Philippines hopes tension between Saudi Arabia, Iran not to worsen

"Like the other countries, we also hope that peace and stability prevail in the region," said Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in a news briefing in Malacanang, the presidential palace.

He said the Philippines is an "important stakeholder" of stability in the Middle East, with the presence of 2.5 million Filipino workers there.

Of the 2.5 million overseas Filipino workers in the region, about a million have been working in Saudi Arabia.

Coloma said the Department of Foreign Affairs has been monitoring the situation in the Middle East.

But he assured that the government is ready to carry out its contingency plan to provide assistance to Filipinos there if needed.

Tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran have escalated following Riyadh's execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, which evoked sharp criticism and fury from Shiite community across the world.