Date:
April 2003
RP's Role in Iraq
President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is now trying to put
some form into the Philippines' role as a
partner of the "coalition of the willing"
in the reconstruction of the war-devastated
cities of Iraq.
First, the country intends to send peacekeepers
to Iraq drawn from the ranks of the police
and armed forces. Later would come overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs).
Even
before the final form of a future Iraqi regime
remains to be fully sorted out, the Philippine
government has become excited at the prospects
of sending Filipinos to the war-torn Middle
East country. Not only is the president keen
to encourage OFWs to go to Iraq, it also seems
that Filipinos themselves want to go there
for work and higher wages.
It
was not so long ago that Iraq was among the
biggest employers of Filipinos in the Middle
East. Around 40,000 OFWs were working in Iraq
in the 1980s.
The
president said she would begin sending humanitarian
and peacekeeping contingent to Iraq this week,
"as a part of the country's global engagement
and commitment to the international community".
She
has also appointed former industrialist Jose
Ibazeta as the new Philippine ambassador to
Iraq and has given him the task of mapping
out a plan to help rehabilitate Iraq using
Filipino labor. In this, the new ambassador
would work in close coordination with retired
Gen. Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Preparedness
Team (MEPT) and National Security Adviser
Roilo Golez, who also heads the Middle East
Cabinet Crisis Management Committee.
Initially,
the Philippines intends to send a 500-member
humanitarian task force, comprised mostly
of soldiers and policemen. The task force,
she said, "will help in converting resistance
to the coalition to one of cooperation."
The
task force would be similar to the UN peacekeeping
contingent deployed by the Philippines to
East Timor several years ago.
The
president also announced that the country
would most likely send Filipino nurses and
construction workers as soon as possible.
The labor department said that American contractors
have already expressed their interest in hiring
Filipinos for the available jobs.
Other
humanitarian relief projects where Filipinos
are being eyed to help are the education and
financial sectors.
The
president said there could be as many as 100,000
jobs awaiting Filipinos in Iraq. She has also
expressed her preference for Muslim Filipinos
to be involved in the reconstruction of Iraq.
See
also "Of
growth and Hunger."
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