By Leslie Ann Aquino
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said a formal Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) resolution allowing the resumption of the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Hong Kong and Macao is not necessary.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III
(PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)
He explained that it was the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that issued the travel ban.
"There was no resolution on the deployment ban on Hong Kong and Macau as it was the IATF-EID that imposed a travel ban," Bello said.
On Tuesday, the government announced the lifting of the travel ban of overseas workers going to Hong Kong and Macau, earlier imposed amid the threat of the coronavirus disease.
Meanwhile, OFW group Migrante International asked the government for clearer information and details regarding the travel ban exemption.
"Migrante International is asking the government to issue its official statement with clarification on what it meant by 'certain procedural formalities' to avoid confusion and added burden to returning and newly deployed migrant workers and residents to Hong Kong and Macau," the group said in a statement.