Filipinos working across the Gulf states have been fielding anxious calls from relatives in the Philippines since the U.S.-Israel bombing campaign on Iran began Friday — and many say the alarm back home is being fed by imprecise reporting that makes no distinction between countries at war and countries managing the fallout.
At the center of that frustration is a Facebook post by Dubai-based content creator Boy Dubai, whose open letter to Philippine media outlets drew more than 538 reactions and hundreds of shares within an hour of being published Sunday.
“This is not about downplaying what’s happening. Of course people are concerned. But concern doesn’t mean every country or city is unsafe. Many places are stable. Being specific makes your reporting more credible,” he wrote.
The letter singles out a pattern in Philippine coverage — headlines from Philstar, The Manila Times, Inquirer, and Manila Bulletin among others — that deploy phrases like “Middle East crisis” and “evacuation alerts” without specifying which of the region’s roughly 18 countries are directly affected. Boy Dubai argues the sweep of that framing is creating panic disproportionate to the situation in Gulf Cooperation Council states where most of the Philippines’ estimated 2.4 million Middle East-based overseas workers actually live.
“I’m not trying to single out the UAE because we’re ‘better off.’ It’s about getting the facts straight. In the UAE, safety measures are in place and the government is proactive, and that deserves to be mentioned too.”
The active combat is concentrated elsewhere. Pentagon-named Operation Epic Fury — a joint U.S.-Israel military campaign — has been striking targets across 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with an estimated 40 senior officials and military commanders. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have reached Gulf states hosting American bases, and the damage is real: Bahrain’s commercial district and port were hit by Iranian drones, Dubai’s Jebel Ali port sustained damage, and debris struck the exterior of the Burj Al Arab hotel. Over 1,500 regional flights were canceled Sunday, with Dubai International Airport grounding roughly 70% of its schedule.
But for OFWs in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, that is a different situation from being in a war zone — and they say the headlines are not making that clear.
“Ah basta pag may kaguluhan dito sa GCC, matic yan — ‘repatriation’ at ‘middle east’ ang hook title nila,” wrote commenter Marlon Cureg. (Whenever there’s trouble in the GCC, their automatic hook title is ‘repatriation’ and ‘Middle East.’)
Mario Victor Borja Valera framed it as a structural media problem: “Most of times kasi para lang meron watch sa content nila — hindi sila concern sa OFW but sa viewers nila.” (Most of the time it’s just to get views — they’re not concerned about OFWs but about their viewers.)
Others confirmed they were safe but acknowledged the coverage had real consequences at home. “True, this caused panic… siyempre sino ba ang hindi mag-aalala. But thankful ako na safe sila sa UAE,” Marianne Balondo wrote. (Of course people will worry. But I’m thankful they’re safe in the UAE.)
The anxiety in the Philippines is not entirely without basis. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed Monday that Mary Anne Velasquez de Vera, a 32-year-old caregiver from Basista, Pangasinan, was killed in Tel Aviv on March 1 by shrapnel from an Iranian missile strike while assisting her patient to safety. More than 31,000 Filipinos are in Israel, and approximately 800 in Iran have begun requesting evacuation assistance.
Marjorie Piencenaves Cloribel questioned whether the government’s monitoring claims have translated into actual contact with workers on the ground: “Pero sabi monitor sila sa atin dito — my nag-email ba sa atin? My kumuha ba nang contact number sa atin mula sa government? Diba wala? Agad repatriation? Wala talaga sa ayos ang balita.” (They say they’re monitoring us — but did anyone email us? Did any government agency get our contact numbers? Then suddenly, repatriation?)
Carissa Manook Tagubaras said financial assistance to families in the Philippines — not repatriation — would be the more practical immediate intervention, noting that local Gulf governments were already providing protection assurances to residents.
The Department of National Defense said Sunday it was coordinating contingency evacuation plans with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Migrant Workers, with a ₱2 billion Aksyon Fund available for emergency repatriation and assistance.
