THE Philippines said on Monday that it is not ready to heed the call of the US to cut ties with Syria and instead called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in that country.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda made the statement in a news briefing in response to the call made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for countries to “get on the right side of history” by cutting economic and political ties with Syria, as it is anti-reform and uses violence to quell protests.
Asked if the Philippines is ready to cut ties with Syria as it hosts thousands of Filipino workers, Lacierda said, “No, we are not. But we are calling on the Syrian government…for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Syria. This is the same situation that we encountered in Libya as well where we also have several thousand Filipino workers.”
He noted that “in our case, the Philippines, we have 17,000 Filipino workers there.”
When asked, Lacierda said that so far, there are no plans to repatriate Filipinos from Syria and that Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario is on top of the situation.
“Secretary del Rosario is proactive. When there is a need, he will do so and he will inform the Filipino community there and he will inform us, as well,” he said.
Del Rosario, meanwhile, raised deep concern on the escalating violence in Syria and called on its government to implement immediate reforms to stop the worsening tension.
There are around 17,000 Filipino workers in Syria, mostly in troubled capital Damascus. However, more than 80 per cent of these Filipinos are undocumented and working as house help.
“We view with deep concern the escalating violence in Syria and call on the Syrian Government to do its utmost to halt this violence and to ensure the safety and security of its people and all foreign nationals,” said del Rosario in a statement on Monday.
He urged the Syrian government to address the people’s concerns and to immediately implement the reforms promised to them.
The call from the Philippines’ top diplomat was made following attacks by Syrian security forces against anti-government protesters.
(With E. Torres)
