‘No halt in OFW deployment even in uncertified countries’

MANILA, Philippines – Here’s good news for aspiring overseas Filipino workers.

The Philippine government is not halting the processing and deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) even to countries still “uncertified” by the government as safe destinations for workers.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the government is not imposing any ban or stopping the deployment of workers while the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is still evaluating the certification issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“The law states that the DFA has to certify countries with Philippine embassies by Jan. 24, but there is no deadline for the POEA. So there is a status quo or deployment would continue until the certifications have been acted upon by the POEA board,” Cruz explained.

POEA chief Carlos Cao Jr., however, assured the workers that the agency’s board is set to meet next week to discuss and act on the list of countries under DFA certification.

POEA officials said the DFA has already issued the necessary certification to 67 countries with diplomatic ties with the Philippines. Around 131 countries without any diplomatic relations with the Philippines have yet to be certified.

DFA has until Feb. 24 to evaluate and issue certifications to countries employing Filipino workers but with which the Philippines has no diplomatic relations.

Cao though admitted the certification deadline last Monday caused confusion among local recruiters as well as some of their employees in charge of processing overseas employment contracts.

Local recruiters reported that the POEA temporarily stopped the processing of overseas employment contracts in compliance with the newly amended Migrant Workers Act, which prohibits the government from deploying workers to countries without certification from the DFA. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)