Pinoys in Kurdistan urged to postpone travel plans amid tensions


The Philippine Embassy in Iraq has advised Filipinos in the Kurdistan region to postpone travel plans and to remain calm amid tensions between the central government and local Kurd authorities.
According to the embassy, those who will travel out of Kurdistan may have trouble returning to Iraq if they don't have valid Iraqi visas, as the Iraqi government has decided to suspend all international flights to and from the region.
"Filipinos going on vacation would have to take Iraqi Airways to Baghdad to board their connecting flights to the Philippines or elsewhere outside the country," the embassy said.
"Filipinos who entered Kurdistan directly and without valid Iraqi visas will only be allowed to board their connecting flights out of Baghdad after paying a fine of $420.00 to immigration authorities," it added.
Majority of the estimated 4,000 Filipinos working in Iraq are in the Kurdistan region.
The embassy said it has yet to receive any guidelines from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad on whether it would be possible for Filipino nationals already in the Philippines to secure their visas at the Iraqi Embassy in Manila.
"In view of this, the Embassy believes that it would be better for our kababayans to put on hold their travel plans until this matter is clarified," it said.
It added that it would not be in a position to assist Filipinos who may not be able to return to their jobs in Kurdistan in the event that they would not be able to secure their visas.
On Monday, Iraq’s central government forces launched an advance into territory held by Kurds, seizing a swathe of countryside surrounding the oil city of Kirkuk in bold military response to a Kurdish vote last month on independence, according to Reuters.
The military action was the most decisive step Baghdad has taken yet to rein in the independence aspirations of the Kurds, who have governed themselves as an autonomous part of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and voted on Sept. 25 to secede.
The Philippine Embassy in Iraq is advising the Filipino communities there to remain calm.
"At present, the Embassy does not see any immediate threat to the safety and security of our kababayans in the region arising from the reported tensions in Kirkuk Province," it said. —KBK, GMA News

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