Save Angelo dela Cruz, Pull out Filipino troops from Iraq now!

The Alliance of Progressive Labor deeply regrets the kidnapping of a Filipino by the Iraqi Islamic Army. “This depressing moment should not have happened if the Arroyo government did not drag us into a senseless and despicable war of US aggression on Iraq ,” Josua Mata, Secretary General of the Alliance of Progressive Labor, said.

“The Arroyo government is the one to be blamed for this unfortunate event. GMA could have opted not to send Filipino contingents, military or otherwise, in Iraq so as not to imperil the lives of our countrymen, not only in the war torn region but also here in our country due to reprisal attacks from the dissidents,” Mata added.

It should be recalled that since US President George Bush announced the end of major hostilities in May of last year, the resistance further heightened and has already claimed the lives of hundreds of coalition forces and thousands of civilians, more than the lives lost during the actual invasion. At present, more than 11 thousand civilians, including women and children, have already died since the start of the war.

Unfortunately, some Filipino workers may suffer the same fate as 51 Filipino soldiers and police officers together with over 4,000 OFWs continue to stay in Iraq . The grenade attack months ago that killed a lot of people including three Filipinos should have already been a wake up call for the government to immediately withdraw our contingent from Iraq.


Up to now no weapons of mass destruction were found to warrant the invasion and link it to the war on terrorism. The transfer of power from the invading forces to the newly installed Iraq government in the last week of June this year has not in anyway solved the problem of war. The Iraqi people have not been pacified by a government whom they know is continuously getting its shots from a foreign country, particularly from the US . However, the kidnapping and threatening of a foreign civilian in Iraq with death, will not in anyway contribute to bringing peace in Iraq .


The Alliance of Progressive Labor calls on the Arroyo government to finally heed the demand of the Filipino people to immediately and unconditionally withdraw and repatriate our countrymen from Iraq . The APL demands from the government to immediately abdicate its membership from the “coalition of the willing” just like what Spain did and other European countries are now contemplating. Finally, the APL demands from the government to act now to save the life of our abducted fellow Filipino worker and avert further harm to the Filipinos in Iraq.