InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 2, 9 p.m.) The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has placed 41 countries on the list of countries where overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) cannot be deployed because they do not provide enough protection to migrant workers.
The POEA issued Governing Board Resolution 7, which is in compliance with Republic Act 10022, or the law amending The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, will become effective 15 days after its publication in two newspapers of general circulation.
The countries include war-torn Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Pakistan.
The rest are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Chad, Croatia, Cuba, North Korea, Dominica, Timor Leste, Eritrea, Haiti, India, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Palestine, Serbia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.
Exempted from this ruling are companies and contractors with international operations, as well as governments, unless there is an existing ban in these countries, said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, who also chairs the POEA Governing Board.
At the same time, she said countries on the non-compliant list can initiate negotiation and conclude bilateral agreements to address non-compliance.
In a phone interview, Baldoz said OFWs in these countries may finish their contract, but not renew them.
As these are not major labor-receiving countries, not many OFWs will be affected by the ruling, she said.
Arab countries to be discussed further
The case of Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries, which altogether host at least two million OFWs, is still subject to another round of discussion by the POEA Governing Board, Baldoz said.
“We have to study the case of the GCC more carefully,” she said.
According to Philippine government statistics, as of December 2009, Saudi hosts some 1.2 million OFWs; Kuwait, 156,000; Bahrain, 51,000; Qatar, 260,000; Oman 41,000; United Arab Emirates, 610,000; and Yemen, 2,500.
The resolution followed the certifications of the Department of Foreign Affairs, as required under Section 3 of RA 10022 which says that guarantee of OFW protection means that countries where OFWs may be deployed should:
* have existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers;
* are a signatory to and/or a ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers, including migrant workers; and
* have concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers.
The law also provides an escape hatch for those that do not fulfill these requirements. It says countries may receive OFWs if they are “taking positive, concrete measures to protect the rights of migrant workers in furtherance of the guarantees” of the above-stated requirements.
“The Governing Board has thoroughly discussed and considered the DFA certifications and, in accordance with the law, issued the resolutions,” said Baldoz.
OFW-friendly countries
At the same time, the POEA Governing Board also issued Resolution 6, adding 49 countries to the list of countries where OFWs may continually be deployed. With the original list of 76 countries listed in GB Resolution 2 dated 17 May 2011, the number of OFW-friendly countries now totals 125.The original OFW-friendly countries are: Angola, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa in Africa;
Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Northern Marianas, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, the United States of America, and Venezuela in the Americas;
Albania, Austia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom in Europe;
Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Macau, Maldives, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, New Zealand, Palau, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam in Asia and the Pacific; and
Israel and Oman in the Middle East.
The new POEA list for OFW-friendly countries include: Armenia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bermuda, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo Republic, Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Iceland,
Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, and Ukraine.
In issuing the resolutions, Baldoz said the Governing Board was mindful of Section 3 of RA 10022 which provides that “the State shall allow the deployment of overseas workers ONLY in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.”
