25 August 2005 – Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo reiterated his appeal to Filipinos working in Iraq to remain inside their camps (worksites) or avail of the voluntary repatriation being offered by the Government as he instructed Chargé d’Affaires, a. i. (CDA) Ricardo Endaya of the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, who is now temporarily in Amman, Jordan, to make arrangements so he can fly to Baghdad to organize the repatriation of the remains of a third OFW who was killed yesterday in an ambush in that Iraqi City.

“CDA Endaya informed me this morning about this sad development and I have instructed him to arrange with authorities for a flight to Baghdad from Jordan to speak with the concerned officials in order to repatriate the remains of the OFW.  I also reminded Mr. Endaya to ensure his own safety in Baghdad by staying inside Camp Victory,” Secretary Romulo said.

The Department has recently ordered the temporary transfer of  the officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad  to Amman, Jordan in view of the current turmoil in Iraq.    Pursuant to Secretary Romulo’s instructions, CDA Endaya is now arranging a flight from  Jordan to Baghdad and will submit a full report later.

Earlier, CDA Endaya reported that the manager of Lucent Technology, an electronics company in Baghdad, informed him that an OFW and two Iraqis were killed in an ambush in Kirkuk yesterday, 24 August 2005.   CDA Endaya said Lucent Technology has not yet provided the name of the OFW and it was for this reason that he has sought the authority of Secretary Romulo to fly to Baghdad in order to get more details of the OFW and to arrangement for the immediate repatriation.

As the Department awaits CDA Endaya’s full report, Secretary Romulo stressed: “ The temporary ban on deployment to Iraq remains.  And to our OFWs now in Iraq, please remain inside your camps, or better yet, avail of the Government’s offer for assistance to immediately come home.  There is grave danger in leaving the security of your campsites.   Bombings and ambushes favor no one.”

Pending receipt of the full report of CDA Endaya, two OFWs have already died in Iraq since the release of Angelo de la Cruz by his abductors in July 2004.  The Department reported the deaths of OFW Marcelo Salazar, Jr., on 14 April 2005 when he drove a US military vehicle outside Baghdad, and OFW Rey Torres on 17 April 2005 when he left his campsite to buy a ring tone in downtown Baghdad for his cellphone.  (Please refer to press releases SFA-AGR-217-05, dated 18 April 2005 and SFA-AGR-220-05, date 19 April 2005 for the background information.) END.