Manila’s Iraq Pullout Due to Clout of Overseas Workers

MANILA - The impending Philippine retreat from Iraq is a tribute to the humble overseas Filipino worker.

Hostage Angelo de la Cruz, a driver, is only one among millions of his countrymen toiling overseas to keep their families, as well as the Philippine economy, afloat.

So crucial is the contribution that these workers make to the economy that they have been hailed as the 'new heroes' and described as a 'pillar of the Philippines' foreign policy'.

Their clout was evident in President Gloria Arroyo's decision on Wednesday to bow to the demands of Mr de la Cruz's kidnappers and pull troops out of Iraq early despite the risk of straining relations with the United States.

Political analyst Gladstone Cuarteros said Mrs Arroyo's decision was 'a recognition of the political clout of overseas workers. There would have been a major political backlash against her government because so many families depend on a relative working abroad'.

About 7.5 million Filipinos currently work abroad, most of them as construction workers, domestic helpers and seamen.

Their remittances, which amounted to US$7.6 billion (S$12.9 billion) last year, or 7.5 per cent of the Philippines' gross domestic product, were the main drivers of the economy.

'Without remittances from these workers, the economy would have been in a precarious situation,' said Mr Jesus Felipe, an Asian Development Bank economist.

During the Asian financial crisis, the remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) cushioned the impact of currency speculation on the national economy and kept it from collapsing.

Hailed by former president Corazon Aquino as 'new heroes', many OFWs risk their lives and endure abuse and poor living conditions just to keep high-paying jobs they hope will lift their families out of grinding poverty.

Until the Aquino presidency, the foreign policy of the Philippines had been mainly driven by the need to maintain its most important bilateral relationship, that with the US.

Last year, the workers won the right to vote while overseas - adding a political dimension to their economic importance.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, 21 OFWs are facing the death penalty and close to 4,000 have been charged with various crimes or are languishing in prisons overseas.

'Many of those facing death have been charged with drug- related offences,' said Mr Pedro Chan, executive director of the Office for Migrant Workers' Affairs. Up to the end of last year, 3,924 Filipinos were known to be serving sentences for crimes in the Middle East, Asia and some European countries.

Mr Chan said the Philippines' 61 embassies and 19 consulates draw on two multi-million-peso facilities to help Filipinos abused by their employers or who have been accused of crimes.

'If somebody committed a crime or was raped and needs a lawyer, we shoulder the costs of legal representation,' he said.

Lack of employment opportunities in the country has resulted in a continuous wave of labour emigration since the 1970s.

Mr de la Cruz, a 46-year-old father of eight, is based in Saudi Arabia, but was lured into driving a truckload of crude oil into Iraq with promises that he would get thrice his monthly salary.

His abduction last week by Iraqi militants forced Mrs Arroyo to halt labour deployments to the war-torn country, where there are about 4,300 Filipinos working in US military camps.

The ban drew angry reactions from the 120 Filipino workers who were barred from leaving for Iraq on July 8 and thousands of others who were applying to work there.

Owing to workers' demands, repatriation from Iraq is on a voluntary basis.

Only about 300 workers have so far opted to come home amid growing lawlessness there.