'RP should think twice before lifting deployment ban to Lebanon'

MIGRANT WATCH/ BULATLAT.COM

MANILA, Philippines - A migrant group urged the government not to lift the deployment ban to Lebanon as the situation remains volatile.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said that war could spark again any time following the assassination of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) deputy representative in Lebanon Kamal Naji.

Monterona said, “There is strong speculation that this unfortunate event will revive the war between Lebanon and Israel as many believe that Israel could be behind the assassination of Kamal Naji."

“What has been reported in the media regarding what is actually happening in Lebanon, specifically the still volatile peace and order situation contradicts what the Arroyo administration is telling our people and aspiring overseas Filipino workers that peace and stability have already been restored in Lebanon," Monterona said.

Recently, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has agreed to lift the three-year deployment ban to Lebanon. According to the DFA, the armed conflict in the Middle East state “has already ended and is no longer posing a security threat" to overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

Vice President Noli de Castro supported the DFA’s decision and said that Lebanon could provide an alternative destination to laid-off OFWs.

Monterona said the Arroyo administration should not rely on sugar-coated reports from its officials in Lebanon who have wrongly assessed the security and stability situation in Lebanon.

The group maintained that the government must ensure the safety and security of overseas Filipino workers, as well as the protection of their labor rights and welfare to include the provision of humane, safe living and working conditions, and decent pay and other labor rights as guaranteed by international labor standards.

Monterona said these primordial considerations have been set aside by the Arroyo administration in its continued effort to sell OFWs’ cheap labor.

Monterona also said the Arroyo administration must attend to the plight of thousands of OFWs in Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE, and in the entire Middle East. - Bulatlat.com

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