Gov’t reiterates ban against deployment of OFWs to Afghanistan, assures humanitarian aid to victims of chopper crash in Kandahar

 

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today strongly reiterated the existing government ban against the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Afghanistan.   Amidst the development, Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque nonetheless assured that the "utmost humanitarian assistance possible will be extended to the families of the 10 Filipino workers who unfortunately perished in a helicopter crash in that country."   The Labor and Employment Chief said that such assistance shall be in consonance with the one-country team efforts of the Philippine government for the OFWs and migrant workers, particularly to ensure the expedient repatriation of the bodies of the victims in Afghanistan, along with other necessary responses.    Earlier reports indicated that the 10 Filipino migrants were onboard a civilian helicopter that crashed after takeoff in the Kandahar area.  The aircraft was reportedly carrying 17 passengers and three crewmembers, unfortunately 16 of the passengers, including the Filipinos, perished as a result of the crash.   Nonetheless, a US based firm in the construction sector had reportedly stood up for its responsibility for the 10 migrants who had entered Afghanistan despite the government ban against of the deployment of OFWs in the strife-torn area.  The firm reportedly assured insurance and other benefits for the 10 crash victims, while assisting in the government-coordinated efforts to repatriate their bodies to the Philippines.   The Labor Chief said that while the Philippine mission in Afghanistan is on top of the repatriation efforts, proximate Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in the Middle East, as appropriate, will extend the necessary assistance to the efforts.   As this developed, Roque emphasized that for obvious reasons, the ban against the deployment of OFWs to Afghanistan remains in place, and will continue to be strongly reiterated and enforced by the Philippine government.   "We thus warn OFWs against defying the ban to their own disadvantage and peril, at the same time that we urge them to seek and avail of the legitimate opportunities available to our overseas workers, through the POEA and licensed recruitment agencies, in more than 190 host destinations worldwide."   Roque said that the ban took effect after the DOLE's Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) recommended it by virtue of POEA Governing Board Resolution No. 08, Series of 2007, issued on December 17, 2007.   Roque said the government, through the particular POEA resolution, had imposed a total ban on the processing and deployment of Filipino workers not only for Afghanistan but also for Nigeria, while at the same time maintaining a total ban on the processing and deployment of Filipino workers bound for Iraq and Lebanon.   In pushing the ban, the POEA emphasized that the peace and order situation in these countries continue to remain unstable, adding that, "there is a need to ensure the continued security and safety of our OFWs by suspending the processing and deployment of Filipino workers bound [for] these countries."   The Labor Chief said that the issuance of the ban was consistent with the provision of Section 5 of Republic Act No. 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, which "authorizes the government… when the public welfare so requires, to at any point impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers."   END     mjlc   ****   NEWS RELEASE 079-2009 Department of Labor and Employment July 28, 2009   More job fairs, DOLE service caravans scheduled in regional areas The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today bared more forthcoming schedules of Job Fairs and DOLE Regional Service Caravans in several regions nationwide for the benefit of job seekers and new graduates searching for productive job opportunities. This developed as a preliminary report reaching Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque indicated that Job Fairs, now reinforced by DOLE Regional Service Caravans, have rendered continuous assistance to job seekers across the country by providing job search, placement, and other necessary job-and-skills matching assistance onsite to new graduates and job seekers. "The DOLE Regional Service Caravans complement and reinforce the positive impact of job fairs by bringing closer to jobseekers in the countryside available opportunities and relevant services, in