Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday that the military will send as soon as possible two battalions of soldiers, three transport planes, and two ships to evacuate Overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East that might be affected by the increasing tension between Iran and the United States.
Lorenzana said the deployment of two battalions, preferably one each from the Philippine Army and Philippine Marines, was based on the orders of President Duterte during the command conference in Malacañang last Tuesday.
“Ang idea ni Presidente is magpadala tayo doon just in case kailangan ng mga tao natin ng protection. The two battalions will not be there to engage in combat with anybody but to facilitate or help, assist, in the repatriation of the OFWs especially in Iraq. Hindi sila magpunta doon para makipaglaban,” Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana said the deployment will start as soon as possible.
The Defense chief said that they have yet to craft the rules of engagement for the troops as the risk that they might be mistaken as hostile forces are very high.
“We’re still at the planning stage, we’re preparing the troops,” he said. (Martin Sadongdong)
