OFWs warned vs going to Syria

MANILA, Philippines - The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) warned aspiring overseas workers yesterday against going to Syria due to the increasing violence in the war-torn country.

Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who recently reassumed his position as the official in charge of IACAT, expressed concern over the high number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Syria despite the existing deployment ban imposed by the Philippine government and the hazards of working in a war zone.

Salazar went on a one-year study leave to finish his master’s degree in public administration at Harvard University.  

“We have received information that some unscrupulous recruitment agencies have been circumventing the deployment ban by using networks in Dubai and Oman before their recruits head off to Syria,” he said in a statement. “The government has consistently reminded the public that the deployment ban in Syria is still in effect.”

The Department of Labor and Employment, an IACAT member, imposed the ban in 2011.