Attack on RP post in Iraq won’t hinder possible lifting of ban, says DFA
MANILA, Philippines - Despite the death of a Philippine Embassy worker in Iraq, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sees no reason for the incident to gravely affect the assessment of the safety of Filipinos in the conflict-ridden area.
DFA spokesperson Bayani Mangbin told GMANews.TV that the government team set to leave for Iraq this month would be looking into several aspects of the real situation in the area.
The Philippine team will be led by Ambassador Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Preparedness Team, which will be leaving for Iraq this month to study the possibility of lifting the ban.
Cimatu’s team will also visit Lebanon and Nigeria — two other countries with existing bans on Filipino workers. The DFA is set to decide on the possible lifting of deployment bans next month after the security assessments.
“While we are concerned with the incident, I don’t think it should stop Ambassador Cimatu from seeing the bigger picture. He won’t be swayed easily just by one detail," Mangibin told GMANews.TV on Friday.
The embassy staff, Vergine Elias Jamil, and two other companions were killed by unknown assailants on the night of Feb. 5. Jamil, an Iraqi, had been a caretaker of the Philippine chancery since November 1985.
The death of the worker cast a shadow of doubt over the security and safety conditions in the Middle Eastern country. The Philippine government had earlier hinted at rethinking the deployment ban to Iraq after a meeting with some of its labor ministers last month.
Mangibin clarified that despite the killing of the embassy worker, the attacks in Iraq do not reflect that the militants have a grudge on the Philippines.
“We don’t feel that this is a personal attack on the Philippines. It’s just one of the realities of war, ‘To whom it may concern.’ [The attacker] doesn’t choose," Mangibin said.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stopped sending Filipino workers to Iraq following the kidnapping of a Filipino truck driver in 2004 and an accountant in 2005.
Before the ban, around 6,000 Filipinos were working in Iraq and confined inside US military camps due to the volatile security condition in the country. The Philippines was also one of the first countries to send troops to Iraq when the US asked for international support.
Several sectors have called on the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban to Iraq, claiming that the situation there has greatly improved since the end of the war and has vast opportunities for Filipino workers.
Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the situation in Iraq has improved in recent months and the government should rethink the ban there especially since the US government is set to fund an $80-billion infrastructure project in the war-ravaged country.
Geslani estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 Filipinos are in Iraq, most of them working inside heavily fortified US facilities.
Vice President Noli de Castro is pushing for a selective ban on Iraq, seeking to lift travel and deployment restrictions in areas considered as centers of economic activities and where security situation have normalized.
Aside from Iraq, Lebanon and Nigeria, the Philippines has also put on hold the deployment of Filipino workers to Afghanistan and Jordan. - GMANews.TV
DFA spokesperson Bayani Mangbin told GMANews.TV that the government team set to leave for Iraq this month would be looking into several aspects of the real situation in the area.
The Philippine team will be led by Ambassador Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Preparedness Team, which will be leaving for Iraq this month to study the possibility of lifting the ban.
Cimatu’s team will also visit Lebanon and Nigeria — two other countries with existing bans on Filipino workers. The DFA is set to decide on the possible lifting of deployment bans next month after the security assessments.
“While we are concerned with the incident, I don’t think it should stop Ambassador Cimatu from seeing the bigger picture. He won’t be swayed easily just by one detail," Mangibin told GMANews.TV on Friday.
The embassy staff, Vergine Elias Jamil, and two other companions were killed by unknown assailants on the night of Feb. 5. Jamil, an Iraqi, had been a caretaker of the Philippine chancery since November 1985.
The death of the worker cast a shadow of doubt over the security and safety conditions in the Middle Eastern country. The Philippine government had earlier hinted at rethinking the deployment ban to Iraq after a meeting with some of its labor ministers last month.
Mangibin clarified that despite the killing of the embassy worker, the attacks in Iraq do not reflect that the militants have a grudge on the Philippines.
“We don’t feel that this is a personal attack on the Philippines. It’s just one of the realities of war, ‘To whom it may concern.’ [The attacker] doesn’t choose," Mangibin said.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stopped sending Filipino workers to Iraq following the kidnapping of a Filipino truck driver in 2004 and an accountant in 2005.
Before the ban, around 6,000 Filipinos were working in Iraq and confined inside US military camps due to the volatile security condition in the country. The Philippines was also one of the first countries to send troops to Iraq when the US asked for international support.
Several sectors have called on the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban to Iraq, claiming that the situation there has greatly improved since the end of the war and has vast opportunities for Filipino workers.
Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the situation in Iraq has improved in recent months and the government should rethink the ban there especially since the US government is set to fund an $80-billion infrastructure project in the war-ravaged country.
Geslani estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 Filipinos are in Iraq, most of them working inside heavily fortified US facilities.
Vice President Noli de Castro is pushing for a selective ban on Iraq, seeking to lift travel and deployment restrictions in areas considered as centers of economic activities and where security situation have normalized.
Aside from Iraq, Lebanon and Nigeria, the Philippines has also put on hold the deployment of Filipino workers to Afghanistan and Jordan. - GMANews.TV
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