POEA exec: No communication from DFA yet on withdrawn certifications

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said it has not yet received from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official communication about the withdrawal of certifications that became the basis for a deployment ban on 41 countries. POEA Administrator Carlos Cao said the governing board has yet to receive an official communication from the DFA. “Wala pa pero I believe at the appropriate time… I think soon enough. We are keeping an open mind on this," Cao said about the official communication from the DFA. However, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario sent the official letter to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Wednesday. Baldoz is the head of the POEA governing board. The POEA is an agency under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The DFA earlier said it withdrew the certification on the condition of migrant workers in 41 countries, which became the basis for a ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there. Also in a text message to GMA News Online earlier on Wednesday, Hernandez said they will revisit the 41 countries affected by the ban and reassess the working conditions there "with the view of moving toward compliance" of the amended Migrant Workers Act (RA 10022). "We will submit new certifications after 90 days, taking into account results of DFA's dialogue with countries concerned and new developments in those countries with respect to protection of migrant workers," Hernandez said. Based on their recommendation, the DFA asked the board to defer the implementation of the deployment ban on 41 countries, which is set to start on November 18, 2011 The countries include: Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Chad, Croatia, Cuba, North Korea, Dominica, Timor Leste, Eritrea, Haiti, India, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, and Mali. Also in the list are Mauritania, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Palestine, Serbia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe. - VVP, GMA News