POEA: OFW deployment ban to Libya stays despite 'improved situation'

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said on Monday the deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Libya remains despite the possible end of hostilities there. POEA Administrator Carlos Cao said “Ang nakalagay sa advisory natin is deployment is being deferred until the political and the security situation has normalized." “The ban stays for now because the DFA and DOLE are now doing their best to bring home the remaining OFWs there," said Cao. The POEA official explained that even if the situation in Libya improves, the Philippine government has to follow a certain process before the deployment ban could be lifted. The POEA Governing Board will be the agency to lift the ban once the DFA declares Libya as a safe place for Filipinos. “The ban stays for now because the DFA and DOLE are now doing their best to bring home the remaining OFWs there," said Cao. On February 22 this year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the POEA stopped the sending of new hires and returning OFWs to Libya amid the heightened political tension in that country. Anti-government rebels managed to enter the Libyan capital over the weekend, believing that Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule might finally end. - VVP, GMA News