Migrante Canada: Mandatory Evacuation and Repatriation of OFWs
- migrantecanada
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
June 23, 2025
The recent bombings by the US on Iran yesterday during the early morning hours of June 22 came just days after the onslaught of missile strikes by Zionist Israel on Iran. The U.S. bombers dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs each weighing 30,000 pounds–the largest non-nuclear bombs ever dropped by the United States and deployed 30 submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. The world stands on the brink of a very dangerous situation of a global armed conflict.
Migrante Canada strongly condemns these latest acts of aggression in Iran, Palestine, and other parts of the Middle East. Both the Imperialist US and Zionist Israel confirm again and again that they are the enemies of the peoples and migrants in the Middle East and the world. Together, they pose the number one deadly threat to the stability, just peace, and genuine democracy in the region and the world.
Acting like international tandem of thugs and bullies, US and Israel continue to ramp up its genocide of the Palestinian people, its brazen wars of aggression against peoples in the Middle East, and its disregard of the immense suffering of the peoples and migrants caught in the crossfire. It is estimated that there are 29,473 Filipinos in Israel and 1,184 in Iran, but also about 2.2 million Filipinos in the Middle East. The lives of our kababayan are in constant danger, no thanks to US-initiated proxy wars in the Middle East.
Migrante Canada highlights the plight of our kababayan in the Middle East who are in danger and in need of urgent help. President Marcos Jr. through government agencies, consular offices and embassies in the region, has not called for a mandatory evacuation and repatriation of Filipino migrant workers. As of June 23, the alert level system 3 remains which means voluntary repatriation. Alert level 4 means mandatory evacuation and repatriation. Ano ang hinihintay ng gobyerno? Pasko? Kapag huli na ang lahat?
This is not the first time that Filipino OFWs have been trapped in war- torn zones. Surely, the Philippine government would have its emergency plans in place, the numbers and names of OFWs in their system, and multiple back up plans in the case of closure of airports and airspace, land blockades, etc.
As overseas Filipinos, our thoughts are with our kababayan and we hope that all our OFWs are able to evacuate safely and repatriated back home to their waiting families. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos labour in countries in very difficult conditions -- not only in their rights as workers to just wages and better worker protections, but as important, also in their rights to life and security in their war-torn host countries, i.e. evacuation and repatriation before it is too late.
The Filipino OFWs stand as witnesses to the whole sale and export of Filipino labour. Why? Because there are no jobs, livelihood, decent wages back home for Filipino workers. They stand as witnesses to a government that chooses to be subservient to US and foreign interests, big landlords and bureaucrat capitalists, rather than to work for national industrialization and genuine land reform.
Migrante Canada reiterates Migrante International’s call on the Marcos Jr. government to organize and implement a systematic rescue effort for Filipinos and OFWs in Israel, as well as those still in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iran. Immediate and sufficient assistance to distressed migrants in the forms of ground transportation, temporary shelter, and medical aid must be in place. Repatriation promises must be kept; it must include full economic reintegration into Philippine society to ensure that repatriated Filipinos are provided not just with their immediate needs but of livable jobs and the promises of assistance by the government are kept.
Not one Filipino migrant must be left behind. Not one Filipino migrant must be denied rescue before it is too late.
Migrante Canada calls on our fellow kababayan overseas to continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran and Palestine and other oppressed peoples as they resist and fight for their sovereign rights and their lands. As overseas Filipinos, we must continue to expose imperialism and fascism. We must be vigilant and not allow the Marcos Jr. government to drag the Filipino people into its US wars of aggression.###
For reference:
Chris Sorio, Secretary-General, Migrante Canada
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