DOLE: 41 countries off limits to OFWs

The government has identified 41 countries that do not have enough safety and legal guarantees for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), prompting Manila to put them on a blacklist, according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Baldoz said in a statement Tuesday that the governing board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) had approved a resolution identifying the 41 countries where OFWs could not be deployed because the states did not comply with safety requirements under the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act.

The POEA board also issued another resolution naming 49 countries where OFWs can be deployed. This is in addition to the 76 countries it has earlier identified as safe for Filipinos workers.

“The governing board has thoroughly discussed and considered the (Department of Foreign Affairs) certifications and, in accordance with the law, issued the resolutions,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz said that countries declared noncompliant could initiate negotiations and conclude bilateral agreements to comply with the Migrant Workers Act’s requirements.

She also pointed out that Filipinos could still work for companies and contractors with international operations in noncompliant countries, “unless there is an existing ban to that country.”

POEA administrator Carlos Cao Jr. said his office would officially release the list of countries where OFWs could not go when government offices reopened today after the long All Saints’ Day break.

“There were 41 countries that were declared noncompliant but these are small countries and not major (labor) markets (for OFWs),” Cao said.

He said that there were also “around 30 countries” that were categorized under “qualified compliance.”

“This means that we can deploy OFWs to some of their job markets but not to others, like those for household service workers,” Cao said.

The POEA will publish the resolutions in two newspapers of general circulation. They will take effect 15 days after the publication.