Palace monitoring situation in Syria

Malacañang continues to closely monitor the situation in Syria to make sure Filipinos in the tension-plagued country are not affected by the violent incidents there. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the Palace expects the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy there to secure the safety of the Filipinos there. “Mino-monitor natin ito, hopefully ang kababayan natin will not be affected. We are closely monitoring the situation (We are monitoring the situation closely. We hope our fellow Filipinos in Syria will not be affected)," she said on government-run dzRB radio. Several pro-democracy protesters had been killed by security forces following protests across Syria. Activists coordinating the demonstrations said regular forces and gunman loyal to President Bashar al-Assad shot dead at least 88 civilians on Friday. Various groups had staged demonstrations demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption in the country of 20 million people. On Saturday, Philippine ambassador to Syria Wilfredo Cuyugan said the Filipinos there are safe and that the situation is not as grim as it is portrayed by some media outlets. For her part, Valte said the government is ready to take whatever measures are necessary to secure the safety of Filipinos there. “Handa tayong gawin ang nararapat to secure the safety ng ating kababayan doon (We are ready to take the needed measures to secure the safety of our fellow Filipinos there)," she said. - KBK, GMA News