The order was based on reports from the Philippine embassies in the three countries and Special Envoy Roy Cimatu declaring the situation in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Israel as "calm and normal," the Presidential palace said in a statement.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment also submitted to Arroyo a joint recommendation for the lifting of ban. All travel to Iraq, however, remains suspended.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, for his part, said the government is committed to help address the humanitarian concerns of the Iraqi people in the post-war rebuilding of Iraq, jointly with other members of the international community.

"We are optimistic that the conflict in Iraq will not spread to other places in the Middle East. Our posts abroad are maintaining a tight watch on the war in Iraq and its effects on other Middle East countries," Ople said, adding that the lifting of the ban will be periodically reviewed based on events unfolding in the Middle East.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has been ordered "to immediately process contracts of Middle East-bound workers, particularly those who have a deadline to meet with their employers," Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson said.

The majority of the Filipino workers in the Middle East are in Saudi Arabia, while there are an estimated 60,000 in Kuwait and 40,000 in Israel. Before the ongoing war broke out, there were an estimated 1.4 million to 1.7 million OFWs deployed in the Middle Eastern nations.

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2003)