DOLE: Identify where Pinoys face deportation

Acting Labor and Employment Secretary Manuel Imson has ordered labor attachés worldwide to report to the home office the number of undocumented Filipino workers in their countries of assignment.

"We need the report so we can appropriately respond and help our workers," he said.

Imson said published reports about a crackdown on Filipino illegals in various countries are unfounded and could be meant to "discredit" Malacañang.

"There seems to an established pattern relative to the mass deportation of illegal Filipinos," he said.

"They are probably coming out with these new items to cause panic and to destabilize the government. It is very evident that they wanted to project an alarming situation in places where there are Filipino workers."

Ambassadors of the concerned countries, whom labor officials have contacted, had denied news reports of a crackdown on Filipino workers, Imson added.

Earlier, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said a number of countries are set to ban the hiring of illegal migrants as part of security measures against terrorists.

Sto. Tomas said the labor department and other government agencies are doing everything to legalize the status of undocumented Filipino workers abroad.

The labor department is monitoring the situation in countries where many Filipinos work, so the government could help them through diplomatic channels in case of a crackdown, Sto. Tomas added. –Mayen Jaymalin, Romel Bagares