2 OFWs killed in Iraq bombings


MANILA - Two Filipino overseas contract workers have been killed while two others have been injured in separate bombings in Iraq in recent weeks.

Killed were Rey Torres, a driver who was killed outside his worksite in Camp Victory in downtown Baghdad April 17, and Marcelo Salazar, 46, who died when the US military vehicle he was driving along a highway connecting Baghdad to southern Iraq overturned, the DFA said. There was Â?no trace of gunshot wounds in his (SalazarÂ?s) body which means that his death could have resulted from a vehicular accident or a terrorist attack against a coalition convoy," said Charge dÂ?Affaires Ricardo Endaya.

Rey Torres, who was employed by the Qatar International Trading Company, is the first Filipino shot and killed in Iraq since the abduction of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in July 2004. Earlier, two Filipino overseas workers were wounded when they and three other Filipino workers were on their way to the Baghdad airport.

Torres was shot shortly after he ended his shift, the DFA said. Details were not immediately available. TorresÂ?s death and the wounding of the two other OFWs prompted Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to make a Â?strong and urgent appealÂ? to all overseas Filipino workers in Iraq to consider returning to the Philippines.

Â?Recent events have shown that the threat to the safety and the lives of Filipino workers in Iraq has become even greater. The threat is real," he said. Charge dÂ? Affaires Eric Endaya of the Philippine embassy in Iraq said TorresÂ?s presence in downtown Baghdad is contrary to the Philippine governmentÂ?s security advisory to Filipino workers there not to wander outside their work areas, which are relatively more secure.

The Philippines pulled out its token military contingent serving with US-led coalition forces in Iraq last July after militants threatened to behead De la Cruz.

A numbers of Filipino civilians however continue working in Iraq, mainly on US military bases, and Filipino accountant Robert Tarongoy has been held hostage by insurgents since November. Romulo earlier ordered an investigation of an American firm for the illegal deployment in Iraq of five overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were almost kidnapped by armed men there April 16. Two of them were injured in a bomb explosion.

Romulo instructed Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Jose Brillantes to investigate Dawood & Partners for the illegal deployment of Francisco Luz, Sherylyn Fontanilla, Imelda Talibao, Ginalyn Mejia, and Cherilyn Valdez Â?with the view of imposing sanctions or suspension for recruiting OFWs." The five workers came under attack while on their way to the Baghdad International Airport. Two of them were slightly injured.

Romulo also called on the 4,000 or so Filipino workers in Iraq to consider immediately returning to the Philippines Â?in view of the dangerous security situation in that Middle East country." On RomuloÂ?s instructions, charge dÂ?affaires Eric Endaya of the Philippine embassy in Iraq reminded Filipinos there that the embassy is ready to assist them in their immediate return to the Philippines. He stressed that the governmentÂ?s deployment ban to Iraq remains in effect.

Dawood & Partners, an Amman-based catering company that provides services to US military facilities in Iraq, hired the five Filipinos as food servers and kitchen helpers, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The five workers told Endaya they were recruited for supposed jobs in Amman a year ago. They signed a two-year employment contract in Manila. However, when they got to Amman, they were brought to US military bases in Al-Assad and Taji in Iraq where they worked for one year. Due to sporadic mortar attacks in their worksites, they decided to go home without completing the two-year contract and sought the assistance of the Philippine embassy in Baghdad to facilitate their repatriation.