MANILA, 8 November 2006 - More than half of the 600 Filipinos working at the Tengiz Oil Field in Kazakhstan have opted to return to the Philippines for fear of their security, the Philippine labor attaché to Riyadh has said.

Rustico de la Fuente, who was plucked out of his post in Saudi Arabia late last month to check on the problem of Filipino workers in Tengiz, said in a report to the labor and foreign affairs departments in Manila that only 220 of the OFWs employed by SK-Bechtel resumed work on Monday.

The workers resumed work after the company’s “New Site Security Plan” came into force following a violent riot between Kazakh and Turkish workers, which disrupted work in one of Kazakhstan’s biggest oil fields.

De la Fuente, who was a member of the consular team headed by the Philippine Ambassador to Pakistan, Jaime Yambao, was party to the consultations held between Bechtel and their expatriate workers.

The three-person consular team composed DFA and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) officials joined the OFWs return to their Chevroil Project worksite and observed the new security measures in place.

“The situation when the Filipinos returned to work in the oil field remained peaceful, and there was no tension,” de la Fuente said in his report to Labor Secretary Arturo Brion and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.

A press statement by the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday said 227 of those have opted to return to the Philippines and are now awaiting their flight schedules.

SK-Bechtel Vice President Jim Betts reportedly informed Yambao that the company is considering chartering a flight, at the company’s expense, to bring the OFWs back to the Philippines.

Coordination is being made with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in arranging the repatriation.

The first batch of 11 OFWs who opted to return to the Philippines had left Tengiz and will arrive in Manila this afternoon.

With their mission accomplished, de la Fuente and Consul General Agnes Cervantes are proceeding to the city of Atyrau, the area’s regional capital, to further coordinate with Bechtel officials and Kazakh authorities there on security and repatriation arrangements. An OFW assistance team will remain in Tengiz to monitor developments.

The DFA said an OFW Assistance Team would remain in Tengiz to monitor developments.