Philippines deeply concerned with Myanmar coup, OFWs urged to be cautious
MANILA, Philippines — Along with several other nations, the Philippines is monitoring the situation in Myanmar with "deep concern," the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.
The DFA in its statement said the government is "especially concerned with the safety of Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi," who was arrested by the military along with other senior officials. On Monday, military officials declared a 12-month state of emergency and appointed a general as acting president, signaling a return to its nearly five-decade rule in the country.
"Myanmar has made substantial and important strides toward democratization in recent years," the department said. "The Philippines has supported these efforts."
The statement breaks with the one made by presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Monday, who said the upheaval in Myanmar was “an internal matter that we will not meddle with," and that the Philippine military was on standby to evacuate Filipinos from the country if necessary.
This irritated Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. who insisted on Twitter the following morning that Roque "does not express foreign policy," and that "the last thing we will do is assemble our armed forces to evacuate our nationals."
However, the statement also stops short of characterizing the unfolding series of events as a military coup, in keeping with Locsin who previously said reports indicated "a chess move but not a coup."
The agency also urged Filipinos in Myanmar to "exercise due caution, monitor developments through reputable sources, and observe the guidance of local authorities."
The DFA on Monday told reporters that some 1,273 Filipinos are in Myanmar as of June 2020, many of whom "work in the manufacturing industry as supervisors" and for agencies of the United Nations as well as other international organizations.
In its Tuesday statement, the department also listed the following emergency contacts for Filipinos in Myanmar:
- The Embassy of the Philippines in Yangon
- Landline: (+95-1) 558-149 to 151
- Fax: (+95-1) 558-154
- Duty Officer Mobile: (+95-9) 2507-65938
- Email: [email protected]
- Office of Migrant Workers Affairs
- Landline: (+63-2 )8 834-4996
- Email: [email protected]/[email protected]
Follow this thread for updates on the situation in Myanmar, where a coup may be happening after de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials have reportedly been detained by the military.
Photo: Military officers wearing facemasks who serve as members of Myanmar's parliament leave after a session at the Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) in Naypyidaw on March 10, 2020. AFP/Ye Aung Thu
Myanmar's junta is endangering the life of jailed democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, her political party says on Thursday, accusing the military of depriving her of medical care and food.
Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals seized power in February 2021, ending a 10-year democratic experiment and plunging the Southeast Asian country into bloody turmoil.
In recent days, local media have reported the Nobel laureate, 78, was suffering dizzy spells, vomiting and unable to eat because of a tooth infection. — AFP
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will be pardoned, state media says.
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan says that conditions were not yet right for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the country's political situation.
"We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level," Balakrishnan says when asked about a news report that Thailand had proposed talks.
Speaking in a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan said the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had recently reaffirmed their stance. — AFP
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