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Saturday, November 15, 2008
Iraq asks RP to lift deployment ban
MANILA -- An Iraqi diplomat said Friday his country needs millions of foreign workers and urged the Philippines to lift a ban that prevents Filipino laborers from going there.
Adel Mawlood Hamoudi al-Hakimh, Iraqi's charge d'affaires, said the Middle Eastern country will need construction and oil workers, engineers, nurses, teachers and technicians.
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"For the new phase that we are planning to do in 2009, we have lots of plans for infrastructure, so we will be needing thousands, probably 10 million foreign workers from outside Iraq," he said.
"That's why we are so in need of Filipino help and experience," he added.
Much of Iraq's infrastructure was destroyed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, the 1991 Gulf War followed by years of economic sanctions, and the 2003 US-led invasion.
The Philippines has officially banned its citizens from working in Iraq since July 2004 after insurgents abducted Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz was threatened with beheading but his captors released him 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.
Al-Hakimh said Iraq Immigration Minister Abdul Samad Abdul Rahman discussed lifting the ban on Filipinos with Philippine officials. He said the ban might be removed in the coming months.
Another meeting between the sides is expected in January, Al-Hakimh said.
Philippine officials could not immediately be reached for comment as of this writing Friday.
Officials said that some 6,000 Filipinos are still working in US military camps in Iraq, but al-Hakimh said the number has risen to 15,000 despite the ban.
Most Filipinos entered Iraq via neighboring Jordan and Syria with coalition forces or US companies, he said.
Some 8.7 million Filipinos out of the country's 90 million people work overseas. Last year, Filipinos working abroad sent home a total of $14.45 billion -- about 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product. (AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (November 15, 2008 issue)
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