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.
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"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: yangon.pe@dfa.gov.ph
- Office of Migrant Workers Affairs
- Landline: (+63-2 )8 834-4996
- Email: oumwa@dfa.gov.ph/oumwa.database@gmail.com