Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said this morning that the ambush of a Filipino engineer in Iraq last Sunday underscores the danger Filipino workers face in that war-torn country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that Danilo Pasia, a 50-year-old communications engineer from Mandaluyong City, was wounded when their two-car convoy was ambushed while crossing a bridge in the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

His companions, an Indonesian engineer, and their Iraqi driver, were killed in the attack.

Defending the ban on the deployment of workers, Bunye said the government continues to do its best to keep Filipino workers in Iraq out of harm’s way to avoid a repeat of the incident involving Angelo dela Cruz.

The 46-year-old Angelo dela Cruz, a truck driver from Pampanga, was seized by Iraqi insurgents and held prisoner for 13 days under threat of being beheaded. He was freed after the government pulled out its 51-man humanitarian contingent from Iraq.

Bunye said the incident that befell Pasia was a "clear proof of the threat that still lurks in danger zones" in Iraq.

The government has stood pat on its ban on the deployment despite calls by some workers and labor recruiting agencies for the lifting of the restriction.

Saying that the "deployment ban is in the best interest of the public," Bunye called for understanding of the government’s position.