Manila: Some 1,000 Filipinos working in Iraq are expected to benefit from a recent move by the Department of Foreign Affairs to allow migrant workers to their home country without fear of being unable to go back to their workplace.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, in a statement, said he has approved a proposal put forward by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to allow Filipinos working in Iraq to be covered under the Balik Manggagawa (returning worker) programme provided that their employers could guarantee their safety and security.

“After more than three years of waiting, our kababayans in Iraq will now have the opportunity to be reunited with their families in the Philippines without having to worry about not being able to return to their jobs in Baghdad, Basra, and other safe locations there,” Cayetano said after signing the letter formally endorsing the proposal for the approval by Philippine Labour and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

In 2014, the Philippines elevated to Alert Level 4 the state of caution for Filipinos working in Iraq following the capture by the Daesh of Mosul and other key cities in Iraq. The Islamic militant group went as far as threaten to overrun the capital, Baghdad as well as Erbil.

Alert Level 4 equates to mandatory evacuation under the DFA caution protocol for Filipinos working and staying overseas.

But with recent victories by government forces against Daesh, the situation had dramatically changed.

Most Filipinos working in Iraq have not been able to return to the Philippines since 2014 because of fear of losing their jobs if they take a vacation.

“Our decision to approve the request of our kababayans (compatriots) in Iraq is based largely on humanitarian grounds and is similar to what has been granted to our other kababayans working in Afghanistan and Libya,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano however emphasised that the decision concerning returning Filipino workers does not lift the current ban on the deployment of “new” workers nor will it lower the current alert level for Iraq.

Cayetano said he took note of the reports not just of the Embassy but also of the assessment team from the Office of Migrant Workers Affairs and the Office of Middle East and Africa Affairs that visited Iraq.

Likewise, Cayetano clarified that the proposed exemption will only cover Filipinos who are registered with the Philippine Embassy Iraq and who are employed either by the following: Filipino, foreign and Iraqi companies with existing contracts with the Iraqi government; the United States government and those of member-states of the International Coalition; and the United Nations, other international organisations and non-government organisations.

For his part, Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Elmer G. Cato, who initiated the proposal, said the exemption will benefit Filipinos working and living in secured compounds in the provinces of Babil, Baghdad, Basra, Dhiqar, Karbala, Maysan, Muthanna, Najaf, Qadisiyah, Saladin, Wasit, and other areas that are certified as safe by the Embassy.

“One of the conditions before a Filipino can avail himself the Balik Manggagawa coverage is for his employer to bring him to the nearest airport and back to their premises using secured non-public transportation,” Cato said.