Overseas Filipino workers already in US military facilities in Iraq may continue working there until they finish their contracts, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday. The department reiterated, however, that the ban on the deployment of Filipino workers in the country continues in light of its volatile situation. In a statement posted on the DFA website, the department said the directive was approved by the inter-agency task force created to assess the situation in Iraq. “Upon the approval of the high-level inter-agency committee mandated to assess the security situation of and ensure the safety and welfare of Filipino workers in Iraq, Filipino workers in US military facilities may continue working there until their contracts expire,” the DFA release stated. The task force said Filipino workers currently employed by the US government or by its subcontractors inside US military bases and facilities will be allowed to continue working in Iraq on the condition that their safety is assured. Repatriation of Filipino workers at the end of their employment contracts will likewise have to be guaranteed, according to the release. The inter-agency task force consists of the Department of Labor and Employment, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, DFA, and the Office of the Executive Secretary. The release stated the “high-level decision” has been sent to pertinent US authorities through the Philippine embassies in Washington DC and Baghdad. The decision will be the basis for Filipinos working inside the US bases to be considered in keeping with a previous US directive of repatriating non-compliant foreign workers, the DFA said. The US government earlier ordered all its military contractors to send home all foreign workers coming from countries that have imposed a deployment ban to Iraq. In this light, Special Envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu was sent to Iraq on July 29 to assess work conditions in the country and to recommend policy guidelines. Filipinos have been banned from working in Iraq since 2004. following a series of suicide bombing attacks and abduction of foreigners, including two Filipinos, as part of the Iraqi insurgent forces' campaign against the US-led occupation of the country.
