BACOLOD CITY – Thirty residents of Western Visayas were recorded to be in Iran and Iraq amid the tension in the Middle East.
According to the statistical data of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), as of September 2019, 25 are in Iran and five in Iraq.
All other details of the 30 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Iran and Iraq have yet to be determined by the agency, Rizza Joy Moldes, focal person of OWWA Bacolod Satellite Office, told DNX.
Meanwhile, Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda, head of sectoral concerns, called on the families of OFWs in Iran and Iraq to go to their office’s OFW desk at the City Hall should they need assistance.
He said the city government will provide assistance and facilitate the concerns of the families to implementing agencies such as OWWA, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“As of now, the city is finding its own ways on how to help the families of OFWs should there be a resident of Bacolod in the affected areas,” Pineda said
So far, the city has no record whether a resident of Bacolod City is in the countries currently in conflict.
Filipinos who may need repatriation assistance may also contact the Philippine Embassy through the following numbers: +98 912 213 6801 (mobile); +98 21 2366 8774 to 76 (telephone); [email protected]. [email protected] (email); or Philippine Embassy in Iran (FB page).
