DUE to the ongoing political turmoil in Myanmar, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has imposed a partial deployment ban for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for the Southeast Asian country.
The POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 02-2021 said newly-hired OFWs will not be allowed to depart for Myanmar, which has been besieged by internal conflict since February.
The imposition of the partial ban comes after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised crisis Alert Level 2 (Restriction Phase) in Myanmar last Feb. 17.
“Under Alert Level 2, only the processing and deployment of returning OFWs with existing employment contracts shall be allowed; and the processing and deployment of newly-hired OFWs shall be suspended,” the POEA said.
The democratically elected government of Myanmar has been overthrown by the military in a coup. Since then, public unrest and violent mass protests have marred the streets of Myanmar.
The POEA also reminded aspiring OFWs that the deployment ban on Lebanon is still in effect.
In an advisory, POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia said there has been no change in the policy that was first imposed back on February 21, 2020.
“The public is warned that until the suspension is lifted, recruitment and placement of Filipinos for deployment to Lebanon is prohibited,” Olalia said, adding they issued the advisory after receiving reports that certain individuals and entities have been actively recruiting OFWs for Lebanon.
Olalia said the Philippine Embassy in Lebanon has expressed concerns over the rising number of undocumented Filipino workers becoming victims of trafficking, human rights abuses, and labor contract violations.
“The POEA is currently investigating these reports in coordination with law enforcement agencies,” said Olalia.
