MANILA, Philippines – Philippine labor officials should prepare for the worst in view of the diplomatic crisis in the Arab gulf which could affect  Filipino workers, senators said.

Senator Joel Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, advised the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to be ready for the repatriation of Filipino workers in affected states should the crisis escalate. 

Qatar is the fourth top destination of the Philippine workers, and hosts over 200,000 Filipino migrant workers. (FAST FACTS: How big is the Filipino community in Qatar?)

“We urge the DOLE to prepare its contingency plan for our workers who will be affected by the deployment ban. In the same way, we advise the labor department to be ready as well for the worst case scenario should there be a need to repatriate our OFWs from Qatar,” Villanueva said in a statement.

DOLE suspended the deployment of workers to Qatar after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism.

Following a clamor from OFW groups, DOLE modified the deployment suspension to cover only those whose papers are still being processed, and not workers who are ready for deployment. (READ: Only OFWs with contracts, OECs can go to Qatar, says labor dep’t)

Livelihood, reintegration

Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Juan Edgardo Angara urged the government to create livelihood opportunities for affected workers this early.

“Ngayon pa lang, dapat nang paghandaan ang mga posibleng epekto ng krisis sa Qatar sa ating OFWs, lalo na sa kanilang kabuhayan. Dapat mabigyan ng pansamantalang pagkakakitaan ang mga naapektuhan ng deployment ban at iba pa nating mga kababayan na posibleng bumalik sa Pilipinas dahil sa nangyari,” Aquino said.

(As early as now, they should prepare for the possible effect of the crisis in Qatar on our OFWs, especially on their livelihood. Temporary sources of income should be given to those who will be affected by the deployment ban and those who may retun to the Philippines because of what happened.)

Angara said Republic Act 10801 or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Act of 2016 could hasten assistance to overseas Filipino workers, as reintegration has been identified as a core program.

“Para sa mga maaapektuhang OFWs, may nakahandang karampatang tulong ang ating pamahalaan para sa kanila. Ito ay nakapaloob sa bagong OWWA law (The government is ready to help affected OFWs, as mandated by the new OWWA law),” said Angara, sponsor of the measure and the vice chair of the labor committee.

These include free plane tickets back to the Philippines, credit assistance, education and training, skills-for-employment scholarship program, and education for development scholarship program.

Under the law, at least 10% of the total collection of OWWA should be used for the reintegration program every year, which includes trainings on financial literacy, entrepreneurial development, techno-skills, business counseling as well as job referrals for both local and overseas employment. – Rappler.com