Vice President Sara Duterte claimed it isn’t at all difficult to send planes to the Middle East to rescue overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who wish to return home, despite what the Marcos administration would have the public believe.

She recounted that, during the pandemic, Davaoeños stranded in Manila were flown back to Mindanao via a hired commercial airline.

“Alam mo, napakadali magpadala ng eroplano, sa totoo lang. Alam niyo ba noong COVID na panahon, madami ang na-stranded na mga taga-Davao City sa Manila. Napakadali: nangontrata kami ng commercial airline, sabi namin, ‘Isasakay namin silang lahat, babayaran namin kayo using COVID funds.’ So ilang beses namin ginawa ‘yun,” Duterte said during a sit-down interview on Friday.

“Hindi lang 100, hindi lang 200 na mga indibidwal ang nilipad namin noong panahon na iyon. At hindi lang mga taga-Davao City,” she added.

When told that the airspace over the Middle East had been closed, the vice president shared that a friend of hers was on her way home from Dubai.

“‘Yung isang kaibigan ko galing Dubai, papauwi na siya. Kasi nagbukas na ‘yung (airspace)—siguro limitado, pero hindi sarado… commercial flight siya,” she disclosed.

“Hindi ganyan kahirap magpadala ng eroplano kung saan mo gusto kumuha o mag-rescue ng tao,” she argued.

Furthermore, Duterte said that a point person within her office who handles “parallel groups”—groups of Duterte supporters since her campaign as vice president scattered across various regions—has been asking OFWs in the Middle East if they want to come back to the Philippines.

She claimed, however, that they would refuse because there would be no work available that could help them and their families make ends meet under the current administration.

Duterte assured that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) is ready to provide assistance, despite limited resources.

“Limited ‘yung capacity namin tumulong, pero handa kami,” she said.

The third and fourth impeachment complaints filed against Duterte were declared sufficient in substance by the House justice panel on March 4. Duterte expressed embarrassment over the government’s prioritization of its “plan” to oust her over their countrymen’s welfare.

Meanwhile, Iran has named slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor. Ali Khamenei was killed in one of the first US-Israeli strikes launched over a week ago, according to Reuters.