VICE President Jejomar Binay on Thursday appealed to Filipinos seeking jobs abroad to heed the deployment ban imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on 41 countries.

“It’s not worth it,” Binay, the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) concerns, said, stressing the absence of adequate mechanisms to protect migrant workers’ rights as one of the reasons for the ban.



“Hindi natitiyak ang inyong kapakanan at karapatan sa mga bansang ito, kaya kapag nagkaroon ng problema, mahihirapan ang ating gobyerno na makatugon kaagad,” he said.

Binay, who serves as chairman of the Presidential Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment and chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, also cautioned the public to be aware of bogus job offers abroad.

“Maging alerto din tayo sa mga nangangako ng trabaho lalo na sa mga bansang nasa listahan ng POEA. Ipagbigay alam agad sa amin para wala nang mabiktima,” he said.

POEA listed 41 countries as “noncompliant” for their failure to guarantee the protection of Filipino workers as mandated in Section 3 of the amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

Section 3 requires that a receiving country “has existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of workers, including migrant workers; is a signatory to or a ratifier of multilateral conventions, declarations or resolutions relating to the protection of workers, including migrant workers; and has concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers.”

Hold your horses, POEA told     

AMID fears of diplomatic repercussions from 41 countries that failed to comply with lawful requirements that allows continued deployment of Filipino workers there, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario asked the POEA to defer the issuance of the list of noncompliant countries to allow Philippine posts to start negotiations that would facilitate continued deployment of Filipino workers to these nations.

Del Rosario stressed that the compilation of list of 125 compliant and 41 noncompliant countries to Republic Act 10022 “....does not seek to pass any value judgment on any country.”

Instead, the list “serves as a crucial benchmark for all government agencies concerned to work for the betterment of the safety, welfare and working conditions of our nationals,” said del Rosario in a statement.

He said the certifications issued by the Philippine embassies and consulates identifying host countries whether compliant or noncompliant to RA 10022, that amended RA 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, were issued in compliance to the law that aims to protect the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers, with more than 9 million of them deployed in 203 countries.

“In the implementation of that law, the POEA issued a partial list on October 28. However, the DFA believes that there are compelling reasons to defer further action on the list.”

The deferment on the issuance of the POEA list, explained del Rosario, will provide the DFA to have “ample opportunity to dialogue with these countries.”

“Such a dialogue would be to the benefit of Filipino workers already there and those planning to seek gainful employment in those countries,” del Rosario said. “We will do all that is necessary to protect our nationals overseas. Ultimately, good and friendly relations with all nations allow us the ability to work on behalf of our nationals overseas.”

A senior diplomat, on condition of anonymity said the DFA can reconsider certifications for 41 noncompliant countries on two grounds: first, if they ratify international treaties that include the United Nations Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families and ILO Convention 189 that seeks to protect domestic workers; and second, sign a bilateral agreement with the Philippines where they would commit to protect the rights and welfare of the Filipino workers deployed in their respective countries.

Former Labor Undersecretary Susan Ople, meanwhile, said the government should provide non-compliant countries an explanation particularly the country’s big trading partner India.

“In our bid to provide our overseas workers with information regarding destination countries, let us make sure that long-standing friendships with certain countries would not be harmed,” said Ople, now president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a nongovernmental organization pushing for rights and welfare protection of Filipino migrant workers.

She said although most of the non-compliant countries are minor job markets, certain countries like India are huge trading partners.

“Since we are imposing the ban, the least we could do is to explain the reasons behind it in a proper manner through diplomatic and trade channels,” Ople said.

She said data from the Department of Trade and Industry reveal that the total trade with India reached $865.12 million in November 2010 and for the first time, passed the $1 billion-mark as of the first quarter of 2011.