Manila: Philippine officials said they have yet to receive information on any Filipino injured in Syria during the recent protests.
An estimated 17,000 Filipinos are currently in Syria, including some who are spouses of Syrian nationals while most are household service workers.
"We have not received any information on any Filipino getting hurt in the demonstrations in Syria," Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Eduardo Malaya said.
He added that in Daraa, some 110 Filipinos were preparing for repatriation in case it was needed. Daraa, in the southern part of Syria, was the centre of the conflict, officials said.
Filipinos working in Syria have been told by consular officials to restrict movements while those who want to leave the country could do so on their own.
Amid increasing violent crackdowns on anti-government protesters over the past several days that have caused several fatalities, the DFA said in a statement on Tuesday it had raised the crisis alert level in Syria to "level 2."
Voluntary leave
"Alert level 2 entails restriction of movements around said country, avoiding large crowds and areas of protest, and encouraging Filipinos to voluntarily relocate or leave the country at their own cost if they have no pressing need to remain," the DFA said in an official statement.
Filipinos in Syria have been discouraged from non-essential and non-urgent travel, including for tourism purposes, and only returning workers would be allowed to go back.
The warning by the DFA was based on assessments conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Syria.
It added that the DFA was closely monitoring developments in the country, and had briefed members of the Filipino community on the contingency plans.
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