Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 14) — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) says there is no ongoing deportation of Filipino workers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The DOLE gave the assurance amid what it said were reports saying foreign workers would be made to leave the Middle Eastern country by April 2019.
A statement from the agency Wednesday said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III allayed fears over the issue which has sown confusion among workers overseas.
Bello made the announcement based on a report from the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB), which cited Labor Attache Alejandro Padaen of Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Abu Dhabi who was assured by a UAE official that there was nothing to fear.
Padaen said he was told by Dr. Omar Abulrahman Salem Alnuami, Assistant Secretary for Communication and International Relations of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, that it was all “fake news.”
The statement cited one article published online which said workers under category 35 and who are above 40 years old would be deported to their countries to give way to UAE nationals, especially fresh graduates, to solve the problem of joblesness in the UAE.
Asmaa Alamadani, the executive director of MOHRE’s International Bilateral Relations Department, also spoke with Labor Attache Felicitas Bay ng Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai and also gave the assurance there was no truth to the issue.
