The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has assured that necessary measures are being undertaken by the government in preparation for a possible escalation of conflict in Lebanon.

“We already anticipated those events. In fact, our contingency plans in Israel, Lebanon, and Iran include ‘yung ganyang – the situation will become worse,” Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said in a Palace briefing on Wednesday.

Olalia said the government will deploy a “veteran labor attaché” to oversee the situation in Lebanon in coordination with the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Beirut.

Philippine officials, he added, will work “round the clock” to ensure the safest routes for evacuation and to facilitate the repatriation of affected Filipinos.

Olalia stated the MWOs in the Middle East are ready to assist the MWO in Beirut if the situation in Lebanon worsens.