Philippine government rejects Libya’s appeal to lift ban on deployment of workers

BY Libyan Express Dec 25, 2017 - 14:39 Updated: Dec 25, 2017 - 21:43

Filipinos are banned from traveling to Libya for work by their government over security issues. (Photo: Internet)

The government of the Philippines has rejected the appeal of Libya to lift the existing ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to the country, citing safety and security concerns as well as money remittances issue.

According to local media in the Philippines, the government said that under the present Alert Level 2, for the safety of all parties, the deployment of new workers to Libya is still not possible, according to a statement by the Department of Foreign Affairs over the weekend.

“Our nationals working in Libya face two natural difficulties: their safety and security, and their ability to send their earnings back to the Philippines,” the foreign affairs department explained.

Libya’s health sector has been mainly dependent on Filipino nurses and doctors as well as other medical staffers.

Many Filipinos left Libya after unrest in 2014, with some remaining in the country but are still suffering from both security issues and high exchange rates of the black market, not to mention that there is no legal channel for sending money from Libya to the Philippines.

Libyan authorities, especially the health sector, appealed earlier in November to the government of the Philippines to lift the ban on deploying its nationals to work in Libya, citing better security conditions.

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