Dubai - Filipinos should desist from travelling to Iraq as the temporary travel ban to the country still stands, said Filipino ambassador to the UAE Libran Cabactulan.
"I am reiterating the appeal of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo for Filipinos to consider voluntary repatriation to the Philippines, and desist from travelling to Iraq," he said.
This appeal came in the wake of recent attacks in Iraq which included Rey Torres, who was killed in a shooting incident in Baghdad on Sunday. Filipino accountant Robert Tarongoy, who had been held hostage in Iraq since November 2004, is still in the hands of his captors.
The Philippine government does not allow its workers to work in Iraq. It has stamped all Philippine passports with the words "Not valid for Travel to Iraq" in Arabic and in English. The government has obtained the cooperation of governments bordering Iraq not to allow Filipinos transit to Iraq.
"There were those who have paid attention to what's going on, and have already heeded the appeal of the Philippine government to return home," Cabactulan said.
When asked whether the embassy has recently received any report of Filipinos for Iraq from Dubai, the ambassador disclosed: "We usually get unverified information once in a while, but it has died down for a little while. Four weeks ago, we received some information that Filipinos were scheduled to leave for Iraq from Dubai. However, there wasn't any definitive information whether or not they had been successful in departing for Iraq."
He said that plans had been place to eventually allow the deployment of Iraq, but with the recent events that had unravelled, the call of the Philippine government now is for Filipinos to move out of the area as soon as they can, and for others to desist from travelling to Iraq.
"The government does not want to endanger the lives of Filipinos who may be put in harm's way due to the uncertainty in Iraq," Cabactulan said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi is still awaiting the reply from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila on the possible reinstatement of the affidavit of support.
"Follow-ups have been made, as we had specific recommendations for the affidavit of support. The affidavit of support is for family ties purposes only, and to avoid situations wherein passengers are unneccesarily harassed at the airport," he said.
There had been cases where Filipinos on visit visas travel to Dubai and later use the emirate as a jump-off point to travel to Iraq.
"Captain Reynaldo Jaylo, the head of the Presidential Anti-Illegal Recruitment Task Force (PAIRTF) and his men are screening passengers at the airport to ensure that they are not bound for Iraq," he said.By Ramona Ruiz
© Khaleej Times 2005
