At A Glance
- In an interview with state-run PTV-4, DFA Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer said the agency had been closely monitoring Filipinos in affected regions.
No Filipinos were injured or killed following tsunami alerts in several countries this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Thursday, July 31.
In an interview with state-run PTV-4, DFA Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer said the agency had been closely monitoring Filipinos in affected regions.
“As I speak to you now, bumaba na po iyong mga tsunami alert levels, so hindi na po dangerous (As I speak to you now, tsunami alert levels have gone down, so it is no longer dangerous),” he said.
The strongest impact was reported in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, where seven Filipinos reside. Ferrer said the DFA had already coordinated with the Philippine Embassy in Moscow and the Consulate in Vladivostok.
“Wala tayong balita na may nasaktan o nasawi, buti na lang (We have no reports of injuries or deaths, thankfully), so thanks be to God,” he added.
Tsunami warnings were also raised in Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the west coast of the United States, which all host sizable Filipino communities.
Despite this development, Ferrer urged overseas Filipinos to heed official notices.
“Nananawagan po kami sa lahat ng kababayan natin na parating sumunod sa mga advisory ng embassies natin (We call on all our citizens to always follow the advisories of our embassies),” he said.
According to Ferrer, updated information and emergency guidance are available through the official Facebook pages of Philippine embassies and consulates, including those in Tokyo, Hawaii, and Moscow.
“Basically, wala na po iyong danger pero our DFA is 24/7 namang minamanmanan iyong ating mga Filipinos all over the world (There is no more danger, but the DFA is monitoring Filipinos around the world 24/7),” Ferrer said.
He emphasized that the DFA covers not just overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), but all Filipinos abroad, totaling around 10 to 12 million people.
Many contingency plans and hotlines are in place, and embassies are in constant contact with Filipino communities, he added.