Govt suspends deployment of OFWs to 3 Mideast countries

The government on Tuesday suspended the processing and deployment of Filipino workers to three Middle Eastern countries currently racked by protests. "I have ordered the suspension of the processing and deployment of [overseas Filipino workers/OFWs] to Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen," said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz in a statement posted on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) website. Baldoz said the government, through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, has set aside some P25 million to repatriate OFWs from Libya, where dozens have reportedly been killed in violent protests aimed at ending the decades-old reign of Muammar Gaddafi. On the other hand, Baldoz said the government has received an assurance from licensed recruitment agencies that they will help repatriate Filipino workers in Libya should the need arise. She said this was one of the results of a meeting between labor officials and the recruitment agencies on Monday. “The [licensed recruitment agencies/LRAs] have also assured the DOLE that in the event of a relocation, evacuation, or repatriation, they are ready to cooperate and assist the government. They will submit to the DOLE the names and gender of their OFWs in Libya and their exact workplaces. They also assured the DOLE that they are willing to re-deploy OFWs from Libya to be dislocated to countries where they have employers," Baldoz said. On the other hand, she said the LRAs informed her department that the Filipinos’ foreign employers in Libya are taking care of them. “During the meeting ordered, the LRAs informed the DOLE that their foreign employers are taking care of our OFWs in Libya; that these employers have their own contingency plans which are ready for activation; and that they are fully cooperating with the LRAs by providing updates," she said. Present at Monday's meeting were Baldoz; DOLE Undersecretary for Employment Danilo Cruz, OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon, and Philippine Overseas Employment Administrator (POEA) head Carlos Cao, Jr. Officials and members of a newly established DOLE Task Force for Libya and Algeria, led by Labor Attachè Jaime Jimenez, also attended the meeting. The task force was established to coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in the implementation of contingency plans and to assess and monitor the situation in the Middle Eastern countries rocked by street disturbances and protests. Baldoz said a task force composed of Labor Attachè Nasser Mustafa, Robert Bassig and Orlando Nadora of the OWWA will proceed to Libya immediately to assess and monitor the situation there. The DFA has already advised Filipinos against traveling to Libya, Bahrain and Yemen. — KBK, GMA News