FORCED EVACUATION OF OFWs IN IRAQ EYED
MANILA, May 15, 2004 (STAR) By Marichu Villanueva - Plans are in place for the "forced evacuation" of some 4,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in various post-war reconstruction projects in Iraq.In a statement issued yesterday at Malacañang, President Arroyo assured the OFWs that the Philippine government is ready to facilitate their safe departure from the strife-torn Middle Eastern country.
"We will not hesitate to undertake forced evacuation should our security assessments so dictate," the President said.
A Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said yesterday around 600 Filipino workers in Iraq have signified their intention to return to the Philippines, after they either resigned from their jobs or refused to work for fear of their lives.
The DFA official said the OFWs, who were based in the United States’ Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq where a mortar attack took place last Tuesday, have asked that they be repatriated.
Mrs. Arroyo said she had told foreign affairs officials and the Iraq task force headed by special envoy Roy Cimatu to "speed up the identification of areas of high risk to Filipinos" and to apprise US and Iraqi authorities of the country’s plans.
Plans for an emergency evacuation gained added urgency with the death of two OFWs Wednesday. The OFWs were at work when Camp Anaconda came under mortar attack from suspected Iraqi insurgents. The camp employs more than 1,300 OFWs.
Military camps were previously thought to be safe from insurgent attacks.
The President said Cimatu had assured her that the risks to OFWs in Camp Anaconda had been greatly reduced by the construction of underground bunkers.
"It was a stroke of bad luck that (the two OFWs) were exposed and unprotected at the time of the attack," she said.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the option for a last-minute evacuation will be reserved only for those OFWs who refuse to leave Iraq despite threats to their lives and safety.
"Those OFWs who feel that they have to go must be extended all the assistance they need," he said.
Bunye said the government is also prepared, through the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration, to help the repatriated OFWs to find new employment here or abroad.
Bunye added that the suspension on the deployment of new workers or troops remains in effect while the government waits for the final recommendation of its Iraq task force.
But an administration senator has questioned the government’s ability to mount an emergency evacuation.
In a statement Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. said that the government cannot "afford to dilly-dally" with its evacuations plans.
"We are not like the Americans who have all the resources to pull out its troops quickly. We must start evacuating our people by batch and decide if they would be brought back to the Philippines or to another country in the Middle East," he said.
Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations, warned that attacks against US forces and their allies may increase following the exposé on abuses committed by American soldiers against Iraqi prisoners of war.
"It is clear that Iraq is no longer a safe place for our Filipino workers and troops, but I doubt if the government has the ability to evacuate them immediately," he said.
Villar urged the government to implement any evacuation plan before the US relinquishes its control of Iraq on June 30. — With Marvin Sy
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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