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Monday, October 06, 2008
Deployment ban in Lebanon, Jordan stays
MANILA -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has advised against lifting the deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon and Jordan due to the "still volatile situation" in the two countries.
DFA assessment reports have urged the staying of the ban, said Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Jennifer Manalili.
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On calls from the recruitment agencies to lift the ban in Lebanon, Manalili said: "We cannot do that (lift the ban) due to the current peace and order condition."
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, in a separate interview, also stressed that the decision to allow vacationing OFWs to leave the Philippines for Lebanon despite the ban is a different situation.
"This is a different situation and we have assurance from their employers that they are safe," Roque said.
In the case of Jordan, even request for partial or selective lifting of the ban would be impossible.
A senior official from the labor department who requested anonymity said the low salary being imposed by the Jordanian employers is the prime reason why the Philippine government opted not to deploy workers there.
According to the same source, Jordanian principals are giving lower than the prescribed US$400 minimum salary under the recently approved POEA rules on household service workers.
The official said Jordanian employers are only paying US$200 per month to the OFWs and sometimes, even lower.
"And you know why this is the case? It is because the minimum rate in Jordan for their locals is only US$200, so how could we force them to give the US$400 salary to our workers? So it's better not to lift the ban there," the source added.
Former Labor secretary Arturo Brion, through the POEA, suspended the deployment of OFWs to Jordan early this year due to rising cases of distressed Filipino workers.
In 2007, a total of 775 documented and undocumented distressed OFWs were assisted by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Amman and the assistance included repatriating the OFWs to the Philippines as well as extending medical assistance.
In 1990, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) suspended the deployment of OFWs in Jordan due to the high number of maltreatment and exploitation acts committed by Jordanian employers against Filipino domestic helpers.
But in 2005, then Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas ordered the lifting of the deployment ban with the opening of the Polo in Amman and the implementation of a "special work contract" that provides for liberal welfare provisions for foreign household service workers. (MSN/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (October 6, 2008 issue)
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