VP NOLI SEEKS REAL MOTIVE IN THE KILLING OF LOCAL HIRE IN PE-IRAQ
February 11, 2009

Vice President and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Noli “Kabayan” De Castro ordered the extensive probe into the death of a local hire of the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad , Iraq .

De Castro confirmed the report of the death of Ms. Vergine Elias Jamil, a local hire of the Philippine Embassy since November 1985. According to the report of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Jamil and her two other companions were killed by an unidentified assailant inside their house last 5 February.

De Castro said that DFA already requested the Iraqi Chargé d’ Affaires to provide more information on the incident and to help facilitate the resolution of the case.

“We are closely coordinating with our Philippine Embassy in Baghdad as to the outcome of the Iraqi police’s investigation. This incident will be considered in our deliberation on the possible lifting of the deployment ban,” De Castro said.

Earlier, De Castro announced that the DFA-created assessment team led by Ambassador Roy Cimatu will leave for Iraq , Lebanon and Nigeria where there are existing deployment bans issued by the government.

“Ambassador Cimatu will reassess the security risk in these countries, whether it will be safe for OFWs to be deployed in said countries,” De Castro said.

De Castro proposed a selective ban on these countries, seeking to lift the ban only in areas considered as centers of economic activities and where security situation was reported to have normalized

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