(UPDATE) Phl bans deployment of new hires to Iraqi Kurdistan region

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government said today that it has temporarily suspended the deployment of newly- hired workers bound for Kurdistan, Iraq.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) decided to stop the deployment of new hires to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region due to the "growing threats" to the security situation there.

The POEA Governing Board, of which Baldoz is also chairman, made the decision after the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs raised crisis alert level 2 in Kurdistan, Iraq.

POEA records show that there are 75 Filipino workers working in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

The Philippine government has earlier imposed a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq due to the deteriorating security situation in the strife-torn Middle Eastern country.