DFA chief: Ban on OFW deployment in Iraq stays

Filipinos are still banned from working in Iraq as the government has not yet approved a recommendation for a partial deployment.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said yesterday the safety of Filipinos must be "guaranteed 100 percent" before the ban could be lifted.

"The ultimate and primary consideration is always the safety of Filipino workers there," he said. "Until otherwise announced, the ban on workers, including truck drivers remain(s)."

The security situation in Iraq has still to be assessed after retired Gen. Roy Cimatu, special envoy to the Middle East, endorsed a partial lifting of the ban, he added.

Cimatu has reported to Malacañang that Anaconda and Victory, the biggest US military camps in Iraq, are the safest places in that war-torn country.

Security around the perimeter of Camp Anaconda has been upgraded to assure the protection of soldiers and civilian workers, he added.

US Ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone has proposed that the government relax the ban, considering the fact that coalition forces are out to secure civilians in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Romulo said the Philippine embassy in Baghdad is ready to act on any request for repatriation from Filipinos wishing to leave Iraq.

No expense will be spared when it comes to the welfare of Filipinos abroad, he added.

Last Sunday, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas reported that 24 Filipinos have entered Iraq to work in US military camps in defiance of the ban.

"What they did is very risky because terrorist attacks in Iraq are continuing until this time," she said.

Sto. Tomas said the government had imposed the ban on Iraq to ensure the safety of Filipinos, not to deny them the chance to get jobs.

"Our recommendation is for selective deployment, specifically to the two US military camps, Victory and Anaconda," she said.

Sto. Tomas said President Arroyo has yet to act on her recommendation for the partial deployment of Filipino workers in Iraq.

Malacañang officials met yesterday to discuss whether to approve her recommendation, she added.

The government banned Filipinos from working in Iraq last July 10 after Iraqi rebels snatched Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz.

Earlier, Cimatu recommended to Malacañang that Filipino workers be redeployed in selected areas in Iraq where their security could be guaranteed.

Filipinos can also work in Camps Victory in Baghdad, Anaconda in Balad, and Taji, provided US authorities agree to boost their security, he added.

Cimatu said that despite the security situation, demand for Filipino workers in US bases in Iraq was very high.

"They are in fact asking us for some 700 workers next week," he said.

However, the government should continue to ban Filipinos from working as truck drivers in Iraq because it was difficult to guarantee their security, he added.

The government had halted the deployment of workers to Iraq after a Filipino truck driver was killed in a roadside bombing in April, and a worker in Camp Anaconda was killed in a guerrilla mortar attack.

More than 3,000 Filipino civilians already work in Iraq, although the government has been helping in the repatriation of workers who feel it is no longer safe to stay.