THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued a directive to all embassies to update their contingency plans following heightened alert from the North Korea threat. The Philippine Consulate General in Agana raised an Alert Level I in Guam, which the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea has threatened to attack with a nuclear missile. DFA Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said contingency plans should be current “to ensure that these could lead Filipinos out of harm’s way.” “Our people all over the world are counting on us to lead them to safety in case worse comes to worst,” Mr. Cayetano said, noting that embassies in other parts of the world where there are tensions like the Middle East should also have updated contingency plans. The DFA said there are an estimated 10 million Filipinos around the world, including two million in the Middle East, 65,000 in South Korea and 42,835 in Guam. — Mario M. Banzon

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