MANILA, Philippines - Filipino workers employed in Afghanistan yesterday pressed for the immediate lifting of the deployment ban there so they could return and spend the Christmas holidays here.
Catherine Sobrevega, leader of the 5,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Afghanistan, said most of them would like to spend Christmas in the Philippines but could not return immediately due to the existing deployment ban.
“We hope the Aquino government would lift the ban as a Christmas gift to Filipino workers here in Afghanistan,” Sobrevega said, adding they are apprehensive that they may not be able to return to their work.
The government banned the deployment of workers to Afghanistan due to prevailing hostilities there but Filipino workers continued to sneak into the country despite the ban.
According to Sobrevega, President Aquino already created a task force to review the deployment ban.
A team from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was supposed to fly to Afghanistan this week to conduct a review, but canceled the plan due to the growing tension in Korea.
“We are appealing to President Aquino to let the DFA’s fact finding team come to Afghanistan the soonest possible time so it can come to an informed review of the labor deployment ban policy,” Sobrevega said.
She said the team from the DFA should also look into the order of the US government to terminate the employment of Filipino workers and comply with the deployment ban.