MANILA, Philippines - The government will review the deployment ban imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on 41 countries that do not guarantee the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Malacañang said yesterday.
“My understanding is that not all 41 countries are included...less than that. Of the 41, there are those with international companies where our OFWs are hired. And they observe these protection measures in favor of our OFWs,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said over radio dzRB.
Lacierda said he discussed the issue with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the POEA.
He said the POEA board had met to tackle the request of the DFA to protect the Philippines’ bilateral relations with the host countries as well as the welfare of the OFWs.
Lacierda said the Department of Labor and Employment would make the clarification that the deployment ban will only be temporary.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippine government should have ample opportunity to dialogue with these countries.
Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the government may defer the implementation of the deployment ban but stressed that the POEA’s list of non-compliant countries was based on the DFA’s recommendation.
POEA won’t backtrack
The POEA is not about to backtrack on the deployment ban it imposed on 41 countries despite the DFA’s call for deferment.
POEA administrator Carlos Cao Jr. said Board Resolution No. 7 providing the ban takes effect on Nov. 18, or 15 days after it has been published in newspapers.
Cao said this would provide the POEA ample time to look into concerns raised over the issue.
“We are mandated under the law to ensure the protection of our workers abroad and we are doing this as part of that. But we understand the position of the DFA in relation to our diplomatic relations,” he added.
Under Republic Act No. 10022, also known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 that took effect in March 2010, OFWs will only be deployed to countries that can guarantee the protection of their rights.
The DFA has been tasked to review and certifiy 203 countries hosting Filipino workers. Of this number, the DFA had certified that 125 nations were compliant while 41 others were not safe for OFWs to work in.
The POEA will be held criminally liable if it will continue to dispatch workers to non-compliant countries.
“There has to be a legal process if we are to reverse our resolution because it is mandated in the law. There is a process to do this,” Cao added.
Meanwhile, Migrante International said the deployment ban imposed by the POEA on 41 countries had drawn mixed reactions.
Migrante chairman Garry Martinez noted that the move indicates the government’s seriousness in ensuring the protection of the rights of OFWs.
“On the other hand, we question the government’s readiness to address the repercussions and implications of the ban. I could say that our fears and worries outweigh any other positive feelings we may have now,” he added.
Martinez warned that the ban may result in more cases of human trafficking and illegal recruitment.
Batangas Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, former head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People (CBCP-ECMI), supported the move to prohibit Filipinos to work in countries where their rights are violated. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Evelyn Macairan