Gov't may defer deployment ban

MANILA, Philippines - The government may possibly defer the implementation of the deployment ban in 41 countries considered incapable of providing necessary protection for Filipino workers, Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said yesterday.

Cruz said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has already called an emergency meeting to look into the possibility of delaying the implementation of the deployment ban.

“The POEA governing board will meet to study and review the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to defer the implementation of the certification,” Cruz said.

Cruz, however, stressed that the POEA governing board’s list of non-compliant countries or those considered unqualified to hire Filipino workers was based on the DFA’s recommendation.

“All of the resolutions of the POEA concerning the banned countries were based 100 percent (on) the certification issued by the DFA through the different embassies,” Cruz explained.

Under the amended Migrant Workers Act, Cruz said the DFA is mandated to certify countries that are safe for deployment while the POEA and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) would restrict deployment to countries without the mandated certification.

“We are just following provisions of the law. In fact, the DOLE even waited for almost a year for the issuance of the DFA’s evaluation and certification,” Cruz pointed out.

Cruz also noted the DFA has been involved in all the POEA governing board’s meetings concerning the implementation of the Migrant Workers Act, including the ban on non-compliant countries.

According to Cruz, the law mandates the implementation of the deployment ban within 15 days after the publication of the POEA resolution in national newspapers, which means that restriction would take effect by Nov. 17.