Palace 'disturbed' by Nokor's 'provocative' actions, but says safety of Filipinos a priority

Malacanang Thursday said it is "disturbed" by the provocative actions being taken by North Korea but its top priority is the safety of some 40,000 Filipinos in the Korean Peninsula.

"We are certainly disturbed by the provocative actions being taken by North Korea but, of course, our number one priority is to make sure that the Filipinos, who might number as much as 40,000 if I'm not mistaken, that we're doing what we can to keep them out of harm's way," said Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang in a press briefing.

"We're closely monitoring the situation. The DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) is in touch with our allies and the governments that are involved in this, the South Koreans. There are multi-state discussions about how to resolve the situation with North Korea so we're following that very closely," he noted.

Carandang, however, said the Philippines being a small country, is "not in a position to largely influence the outcome of this."

"The best we can do at this point is to support our allies who are trying to de-escalate the situation and to make sure that the Filipinos living there will be provided all the necessary assistance that they need should the situation deteriorate," he said.

Carandang said most of the discussions are centered among the major players such as the China, United States, South Korea, and Japan, among others.

"We're really just kind of on the sidelines of this. We're not playing a major role in these discussions," he said.

"We're hoping if we can support them (allies) in finding a peaceful resolution to this, 'yon lang siguro ang magiging papel natin (perhaps that would just be our participation)," he added.

North Korea earlier announced that it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea, amid Pyongyang's criticisms against Seoul and Washington after it came under international sanctions for its nuclear test.

Carandang said the Philippine government has contingency plan in place, "but, it's better for us not to talk about the specifics of them. There are certain sensitivities that we have to observe."

"Rest assure though that the contingencies are there, and we're ready to put them into play should the need arise," he said.

"Again, let me reiterate, ang pinaka-primary concern ng pamahalaan natin ngayon (the primary concern of the government right now) is to make sure that the Filipinos who are living in Korea and who are in anywhere near a harm's way are provided for," he noted. (PNA)