Push Admin

Philippines eases alert level in Iraq, exempts returning OFWs from ban

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday it lowered the alert level in Iraq due to &quot;improvements in the security situation&quot; in the country and as requested by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).</p><p>In a statement, the DFA said it has eased the status of Iraq from Alert Level 4 (mandatory repatriation), which has been in effect since January 2020, to Alert Level 3 (voluntary repatriation).</p><p>With the development, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has also exempted OFWs returning to Iraq from the deployment ban &quot;subject to specific conditions&quot; listed in its recent resolution, according to the DFA.</p><p>&quot;Filipinos in Iraq are enjoined to continue to exercise caution, restrict movements only to those which are necessary, and keep their communication lines open with the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad,&quot; the DFA said.</p><p>In January 2020, the Philippines raised Alert Level 4 in Iraq after the killing of an Iranian general in a US drone strike there stoked fresh tensions.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/08/20/ph-embassy-alert-level-4-raised-in-iraq">Filipinos in Iraq to be repatriated; highest crisis alert raised</a></li></ul><p>The government later imposed a total deployment ban on OFWs.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/27/21/ilang-ofw-sa-iraq-nais-nang-makauwi-sa-pinas">Ilang OFW sa Iraq nais nang makauwi sa Pinas; Total deployment ban pinaaalis</a></li></ul><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1816635" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it lowered the alert level in Iraq due to 'improvements in the security situation' in the country.