LABOR Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday said the ban on the deployment of newly-hired Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia stays.
This is to counter the claims of Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Abdullah Mama-o.
“Meron akong notice to the public kahapon na ‘wag paniwalaan yung utos na nili-lift yung suspension of deployment ng mga new hires sa Saudi,” Bello said in a Teleradyo interview.
Mama-o earlier issued a department order lifting the Saudi deployment ban to serve “the national interest and the interests of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) as well as the recruitment industry.”
But Bello said the DMW has yet to be fully constituted, citing the law that created the new department.
“Ultra vires (beyond the powers) yun. Maliwanag po sa batas na yung Department of Migrant Workers will be duly constituted only after nagkaroon na ng IRR (implementing rules and regulations), meron nang budget at meron nang staffing pattern. Hangga’t hindi po natutupad yung tatlong kondisyon na yan, ‘di pa constituted yung bagong department, maliwanag po yan sa batas,” the labor chief said.
This means the DMW secretary cannot yet impose such policies, Bello said in the notice to the public DOLE issued on Wednesday.
This is not the first time that Mama-o’s directive was questioned.
Earlier this month, Mama-o recommended the recall of the appointment of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) officials, saying that the agency would have to be dissolved with its merger with other agencies to form the DMW.
