MANILA - Filipinos are able to go around the Philippine government's ban on deployment to Afghanistan by using other countries in the Middle East as transit points, an official said.

“We can only probably control more the deployment out of the Philippines but not necessarily those who are coming from other places,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Ed Malaya told ANC’s Top Story on Tuesday.

Last Sunday, 10 Filipino workers were among those who died in a chopper crash in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The helicopter was carrying 20 people, including three crew.

The Philippine government banned the deployment of OFWs to Afghanistan due to security concerns in December 2007.

“We do have that ban. That ban covers not only deployment, but to the extent that we can enforce it. It also involves repatriation of workers who may be on site already given the very unstable security conditions that is prevailing in the area,” Malaya said.

Malaya reiterated a statement by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) that the 10 OFWs entered Afghanistan legally a few years ago.
 
“That's the information that we have right now, at least, officially. We also heard some reports, and this, I would like to underline, unverified reports that some of them may have been earlier deployed in Iraq, and they transferred to Afghanistan when their company moved to Afghanistan. We're also looking into that angle,” he explained.

The OWWA said the workers probably entered Afghanistan even before the Philippines imposed a deployment ban in 2007.

The victims have been identified as:
 

• Celso Q. Caralde of Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental;
• Ely I. Cariño of Cabusao, Camarines Sur;
• Ernesto C. De Vega of Naic, Cavite;
• Manolito C. Hornilla, of Taysan, Batangas;
• Leopoldo G. Jimenez, Jr. of Lubao, Pampanga;
• Mark Joseph C. Mariano of Floridablanca, Pampanga;
• Marvin P. Najera of San Fernando, Pampanga;
• Rene D. Taboclaon of Cagayan de Oro City;
• Recardo E. Vallejos of Bislig, Surigao del Sur; and,
• Noli M. Visda of Lubao, Pampanga.

For his part, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos, Jr. said the government is focused on the repatriation of the remains and extending assistance to the families.

“Thereafter, DFA will work with DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and POEA to find out how these workers ended up working in Afghanistan notwithstanding the deployment ban,” Conejos said.

1,500 OFWs in Afghanistan

Vice-President Noli de Castro said on Tuesday there were around 1,500 Filipino workers in Afghanistan.

De Castro, also presidential adviser on OFWs, assured the families of the immediate repatriation of the victims’ remains.

"I would like to inform the families of the victims that the government is doing all it can to bring home the bodies of their loved ones," de Castro said.

De Castro assured that even if the victims are undocumented, they would still get help from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other concerned government agencies.

"Documented or not, we'll bring them home, and they'll get help from the government," he said.

De Castro said there are around 500 Filipino workers in Kabul, and 1,000 in Southern Afghanistan.

Workers of AIM Group Inc.

Malaya said the victims worked for the Houston-based company, AIM Group Incorporated.

According to its website, the AIM Group Inc. provides services-related jobs to the oil, gas, refining, and petrochemical industries worldwide.

On reports that there were other Filipino casualties from the crash, Malaya said the DFA has yet to get this information.

“We do not have that information right now and we’ll try to get it as soon as we can. We have received information that that could as well be true but we're confirming it with the company. And probably, they'll be the best source for the verification of this information,” he said.

A company official, the DFA said, clarified that all 10 Filipino workers were already in Afghanistan when they started working for AIM Group Inc..

Not security-related work

Malaya added that the OFWs worked in two construction projects. “That much, we are sure because we are also even now in touch with their employer, which is a Houston-based construction company.”

He, however, could not give more information on what projects the OFWs working for AIM Group Inc. are undertaking.  But he said these workers are most likely into “carpentry, masonry, plumbing, and basically constructing barracks and bases and related projects’.

“We were not given that specific information as to what project, but from the general nature of the work of the company, we can deduce that they were doing that rather than doing security-related activities,” he said.

Insurance benefits

Furthermore, the company has assured that the OFWs are covered by insurance policies.

The company said that each Filipino employee and his dependent family will be “eligible for payments under Defense Base Act Insurance and other policies that are in place”.

“They are now in the process of preparing the paper work required for the premiums and payouts to be made as soon as possible, and of course, for the repatriation of the remains of our compatriots,” Malaya said.

The DFA said that they were informed that the incident last Sunday was an "accidental crash that was not at all related to enemy fire."

“Right now, they are trying to identify the remains as to which ones are they as compared to the people listed in the manifest. It may take some time because some were badly burnt,” he said.

The company added that the remains will be sent to Kuwait and then repatriated to the Philippines after positive identification has been made of the remains in Kandahar.
 
The DFA has dispatched a team from the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad to coordinate with local authorities for the repatriation.