DOLE, DFA limit ME deployment ban to new contracts

Foreign affairs and labor department officials said yesterday the restriction on the deployment of Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel will be limited to "new deployments."

Officials said the partial ban was made following consultations with groups of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Philippine embassies in the Middle East.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said new deployments refer to workers whose travel and work documents have not been completed before March 20. All travel to Iraq, however, remains suspended, DFA officials said.

The DFA said the ban was made partial since the situation in the Middle East remains stable despite the fierce military offensives by US-led coalition forces against Iraq.

Those exempted from the ban are OFWs who are on vacation leave in the country and those whose families and immediate relatives are still at the worksite; workers who are deployed far from the battle areas and those whose work visas are about to expire.

Philippine ambassador to Riyadh Bahnarim Guinomia reported that the situation in Saudi Arabia is secure despite the outbreak of war in neighboring Iraq.

Guinomia recommended that Filipino workers with complete travel and work documents and those who are on leave in Manila be allowed to return and fulfill their job contracts.

He went on to deny reports of chaos and panic among Filipino workers there, including reports of canceled outbound flights and overcrowding of airports.

"Saudi Arabia remains calm and peaceful and our workers are familiar with the contingency plan," Guinomia said.

DFA Secretary Blas Ople said he agreed to the recommendation but on the condition that the returning workers should immediately report and register with the Philippine embassy or missions in their respective host countries in the Middle East.

Last week, a big volume of OFWs returning to their Middle East employers were prevented by the authorities from taking their flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as hostilities broke out in Iraq.

The OFWs complained that the move will adversely affect their employment contracts.

The government has drawn up plans for the possible evacuation of OFWs on the possibility that the ongoing conflict in Iraq spills over to neighboring countries in the Middle East.

NAIA general manager Edgar Manda said a comprehensive plan was drawn up on the possibility of huge influx of OFWs forced to go home.

Aside from ensuring the security of the airport from possible sympathy attacks, Manda said the airport authorities are also conducting round the clock close coordination with other government agencies tasked in protecting the safety of an estimated 1.5 million migrant workers in the troubled region.

Manda said his office has been coordinating with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and various agencies with Middle East Preparedness Team headed by retired General Roy Cimatu.

"It’s important that we should be one step ahead during emergency situations. As soon as we received advisories from these agencies that there will be need for mass repatriation of our OFWs, then it is highly important that our airports, particularly the NAIA, will be available in the event of such situations," he said. –With Mayen Jaymalin, AFP