Government bans OFW deployment to Ukraine

MANILA, Philippines — All overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are now prohibited from seeking employment in Ukraine amid the ongoing war in the Eastern European country.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Bernard Olalia said the government has approved a total ban in the deployment of OFWs to Ukraine.

“Because the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) raised alert level in Ukraine to Alert Level 4 or mandatory evacuation, so due to Alert Level 4 the POEA governing board came out last Wednesday with a resolution that says… OFWs will no longer be allowed to work in Ukraine,” Olalia said during the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday.

Under the resolution approved March 9, the POEA has banned the deployment to Ukraine as well as crew change and shore leave of Filipinos seafarers.

But Olalia said the policy would affect only a few OFWs since the government had imposed a partial deployment ban in 2014.

Olalia said almost all of the land-based OFWs in Ukraine have been evacuated, leaving only those married to Ukrainians who refused to leave.

The Philippine government, Olalia said, is also working on the immediate repatriation of over 200 “on board” Filipino seafarers from Ukraine.

Olalia said those returning OFWs from Ukraine can avail themselves of cash aid and other benefits from the government. The POEA, he said, will assist those who intend to seek new employment overseas.

“When they are ready to work again the agency will help them look for work,” he added.

However, Olalia cautioned OFWs against accepting online job offers to avoid falling victim to illegal recruitment.

Prague-based labor attaché Llewelyn Perez, meanwhile, said the Philippine government has put in place contingency measures in case the prevailing conflict reaches Poland, Czech Republic and other countries surrounding Ukraine.

Perez noted that the Philippine embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office are engaging the Filipino community and registering their names, location and contact numbers. At the moment, however, Perez said they are not seeing any indication of a possible spillover of conflict.

There are over 3,000 OFWs in Czech Republic and about the same number in Poland.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) expressed readiness to provide assistance to refugees, stateless persons and asylum seekers by virtue of Executive Order 163 issued recently by President Duterte.

The DSWD said that EO 163, titled “Institutionalizing Access to Protection Services for Refugees, Stateless Persons and Asylum Seekers,” guarantees the protection of the rights to security, liberty and mobility of refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons – collectively known as persons of concern.