OFW deployment to Bahrain, Yemen, Libya deferred

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government has deferred the processing of contracts of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Bahrain, Yemen and Libya.

“We were informed by [Labor] Sec. Linda Baldoz that she has today ordered the deferring of processing contracts and deployment to Bahrain, Libya and Yemen of overseas contract workers due to a travel advisory issued by the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs],” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press conference.

For his part, Administrator Carlos Cao of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) appealed to applicants for understanding.

"We are implementing a deferment of the processing and deployment of OFWs bound for Bahrain, Libya and Yemen until the political and security conditions have normalized," Cao said.

Cao said that based on the data from the POEA, there were 13,593 Filipinos in Bahrain, 10,901 in Libya and 1,081 in Yemen in 2010.

Lacierda said the deferment will be in place “until such time that the travel advisory is lifted by the DFA”.

Defer non-essential travel

On Monday, the DFA advised Filipinos planning to travel to Bahrain, Libya and Yemen to defer non-essential and non-urgent travels until the security situation in those countries have stabilized.

According to the DFA the Philippine government issued the travel advisory because it is deeply concerned about the worsening peace and order situation in the 3 countries.

“Certainly, we are concerned kapag tuloy-tuloy ang tension sa Middle East and if it escalates, then we would have to protect our citizens. We have to make sure their lives are protected--those who are already in the Middle East and those who are about to leave the country for Middle East,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda added that protocols are in place in Libya if the tension escalates.

“We’ve identified exit points by land and by air and evacuation centers. We have appointed sectoral coordinators to be in constant touch with the communities,” he said.

He also announced the hotline numbers for the Philippine posts in Manama and Tripoli:

Manama: (Embassy) +973 177 212 34; (Labor Attaché) +973 177 409 51; (Labor officer) +973 177 219 08.

Tripoli: +218-918 244 208.