MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday clarified that the deployment ban of Filipino domestic workers to Saudi Arabia has not been lifted.
The DOLE issued the clarification following the circulation of a fake advisory purportedly issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which said that the suspension of deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been lifted.
The department said the fake advisory has caused confusion among the public and the workers who are seeking deployment to Saudi Arabia.
“There is no iota of truth to the content of that advisory. The suspension of deployment remains,” Rolly Francia, director of DOLE’s Information and Publication Service (IPS), said in a statement.
The document was dated April and carried the name of POEA.
Francia said POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia confirmed that he has not signed nor issued such an advisory.
“The unscrupulous authors of the sham manufactured the document by using an old advisory and substituted its contents for it appear as a legitimate issuance,” Francia said.
“Thus, it also suggests intention to compromise the credibility of POEA and injure the current leadership of the agency,” he added.
He said DOLE is now coordinating with law enforcement agencies to track down the source of the bogus advisory.
“We intend to apply the full force of the law to whoever is behind this very criminal act which could undermine the welfare of our migrant workers,” Francia said.
The deployment of OFWs to Saudi Arabia was suspended last year in light of complaints of employer abuse.
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