Pinoys most behaved workers in Afghanistan

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino workers are the most behaved among workers in US bases in Afghanistan, a former human resource specialist in the base in Kabul said over the weekend.

 In a news forum in Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City, June Fernandez, spokesman for the Filipino workers in Afghanistan, said the regulations inside the bases are so strict that a fistfight among workers can be a basis for termination of contract.

“I was glad that none among the base workers sent back to their countries are Filipinos,” he said.

Fernandez, who worked for six years as a human resource specialist in a military base in Kabul, said aside from fighting, the possession of liquor and pornographic materials are strictly prohibited inside the military bases.

The government has a standing deployment ban of new workers to Afghanistan, although Filipinos already working in the bases may stay until the end of the year.

US military authorities had given notice to Filipino workers in the bases that their contracts will be terminated by Dec. 31 if the Philippine government will not lift the ban because the continuation of the contract will be a violation of the international anti-human trafficking agreement.

This applies not only to the Philippines but also to countries whose governments prevent their citizens from working in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Washington has warned that contractors caught violating the order would no longer be allowed to bid for US projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fernandez said the lifting of the ban would greatly help the 6,000 Filipinos who work in the US bases.