MANILA, 11 March 2007 — The Department of Labor and Employment yesterday said it was partially lifting a ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Nigeria and Lebanon, citing the improved security situation in both countries.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion announced the changes a day after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that the last Filipino hostage in Nigeria had been freed by his captors.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stopped the deployment of workers to Nigeria as a result of the kidnapping of 24 Filipino seamen in the African country’s oil-rich Niger Delta last January.
All 24 were freed last month, while the Filipino engineer who was seized by gunmen on Feb. 6 was released on Thursday. A third alleged kidnap victim, a Filipino woman, was found to have returned to the Philippines but has not surfaced.
Brion said the partial lifting of ban to Nigeria will only allow the processing and deployment of returning Filipino workers who are on vacation and are going to work with the same employer and work site in Nigeria. “OFWs with new contract are not allowed to leave,” he explained.
For Lebanon, deployment of non-household service workers, or those working in hotels and other similar establishments, will be allowed both for new hires and those returning from vacation.
For household service workers (HSWs), new hires will be limited to employers duly endorsed by the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) including members of the family heads of state/government ministers, deputy ministers and senior government officials of the same or equal rank of the host country, and members of diplomatic corps and recognized international organizations.
Brion said these employers, however, are required to comply with policy reforms adopted by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) on HSWs.
The reforms include the increased monthly salary rate of $400, increased age requirement of 23 years old, the non-collection of placement fees, and the certification that the leaving OFW has undergone skills assessment and language and cultural seminars.
Returning HSWs will be allowed for employers who do not belong to the categories mentioned above, but also subject to the new rules.
Brion said the department is still waiting for the full assessment report from the DFA and the Special Task Force on Lebanon to determine the appropriateness of completely lifting the ban.
President Arroyo suspended the deployment of workers to Lebanon during the Israeli invasion last year.
The policy reforms adopted in October by the POEA were also a result of the Lebanon crisis, which exposed the sad state of Filipino domestic helpers who not only grossly underpaid but also vulnerable abuse by their employers.
As found by the Special Task Force, majority of the more than 30,000 Filipinos working in Lebanon were undocumented. Most of them were processed by unscrupulous recruitment agencies as tourists.
