Hundreds of Filipino workers continue to leave for Cuba to join other
                            Filipinos already at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay to construct
                            jails for captured Taliban and al-Qaeda members from Afghanistan.

                            US navy officials have cordoned off a huge open space in Guantanamo
                            naval base as site of the detention center for Taliban and al-Qaeda
                            "battlefield detainees," which has been dubbed as "Camp X-Ray"
                            because the jail cells are transparent from the outside.

                            Sources in the Department of Labor and Employment said the
                            necessary documents for the deployment of 150 more Filipino
                            construction workers are being processed by the Philippine Overseas
                            Employment Administration (POEA).

                            They are reportedly getting an average of $1,000 monthly pay, with free
                            accommodation, food and full benefits in case of any work-related
                            accident.

                            "The US government reportedly prefers OFWs (overseas Filipino
                            workers) to do the job because they are efficient workers," a source
                            said.

                            Sources said the first batch of 250 Filipino construction workers and
                            engineers left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for
                            Guantanamo naval base Monday.

                            "The job order for the construction job was actually for 400 OFWs but the
                            250 were the first to be processed so they had to leave earlier than the
                            others," the source said.

                            The additional 150 workers are reportedly set to leave for Cuba soon.
                            They will also build additional quarters for US troops at Guantanamo
                            Bay.

                            Labor department officials said the deployment of more OFWs to
                            Guantanamo is expected to boost dollar remittances to the Philippines,
                            which had dramatically dropped last year.

                            Labor department re-cords showed remittances from OFWs dropped by
                            20 percent to $5.2 billion in the first 11 months of 2001 from $6.5 billion
                            during the same period in 2000.

                            Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the remarkable drop in
                            remittances occurred after last year’s Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the US
                            because most OFWs decided to hoard dollars.

                            OFWs in the US are the biggest source of the country’s yearly
                            remittances, she added. – Mayen Jaymalin