OFW deployment ban to Egypt lifted

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino workers can again be deployed to Egypt.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) governing board approved Thursday a resolution allowing the resumption of deployment of Filipino workers to that country.

“The POEA governing abroad, as duly convened, resolved to resume the processing and deployment of all Filipino workers, including both vacationing and new hires,” she said.

The ban was lifted after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lowered the alert level in Egypt from 2 to 1, Baldoz said.

A few weeks ago, the POEA allowed only the redeployment of returning Filipino workers with existing employment contracts.

The DFA has reported that the political and security situation in Egypt has continued to improve.

Last July, the government imposed a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers and ordered a mandatory repatriation of workers from Egypt due to escalating civil unrest.

Based on DFA data, about 6,000 Filipinos are in Egypt.

However, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) databank listed only 1,353 overseas Filipino workers in that country.

537 Filipinos home from Jeddah

A total of 537 Filipinos staying at the Shumaisi Facility close to Jeddah have been repatriated to the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

The consulate general in Jeddah reported that Saudi Arabian authorities arranged the repatriation and booked the Filipinos on two special flights on Dec. 16 and 17.

On the night of Dec. 16, 195 women with 59 children and three men, or a total of 257 persons, were flown to Manila on board a special Saudi Airlines flight.

On Dec. 17, 186 women and 94 children, or a total of 280, followed on board another special Saudi Airlines flight.

These are the biggest numbers of undocumented Filipinos repatriated over two successive days this year. The Saudi Arabian government paid for the plane tickets.

During the two-day repatriation, Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay and the officers and staff of the consulate in Jeddah were on hand to facilitate the documentation and offer other related assistance to the Filipinos to ensure that all of them would be able to depart as scheduled.

The women and children formed part of the large group of Filipinos who voluntarily surrendered to Saudi immigration authorities at the General Services Center (deportation center) at Al Shumaisi on Nov. 10.

As of Dec. 20, 52 women and 39 children, or a total of 91 Filipinos, remained at the Shumaisi facility.

They could have departed with the 537, but they need to resubmit to fingerprinting at the Jawazat (Passports General Directorate) to be issued exit visas.

The consulate is making arrangements for this to be done soon.

The government has facilitated the repatriation of a total of 6,186 undocumented Filipinos. – With Pia Lee-Brago