88 Iraq-bound OFWs stranded in Dubai

Eighty-eight Iraq-bound overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now stranded in Dubai after they were caught by immigration authorities at the Dubai International Airport.

All 88 OFWs are in the custody of immigration authorities at the airport and are now awaiting deportation to Manila.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine consulate general in Dubai continues to assist the Filipinos.

DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs executive director Pedro Chan said the ban on the deployment of OFWs to Iraq still stands and "this policy will remain in force until we are satisfied that the safety and well-being of Filipinos will not be compromised if they travel to Iraq."

The Philippine consulate general had earlier informed immigration authorities in Dubai of this policy and of the words "not valid for travel to Iraq" stamped in English and Arabic on each Philippine passport.

In his report to the DFA, Consul Vicente Vivencio Bandillo said upon being informed by immigration authorities that 88 Filipinos were being held at the airport, the consulate immediately sent representatives to the holding area of the airport to assist the OFWs while they are in the process of being deported.

Bandillo noted that one of the Filipinos claimed they were recruited in the Philippines to work in Iraq by Tierra Mar Services, Inc. in Paco, Manila.

Dubai airport authorities also have in their custody Jordanian national Mah’d Moh’d Ahmad Hamza. Philippine labor attaché to Dubai Vicente Cabe said Hamza was with the 88 Filipinos when they were apprehended by Dubai authorities after their chartered plane was barred from going into Iraq.

Bandillo said Hamza was issued a temporary visitor’s visa to the Philippines by the consulate in Dubai last Sept. 19 and named Tierra Mar Services in his visa application as his reference in the Philippines.

Cabe said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now investigating the activities of Hamza, who recruited the 88 Filipinos to work in Iraq.

According to Cabe, 25 of the 88 Filipinos used tourist visas to enter Dubai, said to be the usual jump-off point of Filipino workers aspiring to work in Iraq despite the government ban.

While the 88 Filipinos allegedly recruited by Hamza were successfully prevented from entering Iraq, more than 100 others were able to sneak into the war-torn country via Dubai, a local recruiter said yesterday.

The recruitment industry leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they received information that 119 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) entered Iraq onboard a chartered plane from Dubai a few weeks ago.

"We were told by Filipino workers, who were deployed to Iraq prior to the ban, that OFWs continue to arrive there and just two weeks ago, 119 came in," the recruiter said.

The Philippine government imposed a ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq after Iraqi rebels abducted and threatened to behead truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July last year.

De la Cruz was held for nearly three weeks by his captors before he was freed when Mrs. Arroyo agreed to pull out a token contingent serving with US-led coalition forces in Iraq. Filipino accountant Roberto Tarongoy, kidnapped in November last year, was also freed in July.

Foreign employers and local recruitment agencies have called for the lifting of the deployment ban but Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said they would not resume sending Filipino workers to Iraq until the situation there improves.

In August this year, the Philippine embassy in Iraq transferred its operations to Amman, Jordan due to the escalating violence and the increasing incidence of abductions of foreigners and diplomats in the strife-torn country.

The Philippines temporarily pulled out its diplomats from Iraq in July after a rash of kidnappings and also appealed to its citizens to avail of voluntary repatriation.

Authorities say hundreds of Filipinos are being smuggled into Iraq despite the deployment ban. At least six Filipino workers have already been killed in Iraq since 2003.

Official figures show about 6,000 Filipino workers are currently based in Iraq and working mainly at military installations as cooks, laundrymen, kitchen helpers, food servers and accountants. They earn an average of $500 a month, or about P28,000 at P56 to $1 — significantly higher than what they would get in the Philippines. — With Mayen Jaymalin