Following the deadly clashes in Myanmar that resulted in the death of 38 anti-coup protesters on Wednesday, the Philippines is poised to issue an advisory to all Filipino nationals to leave that country while it is still possible to do so.
“@DFAPHL will issue the same advisory to our citizens which we have already started evacuating,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet on Thursday.
Locsin was reacting to reports that the Singaporean government has already advised its citizens in Myanmar to consider leaving “as soon as they can” due to the escalating situation there.
Last Feb.15, the DFA repatriated 139 Filipinos via a special flight from Yangon days after the military seized power and detained former Nobel Peace prize winner and State Counsellor Daw Aung Suu Kyi and several other democratically elected officials.
Locsin, who led in welcoming the repatriates, said those remaining Filipinos in Myanmar who wanted to go back to the Philippines should gather themselves together so the DFA and the Philippine Embassy in Yangon can arrange another flight.
On Wednesday, reports indicated that 38 people were killed as a result of the military and police violent crackdown against anti-coup protesters in several areas in Myanmar.
In another tweet, Locsin said it is “plain indecent” for soldiers to shoot civilians.
“That’s against the law of nations and the honor of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). We don’t do that for any reason,” he said.
There are more or less 1,000 Filipino nationals who are still in Myanmar, according to government estimates.