The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said tensions in the Middle East could last between four to eight weeks, based on projections from Philippine diplomatic posts in the region.

DFA Assistant Secretary Germina Aguilar-Usudan shared the assessment during a hearing of the Senate committee on foreign relations after Senator Francis Pangilinan asked how long the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran might continue.

“Based on the reports from the various posts, we were informed that the US is trying to send more rockets to Iran, and then the President (Donald Trump) is also trying to have a say on who will be the next leader of Iran. The projection from the reports that we received is that it will take four weeks to eight weeks,” Aguilar-Usudan said on Friday.

She noted that the current tensions appear different from the previous confrontation between Israel and Iran, which lasted less than two weeks.

“It’s not like the previous Israel-Iran war, which only took 12 days… We received reports that Iran would like to negotiate but it was discounted by the Iranian government and Trump said yesterday that he’s more ready for war this time,” she added.

Aguilar-Usudan also warned that the situation could escalate into a longer conflict.

“We hope it will end soon, but based on the situation, I think it will be a protracted war. This is an unconventional war that’s why we are also doing unconventional assistance also to our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” Aguilar-Usudan said.

For his part, Department of National Defense (DND) Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Hechanova said it remains difficult to give a definite timeline for the conflict due to rapidly changing developments on the ground.

“Due to the fluidity of the situation, as what we’ve discussed a while ago, mahirap po talagang magbigay ng (it’s difficult to give a) legitimate timeline because may (there is) action and counter-action po kasi ‘yung bawat (between the) countries. So the situation can change very fast,” he said.

Despite the uncertainty, Hechanova said the defense department is already preparing response protocols should the situation escalate further.

Philippine military and security officials have earlier said that the tensions in the Middle East pose no direct threat to the country’s security.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged all parties involved in the conflict to exercise restraint, expressing hope that hostilities would soon end through a ceasefire.

-Paraluman News