DOLE: No deployment ban or mandatory repatriation for OFWs in Hong Kong


In response to false online posts, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III clarifies there is no order banning deployment or enforcing mandatory repatriation for Filipinos in Hong Kong
Sofia Tomacruz
Published 5:05 PM, October 20, 2019
Updated 5:05 PM, October 20, 2019
NO BAN. The Department of Labor and Employment clarifies there is no deployment ban or mandatory repatriation order for overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong. File photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler
NO BAN. The Department of Labor and Employment clarifies there is no deployment ban or mandatory repatriation order for overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong. File photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III clarified that the Philippine government did not ban the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Hong Kong.
There was also no order from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) mandating the repatriation of OFWs, amid protests that have plunged Hong Kong into crisis.
Bello issued the statement on Sunday, October 20, in response to the spread of false social media posts that claimed the Philippines ordered the mandatory repatriation of OFWs due to "the escalation of violence and protests threatening the safety of Filipinos in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory."
"Right now there is no communication from the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and even from the consulate of Hong Kong regarding the possibility of repatriation, either voluntary or mandatory. We are in close coordination with the DFA for any development," Bello said.
He urged the public to ignore false information shared online and to rely only on advisories from the DFA, DOLE, and Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong.
"For those spreading it, please stop and let us not aggravate the situation and endanger our OFWs. We should help our OFWs there by not giving them false news about [mandatory] repatriation," Bello said.
The labor secretary added that despite protests dragging on for months, "no OFW in Hong Kong has expressed willingness to come home or seek assistance for repatriation."
The Philippine government earlier reminded Filipinos living in and traveling to Hong Kong to avoid areas of protests, stay vigilant, and refrain from wearing black or white – colors associated with those involved in the protests. (A schedule of protests until the end of October can be found here.)
Spurred by a deeply unpopular extradition bill, demonstrations in Hong Kong have broadened into wider demands for democratic reform. The protests are now widely considered as the biggest challenge to China's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997. – Rappler.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Gaza war rages into fourth month as Blinken tours Middle East Adel Zaanoun with Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, --- Agence France-Presse

The Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza entered its fourth month on Sunday as the army again pounded the besieged Palestinian territory and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was back in the region seeking to avoid a wider escalation. Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 64 people in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, said its health ministry. It said two journalists were killed when their car was struck. The ministry, medics, and witnesses identified them as Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for Agence France-Presse, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza who earlier lost his wife and two other children in an Israeli strike. Israeli bombardment also claimed other civilian lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border, where many of the territory's displaced people have sought refuge, AFP correspondents reported. Relatives were mourning the dead at Khan Yunis' European Hospital, am
Read more