Philippine labor authorities are now keeping a close watch on the status of hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Congo amid confirmed reports of Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the African country.
Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) said an EVD outbreak was declared in Congo after reporting the death of 2,000 people, and another 3,000 infected by the deadly disease.
In a news statement posted in its web site, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said it is now coordinating with the Department of Health and its Bureau of Quarantine, the Bureau of Immigration and the Civil Aeronautics Board for contingency measures against EVD.
“The Philippine government is closely monitoring the situation of the Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following its declaration by the World Health Organization as Public Health Emergency of International Concern [PHEIC],” POEA said.
Based from POEA data, a total of 749 OFWs and 660 OFWs were deployed in Congo in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
To recall, the government implemented a deployment ban in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in 2014 due incidents of EVD in the three West African states.
Currently, POEA has yet to issue a deployment restriction in Congo.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, who chairs the POEA governing board, said they will first wait for the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) before deciding on the matter.
“We have no Polo [Philippine Overseas Labor Office] there so we will rely completely on DFA for information [about our OFWs],” Bello told reporters in an interview.
Image credits: AP/Youssouf Bah, file