DMW EXPANDS WAR RISK ZONE TO ENTIRE PERSIAN GULF — 2.1 MILLION FILIPINOS IN MIDDLE EAST, NEARLY 2,000 SEEKING REPATRIATION

How fast is the danger zone expanding?

On Saturday, March 8, the Department of Migrant Workers classified the Strait of Hormuz as a war risk area. By Sunday, March 9, Secretary Hans Cacdac had extended that classification to cover the entire Persian Gulf.

Two days. Two declarations. The second one dwarfs the first.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman. The Persian Gulf is the body of water that connects Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE. Declaring the whole Gulf a "War Risk Operations Area" means Filipino seafarers assigned to vessels operating anywhere in those waters now have the legal right to refuse the assignment without contract penalties.

THE REPATRIATION COUNT

As of March 9, a total of 1,979 Filipinos across nine Middle East countries have formally requested repatriation, according to the DMW. Kuwait leads the count at 633.

Eleven Filipinos were safely evacuated from Iran to Van, Turkey, with coordination between the Philippine embassies in Tehran and Ankara. An estimated 800 Filipinos remain in Iran who may wish to return.

On Sunday, 61 OFWs — including three minors — landed at NAIA Terminal 3 aboard Emirates Flight EK 334 from Dubai. The day before, 81 OFWs had returned from the Middle East through separate flights.

One Filipino in Doha, Qatar, was wounded by shrapnel from an intercepted missile. The injuries were reported as minor, and the individual is recovering.

2.1 MILLION IN THE REGION

The DMW's own 2025 data puts the total number of Filipinos living across the Middle East at approximately 2.1 million. Of those, roughly 1.1 million are deployed land-based OFWs under formal labor contracts.

That means the 1,979 requesting repatriation so far represent less than 0.1 percent of the total Filipino population in the region. The gap between the number who want to leave and the number who are there is enormous — and it could shift quickly depending on how the conflict evolves.

CONGRESS STEPS IN

House Speaker Faustino Dy III has ordered a joint briefing by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, scheduled for Wednesday, March 11. The briefing is expected to cover the scope of the repatriation effort, the safety of Filipino workers and seafarers in the conflict zone, and the government's capacity to handle a larger-scale evacuation if needed.

THE FUEL CONNECTION

The Persian Gulf classification is not just a labor issue. It is directly tied to energy supply.

The Strait of Hormuz, now classified as a war risk zone since March 8, handles roughly 20 to 21 percent of daily global oil consumption. Iran has threatened to block all vessel traffic through the strait. Qatar has already declared force majeure on its liquefied natural gas operations. Iraq has reduced oil output due to the Hormuz blockage.

The Philippines imports over 90 percent of its fuel. The Department of Energy has signaled that fuel prices will see double-digit increases starting March 10. Goldman Sachs has raised its Brent crude forecast by $10 per barrel.

When the DMW designates the Persian Gulf a war risk zone, it is responding to a military conflict that is simultaneously a shipping crisis and an energy crisis. Filipino seafarers are caught in the middle of all three.

WHAT THE DESIGNATION MEANS FOR SEAFARERS

The "War Risk Operations Area" classification comes from the Warlike Operations Area Committee of the International Bargaining Forum. Under this framework, Filipino crew members on vessels flagged under any country — Panama, Liberia, Marshall Islands, or otherwise — gain specific protections: the right to refuse assignment, enhanced insurance coverage, and additional compensation for war-risk sailing.

Shipowners employing Filipino crew are required to inform their personnel of the designation before any transit through the affected zones. Crew members who decline cannot be penalized or have their contracts terminated.

The Philippines supplies an estimated 25 percent of the global merchant shipping workforce. A significant portion of those seafarers serve on tankers and carriers that routinely pass through the Persian Gulf.