MANILA, Philippines?The ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq stays until the Department of Foreign Affairs deems it safe for migrant workers, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Friday.

In a press briefing, Baldoz said the Philippines was not lifting the ban on Iraq deployment pending the recommendations of the DFA team led by special envoy Roy Cimatu.

?It's status quo on deployment. Once the assessment of DFA is complete, whatever their recommendation is, that is what the POEA will follow,? Baldoz said.

The Philippine government imposed the ban in 2004 following the abduction of truck driver Angelo dela Cruz in Baghdad.

But despite the ban around 15,000 Filipino workers have found their way to Iraq. Labor officials said the workers entered the country not from the Philippines, but from some other place. Most of them work for American companies and at US military camps.

The Labor chief said the Cimatu assessment is expected to identify areas that are dangerous or safe for Filipinos.

The report, Baldoz said, should come out before August 9, the deadline for the removal of irregular Filipino migrants in Iraq.

The United States Central Command last July 20 directed US contractors and companies to repatriate all Filipinos currently deployed in Iraq by August 9 in accordance with Philippine laws.

Baldoz said the companies will shoulder the repatriation expenses of the Filipino workers.

Several sectors, including recruiters, OFWs and the Iraqi government, have urged the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban to discourage migrant workers from entering the country via third countries.