6,647 OFWs IN IRAQ DESPITE BAN / JAPAN ENVOY CALLS HIMSELF 'BALIKBAYAN'
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 21, 2007 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - Filipino overseas workers are being deployed in Iraq in violation of the continuing ban, the country’s special envoy to the Middle East Ambassador Roy Cimatu said yesterday.Cimatu told a Senate hearing that 6,647 Filipino migrant workers are still in Iraq amid offers from the Philippine government to repatriate them.
According to Cimatu, Filipino workers are being brought to Iraq through Dubai and Kuwait with their consent accompanied by their employers using chartered planes.
Cimatu revealed Filipino workers whose passports are stamped “Not Valid for Travel to Iraq” can still pass through immigration and enter Iraq upon facilitation of their employers.
Cimatu reiterated the report of 51 Filipinos kidnapped and smuggled into Iraq on March 22, 2006 was not true. He said only 40 workers were actually brought in to Iraq, 11 of whom were Filipinos.
Ruperto Mirhan, an engineer who worked inside the Green Zone in Baghdad occupied by the American forces, said most Filipinos were informed of the plans to bring them to the war-torn country even before leaving the Philippines for Kuwait or Dubai.
Mirhan said he was forced to leave Iraq after only two months because of the bombings and sectarian violence.
“One night, a bomb landed and exploded two meters away from where I was sleeping. The ground shook and I was awakened from sleep, and it made me realize that I should go home than stay and work in Baghdad,” Mirhan said.
Mirhan disclosed some of his compatriots were even forced to take trade tests and default on their salary once they failed.
He said it was quite unfair for the OFWs since they were assigned to do the most difficult and sensitive jobs.
Mirhan said workers in Iraq were forced to work for 12 hours straight for a week. The practice was stopped when the workers protested, prompting their employers to allow a half-day off every Friday.
Cimatu said they asked the United States government to convince its subcontractors not to deploy Filipino workers in Iraq.
Sen. Manuel Roxas II observed the difficulty of protecting OFWs in Iraq since they were not supposed to be there in the first place.
Roxas called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to look into the continued recruitment of Filipino workers. He cited the firm First Kuwaiti International (FKI) on reports that it forcibly brought the 11 Filipino workers to Iraq.
Roxas said he would find out from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) how recruitment agencies like FKI were able to register in the Philippines.
Japan envoy calls himself ‘balikbayan’ Friday, September 21, 2007
(STAR) The newly designated Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura refers to himself as a “balikbayan,” and his assignment to Manila a sort of a homecoming.
Katsura served as a diplomat in the country for three years.
“It is a great honor and pleasure for me to arrive in Manila as a ‘balikbayan’. In fact, I used to be posted here as Deputy Chief of Mission between 1994 and 1997, and had a chance to witness Philippines’ vigorous efforts towards economic development and political stability,” Katsura said in his arrival statement.
The 59-year-old Katsura arrived yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. (NAIA), accompanied by his wife Yasuko.
He said he would do his best to further develop and enhance the cooperative relationship between Japan and the Philippines, and cultivate the achievements of his predecessors.
Katsura expressed optimism that the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) would enter into force soon.
“I believe that the JPEPA will play a vital role to further enhance our relations in trade and investment, and to ensure that the peoples of both countries can fully enjoy the wide-ranging benefits. I sincerely hope this agreement will enter into force as soon as possible,” he added. – Pia Lee-Brago
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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