48 OFWs arrive from US camp in Iraq

A total of 48 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from war-torn Iraq arrived in Manila on their own on board a commercial plane yesterday after Philippine government authorities failed to repatriate them.

The group composed of various OFWs, including skilled workers, domestic helpers and professionals, arrived via a connecting flight from Abu Dhabi, on board Gulf Air Flight GF-254 at around 12:15 p.m.

The 48 were part of a support group of Filipinos assigned in various areas of a US military camp based in Musol, Iraq.

The OFWs were hired by a Manila-based recruitment agency. Several OFWs claimed they suffered injuries, some of them serious when the camp was bombed by the Iraq fighters.

The workers said they could no longer wait for repatriation. Fearing the worst, they came back to the Philippines on their own.

The OFWs were hired October last year, with a salary of about $300 a month, with a mandatory increase in pay after six months. However, the OFWs did not complete the six months.

They said the agency pressured them into signing a quit claim, stating that they received one-year salary, plus benefits. However, they said none of them received salaries.

Fortunato Estoesta, a kitchen helper, and resident of Quezon City, said he was hit by shrapnel when their base, Camp Freedom Palace in Musol, was bombed.

Gil Nepomuceno and Dranreb Tolentino, also based in the camp, were also hit by bomb shrapnel.

Another OFW, Eric Valera, was hospitalized in Iraq after being hit by a bullet.

The OFWs also complained that they worked in the camp for almost 12 hours a day, instead of the eight for which they are being paid. – Sandy Araneta