Palace: Contingency plans in place for Pinoys on Guam
In this July 28, 2017, file photo distributed by the North Korean government on Saturday, July 29, 2017, shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korea has been testing missiles at an unprecedented pace and threatening to launch some of those toward Guam. Pyongyang may be looking to eventually use the existence of its nuclear weapons to negotiate a peace treaty with the United States to officially end the 1950-53 Korean War and remove U.S. troops from the South. Until, and unless, that happens, Seoul probably will have little luck building bridges. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File
MANILA, Philippines — The Malacañang on Thursday assured the Filipinos in US Pacific territory of Guam that there are contingency plans in place for the anticipated North Korea’s missile attack in the island.
“The embassies and consulates in general, including the one in Agana, Guam, have contingency plans that are regularly updated to enable them to respond to emergencies,” Presidential Spokesperson Abella said at a televised press briefing.
“It's pretty automatic that if there are any threats especially for those that are in affected areas, they have contingency plans for those things,” he added.
Abella’s statement came after North Korea announced a detailed plan to launch a salvo of ballistic missiles toward Guam, a major military hub and home to US bombers, a move that if carried out would be its most provocative missile launch to date.
North Korea’s announcement warned that it is preparing a plan to fire four of its Hwasong-12 missiles over Japan and into waters around the tiny island, which hosts 7,000 US military personnel on two main bases and has a population of 160,000.
In a radio interview, Norman Analista, president of the Filipino Community of Guam, said there are more than 160,000 people living on the island, about 40 percent — or 64,000 — of whom are Filipinos.
Analista said North Korea’s threat to bomb the US territory worry Filipinos there but it there is no disruption in their daily life for now. —With reports from The Associated Press
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