Malacañang concerned about Filipinos in Myanmar
MANILA – While Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque refused to issue a statement immediately after military seized power after alleging election fraud in the elections held last November, he said the foremost concern of the Office of the President is the safety and welfare of Filipino nationals in Myanmar.
Latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed there were 1,273 Filipino nationals in Myanmar as of June 2020.
The DFA said most Filipinos in Myanmar work in the manufacturing industry either as supervisors in textile and cigarette companies. Several others are working for United Nations agencies and international organizations.
“First and foremost, we are concerned of the safety and welfare of Filipinos in Myanmar. The Philippine Embassy to doing its best to help Filipino nationals who may wish to return home or seek temporary shelter,” he said. He added they are finding ways to help Filipino nationals as we call on them to be extra careful.
“What happened in Myanmar is a internal matter and we don’t want to intervene,” he further explained. He also expressed hope the crisis would soon be over and that everything would return to normal,
Meanwhile, acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendric Chua said every social, political or economy event would affect investments in the country. It has been reported Ayala Corporation, Liwayway and Universal Robina have food processing plants while Bench has its factory in Myanmar.
“We cannot say the recent development’s impact would be to Filipino investments in Myanmar until we see further developments and we have to look at them further,” Secretary Chua added. (Melo M. Acuña)
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque (left) and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendric Chua. (Screen grab photos taken from Virtual Press Conference at midday today/Melo M. Acuna)
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