Philippines allows citizens to stay in Iran, Lebanon as Middle East tensions ease

MANILA, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Philippines will no longer
require its citizens to leave Iran and Lebanon as worries of a
broader conflict in the Middle East eased, but the mandatory
evacuation order for workers in Iraq remains in force, officials
said on Thursday.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, a retired general named by
President Rodrigo Duterte as special envoy to the Middle East,
left for Qatar on Thursday to oversee the evacuation effort.
"The situation is unpredictable, sometimes there are some
instances of a very surprise missile attack," he told reporters.
"They have the option to press the trigger. We have to be
ready in case there will be some incidents along the way."
More than 2 million Philippine citizens live and work in the
Middle East, sending home billions of dollars in annual
remittances that could be dented by a full-scale conflict.
More than 30,000 of these are in Lebanon, and more than
1,000 in Iran, excluding undocumented labourers.
The United States and Iran have backed away from the brink
of further conflict in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump responded overnight to an
Iranian attack on U.S. forces with sanctions, not violence. Iran
offered no immediate signal it would retaliate further over a
Jan. 3 U.S. strike that killed one of its senior military
commanders.
Eduardo Menez, a spokesman at the Department of Foreign
Affairs, said the government is prepared to respond to any
changes in the situation in the region and will assist citizens
who wish to return home.
"Alert levels are constantly reviewed and adjusted as
needed," Menez told reporters.
The foreign ministry said more than half of the 1,600
Filipinos working in Iraq, were in the Kurdistan region and the
rest at U.S. and other foreign facilities in Baghdad and in
commercial establishments in Erbil.