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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
June 25, 2025 | 3:58pm
This picture shows the empty departure hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on June 13, 2025 after Israel closed its air space to takeoff and landing.
AFP / Jack Guez
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is maintaining Alert Level 3 advisories for Israel and Iran as it waits to see if the recently announced ceasefire agreement between both nations will hold.
Lowering the alert level at this time would be "premature," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told Philstar.com in a message.
"We await our ambassador's recommendation. Now may be premature to lower the level. We want to see the ceasefire hold," De Vega said.
Alert Level 3 is the second-highest warning the DFA can raise for a country. It encourages Filipinos to undergo voluntary repatriation and is issued when violent disturbances or external aggression occur in a limited area.
The ceasefire, announced by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Philippine time), has shown early signs of strain. Both Israel and Iran appeared to violate the agreement within hours of it taking effect, with Iran launching a missile minutes after and Israel responding with retaliatory strikes. Trump, however, has insisted the deal remains in place.
The conflict began June 13 when Israel launched strikes against Iranian nuclear and military facilities, triggering retaliatory missile attacks that have since escalated into a regional crisis.
The exchange of missile strikes had placed about 30,000 Filipinos in Israel and over 1,000 Filipinos in Iran on alert. Eight Filipinos in Israel have been injured by the strikes, while over 300 overseas Filipino workers from Israel have since requested repatriation.
The first group of Filipinos — a total of 24 — returned to the Philippines on Tuesday, June 24. Due to Israel's closed airspace, they had to cross over to Jordan first via the King Hussein Bridge.
Despite maintaining the travel warning, De Vega indicated that some logistical changes may be implemented for the Philippine government's repatriation efforts now that Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport has reopened.
"Where it may change is how the repatriation is effected... [There may be] no need to pass through Jordan as Ben-Gurion airport in Tel-Aviv is open again," he said.
