A TOTAL of 4,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) could soon be deployed after the South Korean government announced it is reopening its doors to migrant workers under its entry permit system (EPS), according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III lauded the pronouncement by Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) last Friday, as it will allow many OFWs to return to work.
“This is very good news not only to our EPS workers and their families, but also to the Korean employers who have been waiting for our workers to return,” Bello said in a statement issued last Sunday.
Seoul temporarily stopped accepting migrant workers under its EPS in June 2020 as part of its efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 in its jurisdiction.
DOLE spokesperson Rolly Francia said the suspension affected the employment of 2,000 returning OFWs and another 2,000 new hires.
To prepare for the impending resumption of the EPS deployment, Bello directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to coordinate with the Human Resources Development (HRD)-EPS Center in the Philippines to get the complete requirements and procedure for the deployment of OFWs.
Citing the MOEL initial announcement on the matter, Bello said EPS workers will be subject to pre-entry measures such as full vaccination and negative Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test results.
After entry, EPS workers will undergo mandatory quarantine and round of RT-PCR testing.
Taiwan, too
In a related development, the Taiwanese government also announced it will temporarily lift its ban this month on the entry of migrant workers this month amid its low Covid-19 cases.
The ban is set to be reimposed on Dec. 14, 2021 as the Taiwanese brace for the return of thousands of overseas Taiwanese in time for the celebration of the Lunar New Year in 2022.
Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the entry grace period is expected to benefit 4,000 OFWs, who were issued visas before the May 22 lockdown.