Cimatu to assess Iraq situation

MANILA, Philippines - The government has dispatched special envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu to Iraq to assess the security measures in place for overseas Filipino workers in the light of the impending withdrawal of American troops by the end of next month.

Despite the Philippine government’s ban on travel to Iraq, the war torn country has continued to attract Filipino workers, most of them employed at US military camps.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said there are around 6,000 Filipinos working in Iraq.

Cimatu, head the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee, left for Iraq on Thursday. He is set to return to Manila next week and submit his report and recommendations to an inter-agency committee monitoring the working conditions of Filipino workers in the Middle East.

The inter-agency committee is composed of the Office of the Executive Secretary, DFA, Department of Labor and Employment, and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, among others.

The Philippine embassy in Iraq, for its part, is closely coordinating with OFW groups, employers, and US military authorities to ensure the safety of the workers.

Filipino workers in Iraq have requested the Philippine government to lift the five-year travel and employment ban, which has been in effect since July 2004 following the abduction of worker Angelo de la Cruz by Iraqi insurgents.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said any decision on the workers’ plea for the lifting of the ban would depend on the result of the security assessment being done by Cimatu and his team.

“The DFA has sent a team to undertake an assessment of the peace and order situation in Iraq and based on their recommendation we will act accordingly,” Baldoz said.

“Hopefully, the evaluation report would be out on or before the Aug. 9 deadline set for the repatriation of all Filipino workers from Iraq,” Baldoz added.

Baldoz said affected workers should not worry about losing their jobs in Iraq because their skills are highly in demand in the Philippines and abroad.

“Because those workers currently employed in Iraq are highly skilled, I am sure many agencies are now waiting to rehire them, so there is really no problem that they would become unemployed for a long time,” Baldoz pointed out.

She said the DFA is also evaluating the security and labor conditions in other countries with huge numbers of Filipino workers.

Baldoz said the POEA would only allow Filipino workers in countries certified as safe by the DFA. The new policy, she said, is in compliance with the newly amended Migrants Workers Act.– With Mayen Jaymalin