LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday said 4,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for South Korea are expected to quickly benefit from the lifting of restrictions on the entry of foreign workers there.
In a statement, Bello said: “This is a very good news, not only to our workers and their families, but also to the Korean employers, who have been waiting for our workers to return.”
“This is a much-awaited development for thousands of workers, who have been waiting for their deployment since last year,” he added.
DOLE said the 4,000 OFWs include 2,000 returning and 2,000 newly-hired workers.
Last Friday, South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) announced that it will now allow the entry of workers under its entry permit system (EPS).
The system will cover all sending countries, including the Philippines, and will commence before the end of the month.
With the development, Bello directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to immediately commence with the processing and deployment of workers to South Korea.
He said the POEA must immediately meet with the Human Resources Development Service (HRD Korea) – Employment Permit System (EPS) Center in the Philippines to discuss the requirements and procedures for the safe and orderly entry and re-entry of EPS workers to Korea.
