The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or POEA says that the government will not stop deploying overseas Filipino workers amid the threat of the Omicron Delta COVID-19 variant.
POEA chief Bernard Olalia said that they have yet to receive information on countries who will be banning OFWs’ arrivals, amid the risk of the new variant.
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“If we have not received any formal communication from the particular destination country to stop the deployment, then that means our deployment should continue,” Olalia said in a virtual briefing.
Israel and Japan have recently said that they will be banning foreign travelers but the countries have yet to make it clear if this would include foreign workers.
Olalia said that both countries are still accepting OFWs.
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“Our recruitment is still ongoing. Once our caregivers are ready, meaning, complied with protocols such as a negative Covid test and they have all necessary papers, we will deploy them,” Olalia said.
Around 600 caregivers have been deployed to Israel so far.
So far, Omicron cases have been reported in South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong, and recently, the United Kingdom (UK).
