Pinoys to be repatriated due to US-Iran-Iraq tensions will get benefits —Bello

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Sunday gave the assurance that migrant Filipino workers in Iran and Iraq who may be repatriated due to the two countries' rising tensions with the US will get benefits once they return home.
In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV aired on GMA News TV, Bello said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is ready for any possible repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the two Middle Eastern states, and the Department of Labor and Employment will provide them assistance.
"Wala tayong bilateral agreement with Iran and Iraq kaya walang dine-deploy diyan legally. Hindi tayo nagde-deploy diyan kasi wala tayong bilateral agreement. Pero having said that, marami pa ring pumupunta na ilegal," Bello said.
"But we also coordinate with them. Tumutulong kami kahit papaano sa DFA in attending to their needs," he added.
Bello said that aside from the usual job opportunities here, the DOLE is more inclined to provide repatriated OFWs with livelihood assistance.

"Kapag documented (workers) 'yan, kami ang sasagot sa repatriation expenses nila. Meron silang livelihood assistance, immediate financial assistance, scholarship para sa mga anak nila. May mga job assistance tayo, ire-refer sa mga agencies," he said.
The DFA has already released a travel advisory calling on Filipinos to cancel travel to Iraq due to heightened tensions in the region as a result of the assassination of top Iranian commander Qassim Suleimani in capital Baghdad by the US.
In its travel notice, the DFA urged Filipinos "to cancel, until further notice, any travel to Iraq in view of the current situation in the country."
Filipinos in Iraq are also "strongly advised to coordinate closely with the Philippine Embassy and their employers in the event mandatory evacuation will be necessary."
US President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites "very hard" if Iran attacks Americans or US assets after a drone strike killed Suleimani, according to a report by Reuters.
Trump earlier said he ordered the strike to stop a war, not start one, as Suleimani was planning an imminent attack on Americans, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, the increasing tensions in the Middle East following Suleimani's killing could lead to a possible increase in inflation and negatively impact remittances of OFWs, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority chief Ernesto Pernia said on Saturday. —Erwin Colcol/KG, GMA News

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