Labor department lifts deployment ban to Qatar

June 15, 2017

A deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to Qatar has been lifted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday. In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III  said  the decision“ was arrived at on the advise of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and upon the recommendation of Qatar Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) following their assessment of the situation in the Gulf state.”. Upon consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Bello said  the Qatari government has guaranteed safety of around 240,000 Filipinos. Bello said he has been told by Labor Attaché to Qatar David Des Dicang that OFWs in Qatar have expressed confidence on their safety. On June 6 when the DOLE announced the temporary suspension of deployment of all OFWs  to Qatar after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Maldives, Yemen, and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar. A day later, Bello partially lifted the ban, saying it will cover new hires processing their overseas employment certificate (OEC). A total of 28 new teachers and 20 bus drivers of PSD, and 51 new teachers of PISQ have pending applications with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), said Dicang. DMS