Daily Star - Philippines Warns Citizens To Heed Work Ban

By Dalila Mahdawi
Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: One day after the suicide of a Filipina worker, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon on Tuesday urged citizens of his country to respect a deployment ban to Lebanon. “There has been a total deployment ban since 2007, and we hope that nationals would heed our government’s advice,” Gilberto Asuque told The Daily Star.
His words follow the death of 28-year-old Theresa Otera Sero, who slashed her wrists before apparently throwing herself from the seventh floor apartment of her employer in Beirut. Police investigations are under way.
Manila first introduced its work ban on Lebanon in July 2006 following the outbreak of war with Israel, and because of Lebanon’s failure to provide sufficient protection against human rights abuses to migrant workers. Other countries, such as Nepal, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, also have similar bans in place, though such prohibitions have not prevented migrants from entering Lebanon illegally.
Although there are more than 200,000 migrant workers in Lebanon, they do not enjoy protection under the country’s labors laws.
Records show that Seda arrived in Beirut in defiance of the ban in November, Asuque said. Her husband and family have been informed of her suicide. “Responsibility will have to be borne by those who brought her here,” Asuque said, mentioning the Lebanese agency that recruited Seda.
Despite the perils of working abroad, the Philippines is heavily reliant on foreign remittances sent back from its 8.7 million emigrants. The Philippines government has estimated 30-31,000 of its citizens reside in Lebanon, including a sizable number who entered illegally. In late December, Asuque returned to Manila with 104 workers repatriated from Lebanon to file cases against their recruiters for sending them to Lebanon in violation of the deployment ban.
In an effort to improve the lives of Filipino migrants, Manila has held regular meeting with Lebanese Labor Ministry officials to discuss a protocol on the rights of Filipinos working in the country. The protocol, part of the larger memorandum, would include measures to ensure the welfare of Filipino domestic workers in Lebanon. The first negotiations over the memorandum were held in Beirut in May 2009.