DOLE exec: Deployment ban on 41 countries temporary

After the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) announced an OFW deployment ban in 41 countries, a Labor official on Thursday said the ban may only be temporary. In an interview on “News To Go," Nicon Fameronag, spokesman of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the ban will not be permanent. The POEA's Governing Board released two board resolutions on Wednesday— one that approves OFW deployment to 49 countries and another that bans overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from 41 nations. The countries were classified according to Republic Act 10022, or the amended Migrant Workers Act. “Kapag may improvement na nakikita sa mga bansang iyon, puwedeng i-reassess ng DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) [at mabigyan] ng bagong certification ang POEA Governing Board para [they] can act accordingly and revise [the decision]," Fameronag said. He said there is a “very insignificant" number of Filipinos in the countries where the deployment ban was imposed. He estimates that only 15 out of the 41 countries will be affected by the ban because all these countries do not have companies with international operations. Those who are currently working in these countries will be allowed to finish the terms in their contracts, Fameronag explained. Meanwhile, companies with international operations—like those in India, Afghanistan, Libya, and Haiti—will still be able to deploy OFWs because their contracts were duly approved by the POEA Governing Board.

Conditional compliance The new list of countries that comply with Philippine government standards regarding the protection of Filipino migrant workers does not include six top OFW destinations, which sources say have been identified as only "partially compliant." The six countries were not found on the POEA's lists of OFW-friendly countries and those where OFW deployment is banned. These countries and their ranking last year are:

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (first);

United Arab Emirates (second);

Qatar (fourth);

Singapore (fifth);

Kuwait (sixth); and

Bahrain (ninth). Fameronag explained that these countries, and others not found on both lists, are still being assessed by the DFA. These countries, he said, are currently classified under “conditional (or partial) compliance." “Binigyan pa ng palugit ng Congressional Oversight Committee ang DFA na patuloy na i-assess ang naturang mga bansa bago sila magbigay ng bagong certification sa Governing Board ng POEA," he said. “Sa kaso halimbawa ng Saudi Arabia, signatory ito sa mga conventions, pero may mga skills na hindi allowed," he added. The oil-rich country issued a ban on domestic workers from the Philippines and Indonesia, after the two Asian countries imposed stricter conditions on prospective Saudi employers. Bold move A report of "The Independent," a British national newspaper, on Thursday said the Philippines, one of the world's largest labor exporters, "has taken the bold step of blacklisting 41 countries which it says do not adequately protect foreign workers." It noted that the ban was imposed following reports of workers, particularly maids, being abused by their employers. "The Independent" said, "An estimated nine million Filipinos, or nearly 10 per cent of the population, work abroad, mainly as maids, labourers or seamen. Their remittances – hard currency earnings sent home to families – have traditionally kept the Philippine economy afloat." The report pointed out that most of the countries on the blacklist only a few hundred Filipino workers "so the ban will have a limited effect." "However, the government is considering extending it to several Middle Eastern countries, where complaints of abuse and mistreatment are most common," it added. More than a million Filipinos work in the Middle East. Resolutions The OFW destinations were classified according to Republic Act 10022, or the amended Migrant Workers Act, which requires any of the following as a guarantee for the protection of the rights of OFWs:

It has existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers;

It is a signatory to and/or ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers, including migrant workers; and

It has concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers. According to Fameronag, the government issued an additional condition in evaluating these destinations. “Dapat ay gumagawa ng patuloy na hakbang ang destinasyong bansa para sa ikalalakas ng isa sa tatlong guarantees," he said. He added that the resolutions will be effective before the end of November, complying the law which requires resolutions to be published in two newspapers of general circulation for 15 days before they take effect. - VVP/HS, GMA News