Deployment ban on S. Sudan ordered

THE Department of Labor and Employment imposed a total ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to the African country of South Sudan.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz made the announcement after the governing board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, which she chairs, approved a resolution imposing the ban.

Aside from, POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, Governing Board vice chairman, and Leonardo B. De Ocampo and Guillermina T. Gabor, members, signed the resolution.

To implement the resolution, Cacdac, also issued an advisory to all concerned on the deployment ban.

Baldoz said the imposition of the ban was based upon the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which has raised the crisis alert level in South Sudan to Alert Level 3 [voluntary repatriation] due to the deteriorating security situation caused by inter-ethnic violence in the country.

“We have to protect not only the welfare and interest of overseas Filipino workers in South Sudan, but also to prevent prospective OFWs from going there, hence the processing and deployment of all OFWs shall be deferred while the ban exists,” Baldoz said.

“The deployment ban of OFWs to South Sudan stays until such time that it has been determined that its political and security situation has normalized,” she added.

Under crisis Alert Level 3, OFWs who wish to voluntary go back to the Philippines are offered repatriation at government’s expense, and Filipinos are advised not to travel to a subject country.

In an advisory, POEA Administrator Cacdac has required all recruitment agencies who deployed workers to South Sudan–composed of the 10 states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, Warrap, Western Equatoria, Central Equatoria (containing the national capital of Juba), Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile–to submit to the POEA’s Pre-Employment Services Office a report containing the following information: name and job category of worker; name, location and contact number of employer; deployment date; status and current whereabouts of deployed workers; and contingency plan/measures ready in case of emergency repatriation situation. –Vito Barcelo, Manila Standard Today