Philippines Labour Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) governing board has approved a resolution allowing deployment of OFW's (Overseas Filipino Workers) to Iraq, Yemen and Eritrea.
The government finally allowed the deployment of Filipino workers to Iraq, Yemen and Eretria.
In a travel advisory posted by Philippine Overseas Employment Adminstration (POEA) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the prospective applicants were advised to deal only with licensed recruiters to be assured of jobs.
According to POEA chief Hans Cacdac, Iraq is mostly involved in industries such as oil and gas, construction, medical, tourism and food service. The government deferred the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Iraq in February 2011 due to unstable political and security conditions.
The ban on deployment to Eretria was imposed on December 21 last year for lack of guaranty for the protection of the rights of foreign workers. The Philippines stopped sending OFWs to Yemen because of civil unrest which in that country.
Although officially the ban on Iraq has been lifted, deployment has not commenced as Cacdac stressed there are no accredited foreign employers in Iraq yet.
He cited the need for a memorandum allowing foreign employers to hire Filipino workers in Iraq before OFWs can be deployed there.