President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said that Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac is on his way to Jordan to coordinate government aid for Filipinos affected by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

In an ambush interview in Quezon City, Marcos said Cacdac will oversee the repatriation of the evacuees from Israel and Iran.

“The first batch, in fact, Secretary Cacdac is on his way to Jordan to coordinate both the evacuees from Israel and evacuees from Iran,” Marcos said.

Marcos clarified that mandatory evacuation for Filipinos in these countries is not yet implemented, yet the government is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East due to many airport closures in the region.

“We are watching our nationals both in Israel and Iran… the problem we had in evacuating them was because of the war, many airports were closed. So, we are looking for a route where they can be taken out. But we have been able to do that,” Marcos added.

Over 100 Filipinos are seeking repatriation in Israel, with 21 slated to return to the Philippines over the weekend according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Israel recently launched air strikes against high-level military and nuclear sites in Iran, Iran retaliated with missiles in residential areas around Israel.

Over 200 people have been killed by the ongoing conflict in Iran, and over 20 people killed in Israel, with at least six Filipinos injured by the missile attacks in Israel. Velle White/DMS