OFW Ban: POEA Studies Postponement of Deployment Ban

Implementation of the OFW ban on hold? The deployment ban of OFWs in affected countries may be postponed to February 2012. This from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) which said that it may consider the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to suspend the OFW ban for 90 days. The controversial ban is set to be effective November 18.

The OFW ban is scheduled for implementation on November 18 in the following countries and territories:

Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Chad, Croatia, Cuba, North Korea, Dominica, Timor Leste, Eritrea, Haiti, India, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Mali, 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.

The OFW ban was announced earlier this month. Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, the chairperson of the POEA governing board (GB), said in a statement that the ban is in line with the certifications issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“GB Resolution No.7 specifies a list of 41 countries where OFWs cannot be deployed for non-compliance with the guarantees required under R.A. 10022,” Baldoz said. Under RA 10022, the Philippine government is only allowed to deploy to countries with existing bilateral agreement or existing policies ensuring welfare and protection of Filipino workers. The Department of Foreign Affairs is required to certify these host countries. The POEA will then impose a deployment ban on non-compliant countries based on the certification of the DFA, while allowing the continuous deployment of OFWs to compliant countries.

Meanwhile, POEA issued the list of 49 compliant countries. Included in the list are Armenia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bermuda, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo Republic, Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Guyana. It also included Iceland, Ivory Coast or Cote d’Ivoire, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, and Ukraine.

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