MANILA, 25 September 2004 — Philippine Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas yesterday dismissed suggestions to send home the Filipino workers who are in Iraq, saying they are safer there than if they are moved out.
“Why should we move our workers. They’re inside camps where they are relatively safe. However, to transfer them home entails even more risk,” Sto. Tomas said in an interview with Arab News.
“Hindi mo puwedeng ilabas yun by land, at the same time, hindi mo sila mailabas by air. Isa lang ang flight na pumupunta doon, ang Royal Jordanian Air. So as of this moment they should stay there (It’s not safe to move them them out either by land or air. There’s only one flight to that place, and that Royal Jordanian Air)” Sto. Tomas said.
Despite the report by Special Envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu that the political and security situation in Iraq has deteriorated, Sto. Tomas said no plans were being made in Manila to repatriate the 4,400 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) already in Iraq.
“There is a ban on outflow, not a ban on who are already there. Pero para dagadagan, huwag na (but we won’t allow any addition)” Sto. Tomas said.
She added that the remaining OFWs in Iraq were working inside American military camps named Victory and Anaconda, and have been moved toward the center of these camps.
“They are inside American camps they are staying further away from the perimeters of the camps than a mortar attack can reach them. We have talked to the Americans to keep our people away from the camp perimeters as much as possible and that is as safe as you can get,” she said.
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Jose Brillantes also admitted that the situation in the Middle East country was “deteriorating.”
Cimatu earlier said the situation in Iraq was “worsening,” especially after Islamic extremists beheaded two Americans. He added that terrorist attacks had become more frequent and violent.
Brillantes said the “man on the ground” in Iraq, charge d’ affaires Eric Endaya, would make and submit another security assessment. He refused to comment on suggestions about the immediate repatriation of OFWs in Iraq. The necessary contingency plans had been in place since the start of the second gulf war early this year, Brillantes added.
Sto. Tomas also said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) have been instructed to give priority to the Iraq-bound OFWs for them to find alternative jobs in jobs in Korea, Japan, and other countries. The POEA’s placement branch is in charge of recruiting OFWs for jobs in these countries.
