Philippines temporarily suspends deployment of OFWs to Oman

Authorities have temporarily suspended the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Oman effective Friday.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Bernard Olalia said the agency’s governing board issued a resolution ordering this after a recent Oman government travel advisory banned the entry of all OFWs and travelers from the Philippines.

“The condition for the lifting will be when the Oman government will allow the entry of our OFWs and Filipinos to Oman,” said Olalia.

The POEA administrator said the country sends an average of 25,000 workers to Oman annually before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bulk of which are household service workers. This figure dwindled to 5,000 amid the current health crisis.

Olalia said the Oman government has no feedback yet on the Philippines’ decision.

Bello said such move was done based on the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) after Oman banned entry of travelers from the Philippines.

“Last Monday, we received such referral from the DFA. They informed us that the Oman government came up with an order banning entry of Filipino travelers and even those travelers who passed through the Philippines,” Bello said.

“As such, the DFA recommended to us to suspend our deployment to Oman,” he added.

Copy of the resolution