The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said that the delay in the deployment of overseas Filipino workers was caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic. At home, travel is restricted and government offices, including the POEA, stopped operation for a while because of the declared community quarantine,” the agency said. It issued the statement in reaction to the complaint of some recruitment groups that the processing of documents had slowed down. ‘On the contrary, the POEA remains one of the few government offices that easily transitioned into contactless online services during the pandemic,” the agency added. “This requirement is the government’s measure to protect these type of workers who are classified as vulnerable,” the POEA said.

Source: Manila Times September 28, 2020 12:22 UTC