OFWs in Afghanistan crash defied ban - OWWA

MANILA, Philippines - The 10 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan had defied the government ban on deployment to war-torn countries, the Overseas Workers’   Welfare Administration (OWWA) said yesterday.

OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said the 10 OFWs were deployed to work in the Middle East in 2004 but apparently slipped into Afghanistan as illegal workers.

“Based on our records, they had already returned (to the Philippines) after working in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, but left again as tourists first week of July,” Dimzon said.

The 10 workers had entered Dubai as tourists, she added.

Dimzon said the OWWA is still trying to determine how the workers ended up in Afghanistan from Dubai.

The Philippines has banned its workers from Afghanistan, but many still find employment at military bases there.

In March, a Filipino carpenter at Kandahar Air Base was reportedly killed in a rocket attack.

The 10 Filipinos killed Sunday had been working at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base for several years. They did not return to the Philippines because the government had imposed a ban on travel to Afghanistan, according to Dimzon.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said their initial investigation showed the 10 Filipino workers were hired by a US firm to work at the NATO base in Afghanistan.

Reports said 16 out of 21 people aboard the Russian-owned civilian Mi-8 helicopter were killed when it slammed into the tarmac at Kandahar Air Base shortly after takeoff.

Roque said he has instructed the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Washington to make the necessary arrangements for the immediate return of the remains.

According to Roque, all the Filipino fatalities have been identified.

Among those killed was Marvin Najera of San Fernando, Pampanga, whose father Eduardo is also working in Afghanistan.

The other fatalities included Ely Cariño of Cabusao, Camarines Sur; Manolito Hornilla of Taysan, Batangas; Mark Joseph Mariano of Floridablanca, Pampanga; Celso Caralde of Butuan City; Rene D. Taboclaon (Cagayan de Oro City), Recardo E. Vallejos (Bislig, Surigao del Sur) and Noli M. Visda, of Lubao, Pampanga.

Although it was apparent that the 10 Filipinos were illegally deployed, Roque said the Philippine government would still provide the necessary assistance.

President Arroyo ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to extend all possible assistance to the families of the victims.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said that the directive was given to DFA undersecretary for migrant workers affairs Esteban Conejos who attended yesterday’s Cabinet meeting in Surigao.

Conejos said Philippine diplomatic officials from neighboring Pakistan have arrived in the Afghan capital, Kabul, to help identify the bodies and repatriate them.

He said the victims’ next of kin were informed yesterday.

“Our priority now is to work closely with the employer and the relevant authorities to identify the remains and cause their repatriation and ensure that all benefits due the workers are paid to their families,” Conejos said. 

He said the DFA will help the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to find out how the 10 Filipinos ended up working in Afghanistan, notwithstanding the deployment ban.

Assurances

It was initially reported that Fluor Co., a US-based company, hired the 10 Filipinos despite the existing ban on deployment to Afghanistan.

Roque, however, said they are still confirming if Fluor Corp. was the real employer of the 10 Filipinos.

Fluor Corp., on the other hand, denied having employed the 10 Filipino fatalities, describing initial reports as “erroneous.”

Fluor spokesman Keith Stephens clarified the 10 Filipino workers were employed by subcontractor AIM Group Inc., a US-based construction firm.

According to Stephens, the accident occurred inside Kandahar Air Force Base’s secured perimeter in southern Afghanistan but no military and Fluor employees were onboard the helicopter.

“There is full investigation underway into the cause of the crash, but ISAF forces have confirmed that the crash was not due to any insurgent action,” Stephen said.

The AIM Group, on the other hand, said the next of kin for each of the Filipino workers killed in the crash had been notified.

“After positive identification is made of the bodies in Kandahar, these will be sent to Kuwait and then repatriated to the Philippines,” an official of the AIM Group said.

“We have several representatives in the Philippines who will ensure that the bodies are repatriated to the families,” the AIM said.

The AIM assured family members of each Filipino fatality that their deaths would be compensated.

“Each Filipino employee and his dependent family members will be eligible for payments under Defense Base Act Insurance and other policies that are in place,” the company said.

The AIM added that they would process the insurance claims as soon as possible and submit them to the insurance company.

The AIM also clarified that the 10 Filipino workers killed in the helicopter were already in Afghanistan when they started working for the company.

How and why

Remonde, on the other hand, questioned how the 10 Filipinos managed to work in Afghanistan despite the ban.

“In view of this development, Secretary Roque should really tighten the matter enforcing that ban,” Remonde said.

Only last week, Manila airport authorities intercepted 13 workers bound for Afghanistan. Vice President Noli de Castro said they had been recruited illegally as carpenters, plumbers and electricians at the Kandahar base for a monthly salary of $1,300.

De Castro estimated about 1,500 Filipinos are now working in Afghanistan.

De Castro, as presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers, said the government should determine why there are still OFWs in Afghanistan despite the ban.

Sen. Loren Legarda also asked the same question and urged DOLE to explain why the 10 Filipinos killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were not repatriated despite the deployment ban.

“The question now is whether the government really exerted an effort to repatriate those overseas Filipino workers who were already working in Afghanistan after the ban was imposed, or whether the OFWs chose to remain and brave the dangers rather than suffer unemployment at home,” Legarda said.

Legarda urged the government to exert all efforts to repatriate the Filipinos working in countries covered by the deployment ban, including those from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Legarda said the death of the 10 Filipinos was most unfortunate because it showed that the lack of employment opportunities in the country forced many Filipinos to accept dangerous job assignments abroad, even in countries covered by the deployment ban. - With Pia Lee-Brago, Marvin Sy, Aurea Calica, AP