13 December 2016 – The Philippine Embassy in Moscow clarified in a radio interview the deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Russia, following reports that the Department of Labor and Employment is considering the world’s largest country by territory as an alternative destination for Filipino workers.
In an interview with radio anchor Rod Izon of DZMM’s Pintig Balita on December 11, Vice Consul Jeffrey Valdez, the Embassy’s Economic Officer, shared that while there is an increasing number of Filipinos working in Russia there is a need to study their deployment including the immigration processes of the host country.
“An overwhelming majority of our nationals in Russia work in the household services sector as nannies and domestic helpers. The problem is that there is currently no visa category for these types of work in the Russian system”, Mr. Valdez said in Filipino. “The result is that Filipinos are issued documents that falsely state they are working as skilled professionals and this makes them vulnerable”, he added.
Vice Consul Valdez emphasized the importance of ensuring that an OFW’s arrival in Russia is compliant with both Philippine and Russian regulations. “At the moment, there is no concluded bilateral labor agreement between our countries. This is something that the DFA and DOLE are working on. In the meantime, the best way to ensure that a job opportunity in Russia is legitimate and legal is to go only through POEA-accredited manpower agencies and not through individual recruiters and visa fixers”, he said. “The deployment of skilled workers is allowed by the Russian government but only by invitation of the employer.”
During his recent visit to Russia, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, Jr. met with the Filipino Community and praised them for their hard work and cooperation with the government.
Secretary Yasay reminded the Filipinos in Russia to be responsible and to comply with the laws of both the Philippines and Russia, particularly with regard to immigration. END