22 April 2015 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raises Alert Level 1 (Precautionary Phase) in South Africa due to the recent attacks against migrants in areas around the country.

Alert Level 1 is raised when there are valid signs of internal disturbance, instability, or external threat to the host country.

The Philippines condemns the wave of violence aimed at foreign workers and joins the South African government and the international community in denouncing the aggression directed against foreigners during these three weeks of unrest, which has resulted in loss of lives and has divided communities.

The South African government and the international community must rise to the challenge and work harder to eliminate such senseless and brutal violence in multicultural and multi-ethnic communities.

The Philippine Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa advises the Filipino community to remain cautious at all times. END