The Philippines will ban Philippine foreign workers from sending to India if they fail to meet three criteria

On December 6, local time, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) stated that the Philippine government decided to stop deploying Philippine overseas workers (OFW) to India because India failed to meet the standards of "compliant" destination countries.

Bernard Olalia, head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, confirmed that the deployment ban took effect on December 5.

It is reported that India has failed to meet the three conditions set by the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the most important of which is to have domestic or local laws to protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers.

Secondly, although India supports the 1990 United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, "it has neither signed nor ratified it". Finally, a bilateral labor agreement between the Philippines and India is needed to allow the redeployment.

According to Philippine government data, there are currently less than 2000 Filipino temporary immigrants recorded in India, and historically, the number of Filipino foreign workers sent to India is not large.

Olalia said: "Records for the past two years show that only 30 Filipinos were sent to India in 2021, compared with about 50 in 202020. The number of this group is actually not high, so the scope of influence will not be too wide."

He also assured that the Philippine embassy and relevant government agencies are ready to provide assistance to Philippine citizens who may need help.