POEA temporarily bans deployment of OFWs to Egypt

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has imposed a temporary ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Egypt due to escalating violence in Cairo.

The POEA issued last Friday Resolution No. 06 imposing a temporary suspension on the processing and deployment of newly hired OFWs bound for Egypt.

It said the ban was imposed in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) “in pursuit of national interest or when public welfare so requires.”

“The Philippine embassy in Cairo had advised the DFA of the deteriorating peace and order situation in Egypt and had recommended raising the Alert Level in the said country to Alert Level 2,” the POEA said.

Under Alert Level 2, only the processing and deployment of returning OFWs with existing employment contracts shall be allowed, it added.

The DFA had earlier alerted close to 6,000 Filipinos in Egypt on possible evacuation amid the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi by the military after days of mass protest actions in Cairo.