Returning Filipino expatriates to Qatar are happy after the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) in the Philippines lifted the deployment ban yesterday.
The lifting of the moratorium covers all returning workers and new workers who have been issued Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC), according to an advisory from the Philippine embassy in Doha.
DOLE, through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), requires overseas Filipino workers to secure an OEC before
leaving the country.
“The embassy continues to monitor developments in the region and calls on Filipinos to remain calm as there is no immediate reason to be concerned about the safety and security of Filipinos in Qatar,” Philippine ambassador Alan Timbayan said.
It is learnt that around 300 Filipino expatriates had been allowed by POEA to return to Doha yesterday after labour secretary Silvestre Bello lifted the ban.
Bello, in a press conference in the Philippines yesterday, noted that the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) will be giving hourly report about the situation in Qatar.
The embassy and POLO headed by its labour attache, David Des Dicang, strongly recommended to Bello the lifting of the travel ban.
Many Filipino expatriates in Qatar who are planning to take their vacations back home also lauded DOLE’s decision saying “it was the right thing to do.”
“We are glad to hear this good news because we want to see our families in the Philippines and on the other hand, our compatriots there want to go back to work here,” said a long time Filipino expatriate at the embassy yesterday.
He stressed that “there is nothing to worry about since life in Qatar is peaceful and food supply is enough for all” in the coming months.
Two days ago, many Filipino expatriates were not allowed to return to Doha due to DOLE’s ban, according to sources at the airport in Manila.
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