PHL worried over implications of US-SKorea military drill

As they set up a 24-hour management team to help Filipinos in South Korea, Philippine officials will also keep close watch over the military exercises between the United States and South Korea this weekend. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. admitted that the Philippine government is "worried" over the implications of the joint exercise on Sunday, which he said, could be interpreted by some sectors as "a show of force." "What worries us is that there is going to be a joint military exercise between the US and South Korea on Sunday. We will be watching that very closely," Conejos said in an interview on dwIZ radio. Conejos also "suggested" to labor officials to at least hold the deployment of Filipino workers to Korea at least until the joint exercises end. He voiced concerns that tension in Korea may rise if North Korea views the upcoming joint exercise as an act of provocation. "Kaya ang pangamba natin ngayon sana naman malampasan natin ang issue na yan (That is the basis of our worry. We just hope we can get through this)," he said. Contingency plans Conejos said the Department of Foreign Affairs has set up its crisis management team that will be operating on a 24-hour basis. He added that the DFA has new hotline numbers but may not announce these until later in the day. He reassured Filipinos in Korea the Philippines has comprehensive and complete contingency plans, which were last updated June 9 this year. "If the situation further intensifies into a full scale war, we will bring them further down south to Busan. This is the exit point from which we will pick them and bring them home to the Philippines," he said. Conejos, who is undersecretary for migrant workers’ concerns, maintained they are ready to evacuate Filipinos from Korea if the need arises. He reiterated the DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Korea remain in constant contact with the Filipino community there. He said there are 50,270 Filipinos in Korea as of December 2009. As of now, he said they have no information that Filipinos in Korea want to go home because of the tension there. “Wala kaming natanggap na balita, it is just normal movement, pauwi, bakasyon. Pero unusually large number of Filipinos leaving, wala pa (We have not received information of Filipinos wanting to leave. Filipinos in Korea are leaving to go home or on vacations but there is no unusually large number of Filipinos leaving yet)," he said. 'Show of force' On Sunday, the United States and South Korea will hold a joint naval show of force including a US aircraft carrier to deter North Korea. Earlier this week, North Korea killed at least four people in its first shelling attack on civilians since the 1950 to 1953 war. The bombardment of Yeonpyeong, which lies near the disputed inter-Korean Yellow Sea border, sent panicked civilians fleeing and fueled anxiety about North Korea’s intentions. The four-day joint naval exercise will start on Sunday in the Yellow Sea, and involve a strike group headed by the carrier USS George Washington, US Forces Korea said. It said the drill was planned well before the "unprovoked artillery attack" but it demonstrated the US "commitment to regional stability through deterrence." Tensions on the peninsula have been high since the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which Seoul blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack. Pyongyang denied the charge. No labor ban yet While there is no ban on the deployment of Filipino laborers to Korea, Conejos hinted it would be best if the deployment were put on hold at least for this week. "Siguro mabuti i-hold muna natin yan and let this exercise go on and let’s see what happens (It would be best if we held the deployment for now and let the exercise go on and let’s see what happens)," he said. "Pinaguusapan ngayon yan ng POEA kung anong gagawin nila. Siguro the most prudent, I’m articulating my thoughts about this (The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration is studying the situation. Personally I think perhaps the most prudent), they might have to wait for at least a week, let us observe the situation first," he added. But he said that until Philippine labor officials arrive at a final decision on the matter, there is no reason to stop the deployment. Conejos cited labor records indicating some 1,000 Filipino workers are due to be deployed to Korea up to December. "Hanggang walang decision siguro tuloy na tuloy yan (Until labor officials decide to suspend deployment, there is no reason to stop the workers from being sent there)," he said. Filipinos in Korea Conejos said the Filipino community in Korea is one of the most organized in terms of OFWs, with more than 100 organizations registered with the Philippine embassy. "Whatever instruction from the embassies will filter to the Filipino communities in the area," he said. He said the embassy is presently on heightened alert, although it can facilitate the travel documents of OFWs who want to go home now. However, once the situation worsens and the embassy raises the alert level, “the government will come in for mandatory evacuation, it will be a forced evacuation." For now, he said OFWs who want to go home at this time cannot rely on the Philippine government to shoulder their travel fees, adding the employers will have to shoulder these. — RSJ/VVP, GMANews.TV