MANILA/DAVAO, 21 March 2003 — Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) returning to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Kuwait were barred yesterday from leaving the Philippines in view of the US invasion of Iraq.

The government suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to the three Middle East countries, in addition to Iraq, “immediately and until further notice.”

Workers bound for Kuwait, Israel and Saudi Arabia would have to wait until the conflict ends before being allowed to leave, the Department of Labor and Employment said.

The DOLE has banned deployment to Iraq since early last year. All Filipinos in Baghdad had been relocated as of January.

While OFWs have been barred from leaving, “droves” of them have been arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport since US President George W. Bush gave his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein.

Ferdinand Sampol, Bureau of Immigration chief at the NAIA, said the agency has seen a sharp rise in OFW arrivals over the last couple of days. “Some of them are on vacation, some had their contracts expire. But we consider these arrivals as part of the repatriation,” Sampol told reporters.

Department Order 42-03 mandating the OFW deployment ban also covers Middle East workers who are here on vacation and were scheduled to return to their jobs, said Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson.

“It was decided upon with the safety and welfare of the OFWs as the foremost consideration,” Imson said.

Around 6,000 Filipinos stand to be affected by the deployment ban every month.

Some 150 OFWs slated to leave yesterday were already at the departure gate of their Philippine Airlines flight to Riyadh, when they were barred from boarding by airline representatives who informed them they could no longer leave.

“Who will pay for the visa fees already paid? Our visas will expire on March 24. And what about our contracts?” asked an exasperated employee who works at one of the restaurants frequented by Saudi royalty.

The OFW, who declined to identify himself, said he had been on vacation and had even extended his stay for a week, not expecting the government would suspend the deployment of OFWs to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries.

“The announcement came rather late. I was waiting for the announcement (of a ban) since late last night but none came. I only learned about it when I got (to the airport),” said Antonio Ornedo, another OFW bound for Riyadh.

Ornedo, 40, was on vacation and was to report to his job at Saudi Telecommunications when he and some co-workers were stopped from boarding their Saudi Airlines flight. “My family will have to resort to using our savings because it’s difficult to risk money in business,” said Ornedo, who had come all the way from Pangasinan to make his 1 p.m. flight.

Ornedo said that while it was hard, his wife has accepted the suspension because of safety considerations.

A number of vacationing OFWs in the southern Philippines also expressed disappointment with the ban.

Sonia Vicar said nobody could stop her from leaving because she knows she will be safe once she gets back to Kuwait.

She said she knew because she survived the 1991 Gulf War. Vicar was returning to Kuwait after a brief vacation to fulfill her promise to her wards of 17 years to be back even when the war breaks out.

“It may be hard to believe but it’s very peaceful there,” said Reggie Barcelo who was interviewed at the airport in Davao while preparing himself for a connecting flight to Riyadh.

Many other OFWs said the ban on OFWs returning to Saudi Arabia was unfair. Many said they’d rather die in war than die of hunger in a country where unemployment has become a big problem.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration at the airport gave out copies of the DOLE order so the OFWs could fax them to their employers in the Middle East.

Imson said the Department of Foreign Affairs recommended the halt in deployment as “the best action to take at this moment.” There are around 900,000 OFWs in Saudi Arabia, 30,000 in Israel and 60,000 in Kuwait.