Govt mulls evacuation of workers in Iraq

By CHER JIMENEZ
TODAY Reporter


The possible evacuation of Filipino workers in Iraq looms again with the abduction of another worker in the war-torn country, the labor department said Wednesday.


“We’re looking at [the possibility] if the situation escalates we might eventually think of evacuating or moving people,” Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said in a press briefing as she confirmed the abduction of Filipino worker Robert Tarongoy in Baghdad on Monday.


Tarangoy, 31, and three other co-workers were taken hostage by Iraqi militants who stormed the compound of the Saudi Arabian Trading Construction Co. (Satco) where they are working.


The abductors have yet to make their demands known.


Sto. Tomas said Tarongoy’s name is not listed with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), making him an illegal worker since there is also a deployment ban to Iraq.


He passed through Qatar with a tourist visa before entering Baghdad to work as accountant for Satco, said the labor secretary.


Sto. Tomas ordered POEA chief Rosalinda Baldoz to investigate how Tarongoy was able to enter Iraq despite a Philippine deployment ban there.


Sanctions will be imposed on Satco if it is found guilty of violating the ban. She said the possibility of evacuating all 5,000 Filipinos working legally and illegally in Iraq has “always existed” and that the government is ready for it.


According to her, there are 800 Filipinos working illegally in Iraq, while about 200 of them are stationed outside of US camps. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo left the country Wednesday night to appeal to leaders of Middle East countries, normally used by Filipinos as transit points to Iraq, to stop them from “entering their countries.”


The government has confirmed the abduction of Tarongoy and Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles said Filipino emissaries had established contact with his captors Tuesday night.


Malacañang also brought to Manila Tarongoy’s wife, Ivy Grace, who was apparently instructed to tell the family back in Davao City to refrain from talking with reporters.


Nograles told reporters in Davao City said that while he was not privy to the demands presented, “I believe that government, now, would not bend to the demands of his captors”.


Sto. Tomas, along with former Armed Forces chief, Roy Cimatu, now the special envoy to the Middle East, comprised the special team establishing contact with the captors of Tarongoy, Nograles said.


Tarongoy’s mother said that Robert had called home to say he was alright in his work and sent his last call on October 31, telling his mother to stop selling candles and flowers in the cemetery for a living. The Tarongoys live outside the San Pedro Memorial Park.


His sister, Lilibeth, also told reporters that Robert placed a call on her cellular phone which was unanswered on dawn Monday, the day he was abducted. Lilibeth said that she also heard their house phone ring but would not know if it was Robert.


Romulo said the government would have to coordinate its efforts with the US on the safe release of Tarongoy.


US ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone said there is no reason or justification for kidnapping under any sort of circumstances.


“Whether it’s for ransom or political reasons, it is simply wrong, illegal, immoral, criminal and intolerable,” said Ricciardone in an interview Wednesday during the coverage of US elections.


Ricciardone emphasized that his government is closely coordinating with the Philippines in addressing the crisis in Iraq and Afghanistan through exchange of information.


“You can bet that when something like this happens, whether in Iraq or in Afghanistan, we as allies would help through our people in the ground there,” he said. He stressed; “We do not make deals with kidnappers. People should not make concessions to kidnappers”.

US embassy in Manila spokesman Karen Kelley said in an interview on Wednesday: “We condemn the acts of violence and we call for his [Tarongoy] unconditional release”.


Asked whether he would take similar position of not negotiating with the abductors of Tarongoy, Romulo replied: “If that is what they [US government] think is best, then we will not negotiate. [But] we still have a say on what is best for us. This is obviously a very difficult situation, but we will do everything for safe release of Roberto Tarongoy,” said Romulo during Wednesday’s briefing with the diplomatic press corps.


Relatedly, Sen. Manny Villar, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, expressed dismay in the fact that despite the ban that was imposed to prohibit Filipinos from entering Iraq, recent Filipino kidnap-victim Robert Tarongoy managed to sneak into the said war-torn country. With M. Cayon, E. Torres