MANILA - Filipinos in Myanmar are urged to remain calm and to stay home after the Southeast Asian nation was placed under a state of emergency due to a political turmoil, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

• Myanmar military seizes power, detains elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi

The embassy is communicating with the Filipino community in Myanmar amid the military’s declaration of a state of emergency following a coup, the DFA said in a statement.

"As standard, Phil Embassy is reaching out to Filipinos in Myanmar through Filipino community networks," said Ivy Banzon-Abalos, DFA's Office of Strategic Communication and Research Executive Director.

"At the moment, situation in Yangon and Mandalay seems stable, apart from COVID restrictions and mobile lines being down," she said, noting that communications are being done through online messaging apps.

In a post on its Facebook page, the embassy urged Filipinos in Myanmar to register and coordinate with officials.

Myanmar's military seized power on Monday after allegations that Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party committed "election fraud".

• EXPLAINER: Crisis in Myanmar after army alleges election fraud

The Philippine government hopes the situation in Myanmar will go back to normal even as it distances from what it regards as the country's internal affairs, said Harry Roque, spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte.

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- report from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News