effect lessening their inconveniences in the quest to land productive jobs." In a preliminary report, the DOLE's Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said that in the first quarter of this year alone, some 316 job fairs have been conducted under the supervision of the DOLE's Regional Offices (ROs). In cooperation with the country's Three Plus (3+) Social Partners (labor, management, government and other sectors), the fairs successfully facilitated job search, placement, or other pertinent assistance to some 178,946 job seekers in the country's 16 regions. In 2008, the BLE said, some 1,091 job fairs were conducted nationwide, altogether providing more than 1.4 million vacancies, and assisting 589,934 registrants, with 37,259 jobseekers hired on-the-spot by the numerous participating companies, along with 41,970 placed/deployed. The DOLE earlier indicated that the nationwide three-day job fairs in celebration of Independence Day from June 12 to 14, 2009 facilitated emergency employment to some 56,453 persons. In addition, some 10,000 applicants were hired on-the-spot during the nationwide Jobapalooza '09 job fair in celebration of Labor Day last May 1. According to the BLE, the  job fairs/DOLE Regional Service Caravans for the third quarter of 2009 are scheduled in convenient venues among various regional areas as follows:  (For the month of July 2009)  REGION 4-A (CALABARZON):  July 13, 2009 - Angono Gym, Angono, Rizal, Local/Overseas job fair c/o of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of Rizal;  July 16-17, 2009 - SM City, Lucena City, Local/Overseas fair c/o of the Lucena City PESO; REGION 5 (BICOL REGION):  July 14-15, 2009 - Ocampo Sports Complex, Ocampo,   Camarines Sur/ Local/Overseas fair c/o the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Ocampo; July 20-21, 2009 - Libmanan Covered Court, Libmanan, Cam. Sur/ Local/Overseas fair c/o LGU of Libmanan;  REGION 9 (ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA):  July 22, 2009 - Ipil Municipal Plaza, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay/ Overseas fair c/o the DOLE Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Office and Ipil PESO; REGION 10 (NORTHERN MINDANAO):  July 1, 2009 - Provincial Gym/ Local/Overseas fair c/o the Iligan City PESO;  July 3, 2009 - Mindanao Civic Center (MCC), Tubod, Lanao del Norte, Local/Overseas fair c/o Provincial PESO; July 16, 2009 - Talisayan Municipal Gym, Local/Overseas fair c/o Talisayan PESO; July 22, 2009 - Claveria Municipal Gym, Local/Overseas fair c/o  Claveria PESO; July 29, 2009 - Magsaysay Municipal Gym, Local/Overseas fair c/o Magsaysay PESO; July 30, 2009 - Kaamulan Theater, Malaybalay City, Local/Overseas fair c/o Provincial PESO and DOLE Bukidnon;  CARAGA REGION:  July 10-12, 2009 - Mangagoy, Bislig City, Surigao del Sur,  Overseas fair c/o PESO-Bislig;  (For August 2009)  REGION 4-A (CALABARZON): August 28, 2009 - Yñares Center, Antipolo City, Local/Overseas fair c/o T3 Global Wealth Access Corp;  REGION 5 (BICOL REGION):  August, 2009 [tentative] - Tiwi Covered Court, Tiwi, Albay, Local/Overseas fair c/o LGU of Tiwi; CARAGA REGION:  August 28, 2009 - Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, Overseas fair c/o PESO-Surigao City; (For September 2009) CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION (CAR):  Sept.28-30, 2009 - Baguio Convention Center, Local/Overseas fair c/o LGU-Baguio;  REGION 4-A (CALABARZON): September 7, 2009 - Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, Cainta, Rizal, Local/Overseas fair c/o PESO Rizal;  REGION 5 (BICOL REGION):  Sept. 3-4, 2009 - Labo Sports Plaza, Camarines Norte,  Local/Overseas fair c/o LGU of Labo, Camarines Norte;  September 5, 2009 - Daraga Sports Plaza, Daraga, Albay, Local/Overseas fair c/o LGU of Daraga; September 26, 2009 - Vinzons Municipal Hall, Vinzons, Camarines Norte, Local/Overseas fair c/o LGU of Vinzons; CARAGA REGION:  Sept.10-11, 2009  - Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, Overseas fair c/o PESO-Tandag City; Sept.22-23, 2009 - Lanuza, Surigao del Sur, Overseas fair c/o PESO-Lanuza. The schedules of nationwide job fairs are accessible 24/7 at the Phil-Jobnet's Internet website simply by clicking the Jobs Fair Schedule icon at http://phil-job.net                                                                     END   mjlc       DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Information and Publication Service (IPS) 6th/F DOLE Building, Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila Tel. Nos. 527-3000 loc. 621 to 627 Fax: 527-3446