Up to 4,000 OFWs in US bases face job loss

MANILA, Philippines — Around 3,000 to 4,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) employed in United States military bases in the Middle East could lose their jobs as the escalating Gulf conflict continues to disrupt operations and damage key military installations.

Filipino workers assigned to US military facilities in the region may face displacement due to ongoing security threats and damage caused by Iranian airstrikes, which reportedly damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures and pieces of equipment at American military sites across the Middle East, affecting normal staffing levels.

Citing international reports, migration expert Emmanuel Geslani said several US military installations in the region sustained damage to hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft, radar systems, communications facilities and air defense equipment.

A Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery estimated the total damage to 15 military sites at between $10 billion and $20 billion.

“The threat of air attacks rendered some of the US bases in the region too dangerous to staff at normal levels,” Geslani said.

US military bases in the region are located in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Geslani warned that affected Filipino workers could be among those repatriated should tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.

“A large number of OFWs there may be joining the close to 9,000 OFWs repatriated from the Middle East,” Geslani added.

Data from the Department of Migrant Workers revealed that 9,038 OFWs and their dependents have so far been repatriated from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.