The Philippine government has allowed Filipino workers to return to Libya after lifting the ban on them being deployed in the country.
In a statement, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Filipino migrant workers who previously worked in Libya were now allowed to return to the country and go back to their jobs.
“The decision came after the Department of Foreign Affairs, with the concurrence of the National Security Council, lowered the Crisis Alert Level in Libya from Alert level 3 (Voluntary Repatriation Phase) to Level 2 (Restriction Phase),” the POEA said.
The POEA said the partial lifting of the ban applied only to Filipino workers who would be returning to previous jobs in Libya.
“The lifting of the deployment ban does not include newly-hired workers and seafarers,” POEA said.
The Overseas Filipino Workers Organization in Benghazi previously appealed to the government to exclude professionals such as engineers, company workers, nurses and teachers from the deployment ban on Libya.
In September last year, the POEA imposed a total deployment ban on all Filipinos working in Libya due to the escalation of violence in the country.
The ban came after the Department of Foreign Affairs issued an Alert Level 3, which urges Filipino migrant workers to be repatriated to the Philippines.
Read: Philippine govt bans Filipino workers being sent to Libya