MANILA, