The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has imposed a temporary suspension on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) bound for Oman.
In its Resolution 5, Series of 2021, POEA said it imposed the departure ban in response to the travel restrictions imposed by the Oman government for travelers who passed through the Philippines.
Labor spokesman Rolly Francia said the decision of POEA was based on the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to protest against the “unfair” travel restriction from the Oman government, which took effect on May 4, 2021.
The deployment suspension is expected to take effect “until such time that Oman government allows entry of our OFWs and Filipino travelers to the said country.”
Francia said they still have no data on the number of OFWs who will be affected by the new deployment suspension, but noted that from January to May, a total of 5,000 OFWs were deployed to Oman.
After hearing of the deployment suspension, he said, the Oman Embassy contacted the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to address the matter.
“So there will be a meeting tonight between the minister of Labor of Oman and Secretary [Silvestre H.] Bello III to discuss how to settle the impasse regarding the [travel] restriction in Oman and the deployment suspension of OFWs to Oman,” Francia said.
Francia said they hope the issue will be resolve immediately so the deployment of OFWs to Oman could resume as soon as possible.