Philippines will not lift ban on workers in Iraq – report

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Houston Chronicle on Saturday evening reported that Philippines has no immediate plan to lift a ban on its citizens working in Iraq, the labor secretary said Saturday after a plea from an Iraqi diplomat for more foreign laborers to help with the war-torn country’s reconstruction. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque told the daily that there would be no deployment of Filipino workers pending an assessment of the security situation in Iraq. Iraqi officials asked the Philippines to lift the ban several weeks ago because of an expected construction boom, Roque said. “I told them, ‘Wait a minute. We have to see if you can guarantee the security of our workers, before we consider allowing our workers to work in Iraq,'” he said in a radio broadcast. The newspaper stated that Philippines’ economy is largely dependent on its overseas workers. Some 8.7 million of the Philippines’ 90 million people work abroad and last year they sent home $14.45 billion — about 10 percent of gross domestic product. Iraq’s charge d’affaires Adel Mawlood Hamoudi al-Hakimh on Friday said that the Middle Eastern country needs construction and oil workers, engineers, nurses, teachers and technicians. The Philippines banned its citizens from working in Iraq in July 2004 after insurgents abducted and threatened to behead Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz. He was released after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo agreed to withdraw the Philippines’ small military contingent in Iraq — a decision strongly criticized by Washington and other coalition allies. Roque said about 10,000 Filipinos work in two U.S. military camps without permission from the Philippine government. Al-Hakimh said the number of Filipino workers has risen to 15,000 despite the ban. MH (S)/SR 1