MANILA, 31 October 2006 — At least 225 Filipino workers want out of the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan amid lingering fears of violence, an official said yesterday.

Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr., head of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) Office of Migrant Worker Affairs, said the workers are among 450 Filipinos at the Tengiz Field on the northeastern shore of the Caspian Sea, which was rocked by riots between Turkish and Kazakh workers early this month.

Kazakh officials earlier confirmed reports that many of the Filipinos were evacuated to safer grounds when the riots erupted.

Although they returned to the work place after police restored order, most of them have yet to resume work, Conejos said, quoting reports by a consular team led by the Philippine ambassador to Pakistan, Jaime Yambao. “While Filipino engineers and supervisors have already reported for work on Oct. 25, the others are staying in their barracks until an adequate security is in place,” Conejos told a press briefing.

Conejos said 60 percent of the OFWs in Tengiz, a province in western Kazakhstan, wished to stay and continue working.

As to the remaining 40 percent, he said he was told by Levi de Mesa, president of International Skills Development, the local recruitment agency of the OFWs in Tengiz, that they would stay only if given hazard pay.

Conejos said the proposal has yet to be conveyed to Bechtel, employer of the OFWs at the oil drilling and exploration project.

At present, Conejos said Bechtel is preparing a comprehensive security plan to be discussed with Filipino workers and the Philippine consular mission.

“Part of the security plan is the 24-hour, seven-day security arrangement, police visibility including deployment of foot patrols, and putting up of a signal system and ID-coded system that rationalizes the entry and exit of workers. This plan will be presented before our OFWs as soon as the management completes it in two or three days,” he said.

Conejos pointed out that the Filipinos live in separate quarters, segregated from workers of other nationalities.

He said the employer was also considering staggered meal hours for the different nationalities “to avoid provocation from one side to the other.”

Conejos said the consular team also includes the Philippine labor attaché to Riyadh, Resty de la Fuente, who earlier arrived in Tengiz to coordinate with the local government and ensure the safety of Filipino workers.

Quoting a report by de la Fuente, Conejos said the Kazakh government has deployed 300 security personnel to guard the oil field,

Meanwhile, Consul General Agnes Cervantes arrived on Sunday in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, from Islamabad in Pakistan, to get assurances from the ministries of foreign affairs and interior on the Filipinos’ safety.

Ambassador Yambao is likewise proceeding to Astana, the new capital, and then to Tengiz, Conejos said.

Kazakhstan, the ninth-largest country in the world by area, has a small population of only 15.3 million.