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MANILA, Philippines?With an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 overseas Filipino workers in Iraq set to be repatriated back to the Philippines by August 9, the Philippine government has sent Special Envoy Roy Cimatu to the war-torn country to assess the security situation there, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.
The repatriation of OFWs is part of the phased withdrawal of US troops in Iraq. On July 20, the United States military ordered the pullout of nationals working in US military facilities whose governments have either a travel or deployment ban to Iraq. Among the countries with such bans are the Philippines and Nepal.
Since the announced repatriation, OFWs in Iraq have asked the Philippine government to lift the ban and allow them to continue working there. Arguing that they are safe inside US military bases, they have asked the government to send an assessment to Iraq and assess their security situation there.
In a news release, the DFA said Cimatu, who heads the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee, left for Iraq Thursday. He will return to Manila next week and immediately submit his report and recommendations to an inter-agency committee, which is also studying options to address the Iraq-based OFWs? situation and concerns.
In a related development, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said these OFWs in Iraq are highly skilled and are bound to be hired by the same contractors for other jobs in other places.
The inter-agency committee, composed of the Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, among others, is expected to issue policy guidelines shortly after Cimatu?s return.
The Philippine travel and deployment ban to Iraq was imposed in July 2004 as a result of the kidnapping of OFW Angelo dela Cruz. Due to the continuing volatile security there, the Philippine government has maintained the ban.
The Migrant Workers Act (or Republic Act 8042, as amended by RA 10022) mandates that the government adhere to strict guidelines in allowing the deployment of Filipino workers to other countries. It also imposes heavy penalties on government officials who allow the deployment of migrant workers without the guarantees required by law.
Veronica Uy
