Iraq hopes Aquino govt will reopen PHL embassy

UPDATED 5:00 p.m.- Iraqi government officials called for the reopening of the Philippine embassy in Baghdad, more than six years after Filipino diplomats there moved to Jordan over "security concerns." Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said Iraqi officials said the security situation "has improved considerably during the past several years." "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq has conveyed its desire to see the Philippine flag flying once again in Baghdad," said Seguis, who led the five-member Philippine delegation that arrived in Iraq on Monday. On Tuesday, Seguis met with Iraqi officials and diplomats including:

Deputy Health Minister Essam Abdullah;

Deputy Foreign Minister Labeed Abawi; and

Labor Minister Nassar Al Rubaiee. The undersecretary and four other officials from the Foreign Affairs and Labor and Employment departments were sent to look into the situation in Iraq for the possible reopening of the Philippine embassy there. They are also expected to make recommendations on what the Philippines can contribute to the war-torn country's reconstruction, like possible employment opportunities for Filipinos. Improved situation Seguis, a former ambassador to Baghdad, said the Iraqi capital appears to be in a better situation than when he was last there in 2005. During his term as ambassador to Iraq, Seguis successfully secured the release of two Filipino truck drivers — Angelito dela Cruz and Roberto Tarongoy — who were abducted by Iraqi gunmen in 2004 and 2005 respectively. As the security situation in Iraq worsened in 2005, the Philippine embassy was temporarily relocated to Amman, Jordan. A ban on Filipino workers was imposed in Iraq due to rampant abduction of foreign truck drivers by militant groups. An estimated 4,000 Filipinos in Iraq, most of them are working in American bases or with American companies. 'Frozen in time' Upon their arrival, the Filipino delegation visited the old Philippine Embassy building, which has not been used since 2005. According to the DFA, it "could easily be mistaken for a residential building" if not for the seal of the Republic of the Philippines it bears. Inside, documents dated 2004 are still on the bulletin board, which has gathered dust, along with everything else. "It's just like how we left it six years ago. The Embassy seems to have been suspended in time," said Seguis, who stayed there with other Filipino diplomats while negotiating for dela Cruz's and Tarongoy's release. Located at a three-story duplex in Baghdad's Hay Al Jadriyah District, the embassy opened in 1980, amid the Iraq-Iran war that prompted Manila to forge ties with the Iraqi capital to assist displaced Filipino workers. The embassy stayed through the first Gulf war in 1991 and the 2003 US-led movement that pushed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein out of power. Hussein's outster, however, were followed by bomb and kidnapping attacks that eventually forced Filipino diplomats to troop to Iraq's neighbor, Jordan, two years later. Despite its relative inactivity there, the DFA still maintains the building, which they are still renting at $70,000 annually. - with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino, VVP, GMA News