The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has no plans of lifting the deployment ban on Filipino workers for Nigeria, dzMM reported Wednesday morning.
Rosalinda Baldoz of the DOLE’s Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said that security risks to Filipino workers are still present in the African country. She said there are no plans to lift the total ban.
The labor department and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) are still monitoring the situation of Filipinos currently working there due to the continued hostage-taking incidents by rebels.
Baldoz, meanwhile, warned the public against recruitment agencies that are still smuggling contract workers to Nigeria.
She added that the POEA is asking returning workers affected by the total ban to be considerate of the government�s moves to protect Filipino workers from the rebels in Nigeria.
The government has been implementing a deployment ban on Filipino workers to Nigeria since January due to the kidnappings of foreign workers by Nigerian rebels.
Foreign workers mostly working for multinational companies, including 26 Filipinos, have been the subject of these abductions.
The latest kidnapping involved a Filipino worker occurred last month. Alfredo Bacani Sr., along with his Colombian co-worker, were kidnapped. They were released on October 11.
The government estimates that around 5,000 Filipinos are currently working in Nigeria.
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