Makabayan solons seek contingency plan for OFWs in Taiwan amid tensions

The Marcos administration should draw a contingency plan for overseas Filipino workers in the event that the tension between China and Taiwan escalates, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives said.

Makabayan lawmakers issued the statement in light of China's military drills around Taiwan in the aftermath of United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit in Taipei.

"We, in the Makabayan coalition, strongly demand an end to the provocative actions and aggressions by the US and China over Taiwan. These unsettling developments certainly do not bode well for the Philippines, which is a few miles south of Taiwan, and for Filipinos working in Taiwan which are estimated at 160,000," the lawmakers said in a statement.

"We urge the Marcos Jr. administration to come up with a contingency plan for Filipinos in Taiwan should the current situation escalate into a standoff," they added.

The "provacative" actions both on the part of the US and China, Makabayan said, disrupt the peace and security in the Asia Pacific region and could further lead to more military buildup and conduct of more military exercises by various parties in the region.

"We warn the US against using Philippine territories as launchpad and transit zones for further provocative actions," they said.

"Pursuing peaceful and diplomatic means to resolve standing issues should be the way forward," they added.

The bloc is composed of party-list Representatives France Castro of ACT Teachers, Arlene Brosas of Gabriela and Raoul Manuel of Kabataan.—LDF, GMA News