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Saturday, May 10, 2003
100T jobs await Pinoys in Iraq
By Christie Enriquez-Uayan
ABOUT 100,000 job opportunities are awaiting interested skilled Filipino workers to work for the rehabilitation of the war-ravaged Iraq.
Earlier reports revealed that the United States has already allotted $680 million for the repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction of vital infrastructures damaged during the war in Iraq. This includes an initial $34.6 million for the assessment and repair of power generation facilities, electrical grids, municipal water systems and sewage.
The remaining amount is intended for the repair of airport facilities, hospitals, schools, selected ministry buildings and major irrigation structures, restoration of essential transport links and dredging and repair of Umm Qas seaport.
Already, some Filipino contractors, with the help of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), conducted manpower pooling.
Workers who are experienced in construction, food supply, cafeteria handling, and health care are those needed for the oil rich country's rehabilitation efforts.
The Philippine Public-Private task Force for Iraq reconstruction, according to a report from the Department of Trade and Industry, is now in the stage of "damage assessment" of the requirements for the reconstruction.
Members of the task force are the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Energy (DOE), Special envoy of the Middle East Preparedness Team, Philippine Ambassadors to Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as well as four private sector representatives.
Philippine Contractors Association (PCA), meanwhile, was chosen as the authorized "contact persons" for information on accredited Filipino contractors for the rebuilding of Iraq.
Filipinos are preferred over applicants from other nations, according to Dole 11 chief Lourdes Trasmonte in an interview, because of their noted broad experience in manning oil fields, engineering, architecture and other general construction works.
About 35,000 Filipinos worked in the Middle East during its economic boom in the 1970's.
(May 10, 2003 issue)
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