POEA adds 32 countries to its “OFW-friendly nations” list

By Susan G. De Leon

Wednesday 4th of July 2012

QUEZON CITY, July 4 (PIA) -- The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) added 32 countries to the list of countries compliant with the guarantees on the protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers.

The addition to the list of the OFW-friendly countries is embodied in a resolution approved by the POEA governing board and was signed by Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac.

In a news release, Baldoz, who is the chairman of the governing board, said the 32 countries are Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana, China, Dominican Republic, East Timor/Timor Leste, Iran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic/Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Maldives, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Serbia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Syria, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zambia.

Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs certified the 32 countries as compliant with the laws for the protection of household service workers as provided under section 2 of the Migrant Workers Act, following the recommendation made by the congressional committee on overseas welfare affairs.

Baldoz said the POEA may continue to deploy OFWs to these countries, and the DFA will continue to negotiate for better protection of household service workers.

On the other hand, 19 countries including Afghanistan, Chad, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea/North Korea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Palestine, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Monaco, and Vatican remain to be non-certified.

Baldoz said the POEA governing board has yet to receive the certifications for Vatican and Monaco while the certifications for Libya and Iraq are currently being reviewed in light of latest developments that may lead to the amendment of their respective certifications. (DOLE/RJB/SDL-PIA-NCR)