Bulletin: On the Return of OFWs in Libya

06 December 2018 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) today asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to allow more Filipinos working in Libya to go on vacation in the Philippines and return to their jobs there.

In a letter, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. requested Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III to endorse to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) his recommendation to exempt from the current deployment ban to Libya overseas Filipino workers with valid and existing contracts.

The proposed exemptions also cover those stranded in the Philippines after the DFA raised the Alert Level in Libya from II to III following the outbreak of violence in Tripoli in September.

Filipinos who will be covered by the new exemptions must submit a copy of their employment contract, including their salary and benefits, and a letter from their employer or sponsor requesting their return and an undertaking guaranteeing their safety and security. Filipino workers and their next of kin are also required to submit a sworn statement acknowledging the risks involved in working in Libya and the limited capability of the Philippine Embassy to assist them during emergencies or contingencies.

The documents must be verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Tripoli.

The latest request of Secretary Locsin expanded the coverage of the exemptions granted by the POEA in November and December to certain categories of Filipinos working in Libya. END