MANILA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government lifted Thursday the moratorium on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Qatar.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the decision was reached following consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs and upon recommendation of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO).
"This decision was arrived at on the advice of Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano and upon the recommendation of Qatar POLO following their assessment of the situation in the Gulf state," he said.
Bello said he was told that the situation in Qatar has normalized after some Arab states cut ties with the Gulf state for allegedly supporting terrorists. Qatar, however, denied the accusation.
The Labor chief said the Qatari authorities guaranteed the safety of around 240,000 Filipinos there and affirmed that they have the ability to withstand any possible economic shocks out of the diplomatic impasse with its neighboring Arab countries.
Bello ordered the temporary suspension in the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar last week to secure the OFWs' welfare and security in case of any eventuality after some neighboring Arab states cut diplomatic ties with the Gulf state.
