01 February 2012 - The Department of Foreign Affairs announced today that it raised alert level 3 over Iraq (voluntary repatriation). The alert level covers all regions of Iraq except the northern autonomous region of Kurdistan, near the country's border with Turkey. This was prompted by the higher than expected surge in terrorist and sectarian violence in Iraq following the withdrawal of United States military forces in December 2011.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario has given marching orders to the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to contact and urge all remaining overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the country, to avail of the DFA's repatriation offer.Under alert level 3, Filipinos who wish to leave Iraq are offered voluntary repatriation at government expense. A ban on the further deployment of OFWs is automatically imposed in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment. Filipinos are likewise advised not to travel to the affected areas while alert level 3 is in effect.
There are currently 192 OFWs in Iraq's Kurdish Region and 279 in the rest of the country that are registered with the Embassy.Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in turn, assured Secretary Del Rosario that it is ready to provide any assistance to the Philippine Government's repatriation efforts. Embassy officials will also meet with the respective employers of Filipinos who will choose to stay in Iraq, in order to review the security protocols of those companies. END