DFA Mulls Lifting of Iraq Deployment Ban

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has entertained the idea of lifting a longstanding deployment ban of Filipino workers to Iraq.

DFA secretary Albert del Rosario has tasked a delegation of five members to Iraq to study the possibility of reopening of the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad — which relocated in Amman, Jordan in 2005, and the resumption of OFW deployment into the war-torn Middle Eastern state, where ban has been imposed in 2004. The group, header by DFA Undersecretary Rafael Sequis, arrived in Iraq Monday and will meet with Iraqi officials as well as Filipino workers based in Baghdad and Erbil.

The delegation will also look into the impact of the withdrawal of American military forces in December on the security of Filipinos, the DFA said in a press release. While deployment ban is in place, the Philippine government has allowed those working inside American military camps and facilities to finish their contracts.

This is the first visit to Iraq by a ranking Philippine government official since the DFA transferred its Baghdad embassy to Amman, Jordan in 2005 following the kidnapping of Angelito dela Cruz and Robert Tarongoy in 2004 and 2005, respectively.