unsettled Israel, India and the Anglo-American security consensus. Now, publications like Modern Diplomacy openly suggest what policymakers might be strategising in private: once Iran is contained, Pakistan must be denuclearised. India's attack on Pakistan is a declaration of Israel-style expansionism Read More » The pattern is not just geopolitical; it's psychological. The public must be conditioned to believe that an Islamic republic with nuclear arms and strategic ties to China through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is not a sovereign actor, but a threat to global order. It's not just Pakistan's nukes that provoke anxiety. It's Pakistan's orientation. As Islamabad deepens its ties with Beijing - especially via the CPEC - it shifts from postcolonial dependency to multipolar defiance. All roads in the 21st century lead to Beijing. The US knows it. Britain knows it. Israel knows it. And Pakistan's centrality to the New Silk Road transforms it from a regional irritant into a global pivot. Following the recent Iran-Israel flare-up, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir met US President Donald Trump at the White House - an encounter that raised more questions than it answered. Was it a charm offensive? A warning? A recalibration? Whatever the answer, it underscored Pakistan's uncertain place in the world: simultaneously courted and condemned, needed and distrusted. The West's problem with Pakistan is not what it's done. It's what it represents: an Islamic republic, a nuclear power, and an ally of China. In today's world order, that trifecta is the ultimate red line. Back in 2009, during a postgraduate seminar on the Mongol Empire, a professor slammed a map on the table and asked whether I - a British Pakistani - was aware of a neoconservative plan to balkanise Pakistan. He wasn't trying to provoke. He knew I loved the culture, followed the cricket team, and felt the pulse of the place. It was a warning, not a theory. Today, that map feels less like a conspiracy - and more like a strategy in motion. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

Imee Marcos Files ‘PRRD Act' to Ban Warrantless Transfer of Filipinos to Foreign Courts
Imee Marcos Files ‘PRRD Act' to Ban Warrantless Transfer of Filipinos to Foreign Courts

Filipino Times

time8 hours ago

  • Filipino Times

Imee Marcos Files ‘PRRD Act' to Ban Warrantless Transfer of Filipinos to Foreign Courts

Senator Imee Marcos has filed a bill that seeks to prohibit the arrest or detention of any person in the Philippines for transfer to a foreign or international court without a valid warrant issued by a Philippine court. The proposed Senate Bill No. 557, dubbed the 'President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act,' cites the arrest and handover of former President Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a 'form of abuse' that could also happen to others. 'What happened was an extraordinary rendition — a transfer without due process to a foreign jurisdiction,' Marcos said in her explanatory note. She emphasized the need to legally bar such actions, calling them unconstitutional and grounds for punishment under the proposed law. Under the measure, the following acts would be banned: Turning over or detaining any individual for an international body without a local court order; Assisting in investigations or arrests on behalf of foreign courts without proper authorization from the DOJ and DILG; Transferring persons to a foreign state or tribunal without their consent or an applicable treaty. The bill also seeks to: Freeze assets of persons charged under the act; Bar foreign agents from entering the country to carry out unauthorized probes or arrests; Allow affected individuals to pursue legal remedies; Require the Department of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the return of citizens subjected to 'extraordinary rendition.' Marcos' proposal comes amid Duterte's detention in The Hague over ICC charges linked to drug war killings. He was arrested in the Philippines on March 11 by local authorities acting on an ICC warrant.

US to build boat maintenance facility in Palawan to boost PH maritime capability
US to build boat maintenance facility in Palawan to boost PH maritime capability

Filipino Times

time15 hours ago

  • Filipino Times

US to build boat maintenance facility in Palawan to boost PH maritime capability

The United States is set to build a boat maintenance facility in Palawan, the US Embassy in the Philippines announced Tuesday. In a statement, the embassy said the US Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command issued a public solicitation on July 7 for the design and construction of the facility at the Naval Detachment Oyster Bay. The facility will provide repair and maintenance capabilities for several small Philippine military watercraft. It will also include two multi-purpose interior rooms for equipment storage or conference use. The embassy clarified that the facility is not a US military base and has been approved by the Philippine government in accordance with local laws and regulations of both countries. 'Our U.S.-Philippine alliance, with its roots in the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, remains a cornerstone of peace and security, promoting our common vision for a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific,' the embassy said. The planned facility will be located near the West Philippine Sea, where tensions remain high due to China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including parts within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China's expansive claims had no legal basis. China has refused to recognize the ruling.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store