DOLE: 83 of 301 OFWs in Oman amnesty program awaiting repatriation

A total of 83 of the 301 overseas Filipinos workers who availed of the Sultanate of Oman’s amnesty program for illegally-staying foreign workers are awaiting repatriation, the Department of Labor and Employment said.
Citing a report from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Oman, the DOLE said the OFWs availed of the program which took effect on April 1, 2015, and was subsequently extended until October 31.
“We have received an update from Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Oman that 301 Filipinos have been registered for the amnesty program, and 218 of them were already repatriated, while the remaining 83 are now awaiting approval for repatriation by the Oman Ministry of Manpower and Immigration,” said DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz in a statement.
Some of the amnesty program applicants were 21 workers, including three children, who left Oman on October 22 via Qatar Airways Flight No. QR 932 and arrived at NAIA the following day.
Also, she said that those who are already registered at the POLO and accepted by Oman’s Ministry of Manpower are given the chance to leave the country on or before November 15.

There are 1,470 illegal Filipino workers in the Sultanate, but only 301 of them came out and availed of the Amnesty Program, according to the Oman National Statistics and Information Center.
Baldoz noted that Oman authorities will strictly enforce the law.

“Since the amnesty program was launched, we have made an ardent call to illegally-staying Filipinos in the Sultanate to avoid penalties and detention,” she said.
An estimated 600,000 illegal foreign workers were documented by Oman authorities, but only 100,000 of them have left the country so far.

Baldoz said that Oman implemented the amnesty program pursuant to the guidelines under the labor law promulgated by the Sultanate’s Royal Decree 35/2003.
The Oman Ministry of Manpower briefed labor attaches of foreign embassies in Muscat about its efforts to regulate the presence of foreign workers in the Sultanate. — LBG, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more