140 Filipinos in Jordan to be repatriated without fines
Philippine Star
OVERSEAS Filipinos in Jordan numbering 140—including 11 under-aged workers and eight children born in Jordan—are set to be repatriated to the Philippines.
Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Julius Torres reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Filipinos, mostly migrant workers, could now be repatriated as they have been issued a waiver for their overstay fines by Jordan’s Ministry of Interior.
During a call made on Jordanian Minister of Labor Bassem Al Salem, Torres conveyed his appreciation to the Labor Ministry for facilitating the waiver. The workers could now be repatriated to the Philippines after the department facilitated the purchase of one-way plane tickets for them.
Jordan imposes a fine equivalent to $2.50 per day for aliens whose residency permits have expired. The overstay fines of the 140 Filipinos covered from three months to three years, with one overseas worker accumulating fines covering eight years.
Meanwhile, Al Salem expressed hope that the Philippines would soon lift the temporary suspension of deployment of Filipino domestic workers to Jordan.
An interim joint committee formed in December 2007, consisting of representatives from the Labor Ministry, the Embassy, and the recruitment agents’ association, have not only resolved a number of individual cases but also identified certain procedural and practical obstacles in the relevant recruitment processes in the Philippines and Jordan.
Torres and Al Salem agreed that it is time to change certain procedures and update the 1988 bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Matters to reflect current conditions.
A Jordanian delegation may visit Manila soon to study the deployment process in the Philippines and prepare for the signing of a new labor agreement.
– Katrice R. Jalbuena
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