IN a press conference on Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. provided an update on the plight of Filipino citizens in the war-torn Middle East, disclosing that as of that time, a total of 1,416 Filipinos had requested repatriation from the government. As there are nearly 3 million Filipinos — most of them overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) — across the Middle East, it is likely that the number who would like to be brought out of harm’s way is much higher.