DFA projection: MidEast conflict may last 4 to 8 weeks
The Iran War, as the international press now calls the latest conflict in the Middle East, is projected to last about four to eight weeks, based on reports received by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Amid the hostilities sparked by the US-Israel strikes on Iran that began on Feb. 28, President Marcos is scheduled to be at the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 9 and March 10 to discuss developments in the Middle East and other issues.
At a hearing held by the Senate committee on foreign relations on Friday, Foreign Assistant Secretary Germina Aguilar-Usudan said “the US is trying to send more rockets to Iran and the President [Donald Trump] is also trying to have a say on who will be the next leader of Iran. So the projection from the reports that we received [is that] it will take four weeks to eight weeks.”
Aguilar-Usudan, who heads the DFA’s Office of Middle East and African Affairs, said the current conflict is “not like the previous Israel-Iran war which only took 12 days. We received reports that Iran would like to negotiate but it was discounted by the Iranian government and Trump has said yesterday that he’s more ready for war this time.”
Home safe
“We hope it will end soon, but based on the situation, I think it will be a protracted war. This is an unconventional war that’s why we are also doing unconventional assistance to our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” she told the committee headed by Sen. Erwin Tulfo.
The DFA earlier gave assurances that Philippine embassies were ready to assist Filipinos in the region.
As of Thursday, 299 Filipinos from the Middle East had arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Dubai and were welcomed by Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration chief Patricia Yvonne Caunan.
At least one Filipino has been reported dead. Caregiver Mary Ann de Vera was killed on Feb. 28 by an Iranian missile that hit Tel Aviv, Israel.
Also on Friday, DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said President Marcos will address the UN and meet with UN Secretary General António Guterres.
“In two meetings, the President will offer a voice from our region, from developing countries, and call for restraint, respect for international law, including the UN Charter and humanitarian law, and for all concerned to return to the negotiating table for peace,” she said at a Palace briefing.
“This trip is very important, it is the right opportunity because of the developments in the Middle East. The UN is the right place for our President to call for peace in the Middle East and the safety of all civilians, especially our countrymen,” Escalona said.
