OFW deployment ban to Saudi stays – POEA

MANILA, Philippines — The deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Saudi Arabia remains suspended, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) announced yesterday.

In an advisory, POEA chief Bernard Olalia said reports that the agency has lifted the suspension in the deployment of OFWs to Saudi Arabia is fake news.

“Please be informed that the POEA has not lifted the deployment ban to Saudi Arabia,” he said.

According to Olalia, the fake advisory was an “edited copy” of an advisory with the same subject issued by the POEA on May 29, 2021.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said a criminal ring could be behind the circulation of the bogus POEA advisory.

Rolly Francia, director of the DOLE Information and Public Service, said the fake advisory is apparently meant to sow confusion among Filipino workers seeking employment in Saudi Arabia.

He said the DOLE is working with law enforcement agencies in tracking down the sources of the fake advisory.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III previously announced that the Philippine government would not lift the suspension on the deployment of domestic helpers and construction workers until the Saudi government settles the P4.5 billion in back wages of about 10,000 OFWs.

Bello said the Saudi government has yet to fulfill its promise to settle the financial obligation.

The POEA implemented the deployment ban after five Filipino workers suffered abuses and maltreatment at the hands of their employer, who is a retired Saudi general.