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Philippines urges nationals to quit Iraq, offers free repatriation
MANILA - Philippines President Gloria Arroyo on Tuesday offered free transport home to thousands of nationals working in Iraq after one of them was gunned down in Baghdad at the weekend. Arroyo spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the shooting death on Sunday of Rey Torres, a driver and security guard working at a US military camp in the Iraqi capital served as a "warning that the situation in Iraq remains dangerous to our people."
And not a single picture of a chicken in the Rantburg photo archives.
He said the foreign and labor departments "stand ready to help to facilitate the repatriation" of Filipinos who volunteer to leave the country.

The killing of Torres was the second attack in Iraq that led to Filipino casualties in the past week.

The Philippines is flying home five other Filipinos whose convoy was ambushed by unknown gunmen in Baghdad on Saturday, leaving two of them slightly injured.

There are at least 6,000 Filipinos in Iraq according to Philippine government estimates, even though Manila banned travel to the country following the abduction in July 2004 of truck driver Angelo de la Cruz and accountant Roberto Tarongoy in November.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-04-20
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=61789