It's just temporary.
Such was the assurance repeatedy given to the public Friday, May 28 by Philippine labor officials after hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were prevented from boarding their flights following the sudden suspension of the deployment of local workers to the oil-rich nation.
Enforcing the temporary suspension via Advisory no.66, Series of 2021 was the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which is an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia signed the one-page document, which was dated May 28. The advisory was in line with a memorandum that DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed late Thursday afternoon, May 27, which ordered the deployment suspension.
"The hereby informs the public that in accordance with the directive from , the deployment of all OFWs to the is hereby temporarily suspended with immediate effect and until further notice," the advisory read.
"The temporary suspension is in view of the reports that departing are being required by their employers/ foreign recruitment agencies to shoulder the cost of their health and safety protocol for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) and insurance coverage premium upon their entry to the Kingdom," it further stated.
"That is very, very temporary," Labor Attaché in Riyadh Fidel Macauyag said of the deployment ban during a virtual press conference organized by DOLE Friday afternoon.
"The secretary (Bello) wants a black and white, as clear as crystal , na ang magbabayad ay ang employer. Gusto ni secretary ay very express yung guideline (The secretary wants the guidelines to expressly say that it is the employers who should pay for the expenses)," Macauyag said.
"Everybody has to wait for the resolution of this issue. Napakaliit lang naman nito, simple lang ito na problema (This is just a minor and simple problem). If you can see the tenor of the memo, it's temporary," he added.
According to Macauyag, the "institutional quarantine" being imposed on OFWs costs around $1,000, or 3,500 Saudi Riyal. This includes a 10-day stay at a quarantine hotel in KSA, which he admitted to have "a high cost of living".
The DOLE order to suspend deployment to KSA appeared to have good intentions since it was meant to spare OFWs from shelling out a huge sum of money, but the apparent poor coordination between labor agencies and airline companies left hundreds of Filipinos workers stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Friday morning after they were offloaded from their flights.
"Ang ating pong hinahangad ay hindi pangmatagalang suspensyon, pang-madalian pong solution yung ating hinahanap (We don't want a lengthy suspension, what we're looking for is a quick resolution)," Olalia said during the same online presser.
Around 500 OFWs were affected by the deployment suspension on Friday alone, the POEA chief said.
"Nag-aantambay lang po kami ng clarification, ng official declaration na hindi po dapat kasama ang OFWs doon sa advisory at nang sa gayon ma-lift na po yung temporary suspension (We are just waiting for an official clarification that OFWs are excluded from their advisory so that we can lift the temporary suspension)," he further said.
DOLE Information and Publication Service (IPS) Dir. Rolly Francia defended Bello's decision to halt OFW deployment to KSA.
" to the best interest po ng ating mga OFW. Yan po ang nasa isip ni Secretary Bebot Bello kaya po siya nagpasya ng ganyan. Mayroon nang coordination between Philippine officials and Saudi officials to thresh out this matter para maresolba agad (This is for the best interest of our OFWs. That's why Secretary Bebot Bello made that decision. Philippine and Saudi officials are already coordinating to thresh out the matter)," said Francia, who hosted the presser.
KSA remains a major market for OFWs despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.