The secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Rosalinda Baldoz orders the strict implementation of deployment ban to 5 Middle Eastern countries. As of this writing, employment contracts of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound to Lebanon, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Jordan will not be processed.

The government agency deemed it necessary to guarantee the safety and welfare of OFWs.  In an article that appeared in the DOLE website, Baldoz said, "As far as the DOLE is concerned, there remain in effect restrictions on the processing and deployment of OFWs in view of the peace and order situation in those areas. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) is tasked to implement these restrictions imposed on both legitimate recruitment agencies and OFWs."

Baldoz said that the total deployment ban in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Lebanon is stated in POEA Advisory No. 27 issued in 2010. In addition, the Philippine government also prohibited the hiring of newly-hired household service workers (HSWs) to Jordan.

The order to strictly implement the deployment bans came after the news that 59 distressed OFWs were repatriated from Lebanon. A report posted on the website of the Department f Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, "These OFWs are those who stayed at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC), most of whom had experiences of maltreatment from their previous employers.”

The Labor Secretary said that President Aquino is aware of the plight of Filipinos working overseas just to provide a good life for their families.As a way of thanking the OFWs for their contribution and sacrifice, President Aquino instructed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to allot a budget of Php1 billion for the reintegration program of the government.

The repatriated OFWs were welcomed by Ricardo Endaya, Executive Director of the Migrant Workers Affairs, Cynthia Lamban, Officer-in-Charge from OWWA and Office of the Vice President representative Atty. Ira Puzon.

The DFA informed, "The DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, purchased the airline tickets of the OFWs. It also covered the cost of hiring a bus to transport the Filipinos to the Rafic Hariri International Airport."