Only new hires still in the Philippines are covered by a halt on the sending of overseas Filipino workers to Qatar.
This, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which issued a statement on June 7 stating that the government “continues to process documents for employment in Qatar.”
“However,” DFA said, “new hires still in the Philippines will be covered by a temporary moratorium on deployment while the situation is being assessed.”
Offices of the DFA, Department of Labor and Employment, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in the Gulf region “continue to closely monitor, reassess and coordinate on the situation in the area,” said the advisory.
“In this regard, the government clarifies that persons working in or who have urgent business in Qatar are free to return but should observe usual precautions,” DFA said.
“The government renews its call for our kababayans in the region to exercise prudence given the events of the past days and reiterates its readiness to provide all necessary assistance as it remains committed to safeguarding the welfare of overseas Filipinos in the region,” it added.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III had earlier said his office has ordered the suspension of the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Qatar. Bello announced the temporary deployment ban in a press conference on Tuesday, June 6, following the announcements of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and
Yemen that they are cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar over the latter’s expression of support to terrorist groups, including the Islamic State.
“Even Filipinos with complete paperwork will not be deployed [to Qatar],” Bello said The DOLE secretary could not say how long the suspension of OFW deployment to Qatar will be, but he said it will be up to the Department of Foreign Affairs depending on its assessment of the situation.
Bello said there is no need to repatriate OFWs in Qatar for the time being.
There are 141,000 documented OFWs in Qatar as of 2016, according to DOLE.
