A report from the Philippine Embassy in Damascus said that the government of war-torn Syria would no longer issue entry visas to foreign workers from the Philippines.

The DFA statement said, “The Philippine Embassy in Damascus reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that the Syrian Ministry of Interior issued Decision Order No. 500 dated 04 March 2012 excluding Filipinos from the list of foreign nationals allowed to work in Syria.”

 
The new policy banning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Syria would take effect on April1. On April, only the workers from the following countries would be allowed in Syria:  Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

This Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) approves the action from the Syrian government saying that it would help their agency impose the current deployment ban of OFWs to Syria. The decision of Syria would also control human trafficking.

The POEA Administrator, Hans Leo Cacdac said, “Itong ban na ito on the Syrian side confirms na hindi na sila magi-issue ng entry visas for Syria which, therefore, sustains our own total deployment ban here in the Philippines.”

The Ambassador to Syria, Ricardo Endaya said that Syria’s decision to ban OFWs is a result of the DFA meetings with its Syrian counterpart.

In a radio interview with DZMM, Endaya said, “Ito ay isa sa resulta ng pakikipagusap ng ating secretary of foreign affairs sa pamahalaan ng Syria na pauwiin na ang mga Pilipino dahil sa lumalalang kalagayan ng seguridad dito po sa bansang ito.”

As the hostilities in Syria worsen, the DFA raised the crisis alert level to 4, calling for a deployment ban and mandatory repatriation of all Filipinos in Syria. The alert level 4 means that if necessary, the Philippine government would shoulder the repatriation cost.

Endaya said, “Lalo ho nating pinagiigi ang pagkukumbinsi sa Filipino workers na samantalahin ang repatriation program ng gubyerno nang sila ay makalabas na sa bansang ito dahil gumugulo na talaga ang kalagayan pang seguridad sa area.”