www.poea.gov.ph
MANILA, Philippines—Wait until the dust finally settles.
The government would wait “a few more days or weeks” before deciding on whether to lift the deployment ban to Yemen, a ranking labor official said on Monday.
Carlos Cao Jr., Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief, said the government would still review the situation on the ground in Yemen after beleaguered Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh left that strife-torn country for Saudi Arabia to undergo surgery.
“I think we still have to observe the situation for a few more days or weeks before we can give out a new advisory,” Cao said.
“Although analysts say that it would be hard for President Saleh to go back to Yemen, we should still wait and see if he can return to power,” he added.
The Philippines imposed a total deployment ban to Yemen after massive protests against Saleh racked the country since January.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has raised Alert Level Three for Yemen, which means that new and returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) destined for the Middle Eastern country are not allowed to go to Yemen.
“The DFA is the lead agency on this and we would also have to wait for their decision on whether that alert level should be lowered,” Cao said.
On the other hand, Cao urged the DFA to rectify its statement saying that only returning OFWs would be allowed to go back to Bahrain, another Middle Eastern country racked by anti-government protests.
He said the DFA had lowered the alert level there to Alert Level One. This means there is no more deployment ban, but returning OFWs would be allowed to go there.
“Alert Level One means that there is full deployment. That is automatic,” Cao said.
“I hope the DFA would correct its statement that only returning OFWs are allowed to go there because that would mean we are still on Alert Level Two,” he added.
Cao said a POEA official talked with DFA officials Monday morning to clarify the matter so as not to sow confusion among OFWs are bound for Bahrain.