Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday said the government must provide maximum assistance to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Filipinos affected by the escalating Middle East conflict.

He called for the full use of the P1-billion Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistance to Nationals Fund and the P2-billion Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) AKSYON Fund (Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan) in responding to this crisis.

“The national government has increased appropriations for the DFA’s Assistance to Nationals Fund and for the DMW’s AKSYON Fund for distressed OFWs — resources that must be fully, promptly, and effectively utilized in the face of the present crisis,” Cayetano, who served as the country’s Foreign Affairs Secretary from 2017 to 2018, said.

The Minority Leader’s statement comes as the Senate presented a united front in seeking OFW protection and, in necessary situations, repatriation through Senate Resolution No. 41. The measure was adopted on March 3, 2026 with all members of the Senate made co-authors.

This came days after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, targeting its leadership and nuclear and ballistic missile program. This prompted Iran to hurl retaliatory strikes to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that host U.S. military facilities.

Prior to its adoption, Cayetano pushed to amend the updated alert levels as prescribed by the DFA. In the title of the resolution, he also proposed the qualification of repatriation, offering it only “in necessary situations” to the estimated 2.5 million OFWs in the affected region.

Cayetano, who has long advocated for the welfare of OFWs and Filipinos based abroad, noted that OFWs in Israel, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates send home more than US$6 million annually in remittances and play key roles in their host economies.

He urged Philippine authorities to adopt a whole-of-government approach in responding to the escalating international armed conflict in the Middle East, with the DFA providing leadership in cooperation with the DMW and other relevant government agencies.

“Ang bumuhay talaga sa Pilipinas ay y’ung remittances ng Pilipino, especially n’ung may crisis after crisis tayo,” the senator said. 

“Paulit-ulit mong tinatawag na heroes, tapos wala ka namang ginagawa. Hindi pwedeng salita [lang] — dapat isabuhay,” he added.###