Binay urges Filipinos to leave Iraq following DFA directive

By: Matikas Santos - 10 years ago

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay urged all Filipinos in Iraq Friday to follow the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) evacuation order.

“I call on our kababayans (compatriots) in Iraq to please proceed to the Philippine embassy in Baghdad so that repatriation procedures can be initiated as soon as possible,” Binay said in a statement.

DFA on Thursday raised crisis alert level 4 in all parts of Iraq except the northern autonomous region of Kurdistan where majority of the 900 Filipinos in Iraq are located.

Iraq is faced with an increasingly violent insurgency that has already swept through large portions of the country.

The US, fearing for the safety of its embassy in capital city Baghdad, has deployed 275 soldiers to protect their embassy.

Around 150 Filipinos are believed to be still in Baghdad.

Binay, the Presidential Adviser on overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Concerns, urged recruitment agencies that deployed OFWs to Iraq to help in the repatriation.

“Let us work together to bring our workers home safely and at the soonest possible time,” Binay said.

Filipinos in Iraq may contact the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad at +964-7817889761, +964-7715187510, +964-7712351127, +964-7714709842, and +964-7715807201. They may also email embassy officials at baghdad.pe@dfa.gov.ph and pe.baghdad@gmail.com.