(UPDATE) Phl lifts workers' deployment ban on Iraq, Yemen, Eritrea

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government has lifted the ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq, Yemen and Eritrea, a senior government official said here today.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said that the lifting of the ban was contained in three separate resolutions issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board, which she chairs.

She said that Iraq, Yemen, and Eritrea are now included in the list of "compliant countries" under the Amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act.

With the lifting of the deployment ban, Baldoz said that the government will now allow the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to work in these countries.

But in the case of Iraq, she said that before dispatching the returning workers or the rehires to Iraq, Manila has to receive first the list of areas identified as "no-go" zones by the Iraqi government.

The Philippines had imposed deployment ban on the three countries due to unstable peace and order situation, which could put the lives of OFWs at risk.