Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Sunday, August 28 that the deployment ban to Afghanistan and Iraq stays, but Filipinos currently employed in military bases and facilities of the United States (US) are excluded. They are allowed to continue working in these countries.
"After making an assessment of the conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq based on input from Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), we have recommended that Filipino workers who are already employed in US military bases and installations in these countries be allowed to remain there to continue their employment," Ochoa said.
Ochoa, who chairs the Overseas Preparedness Response Team stressed that for security reasons, the deployment ban covering Afghanistan and Iraq stays and no new workers are allowed to travel to these countries for work. President Benigno C. Aquino III approved the recommendations last week.
Concerns were raised when the US military ordered all contractors last year not to hire third country nationals, whose domestic laws prohibit their citizens from traveling and working in Iraq and Afghanistan. Washington had warned that contractors caught violating the order would no longer be allowed to bid in US projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The DFA estimates that the combined number of Filipinos working in Iraq and Afghanistan could reach 7,000.
"Ensuring the safety and security of our OFWs who work in Afghanistan and Iraq is our primary concern; just as their livelihoods are important to them, their lives are important to us. We will take whatever precautions necessary so that nothing untoward happens to Filipinos working in these countries," Ochoa assured. /MP
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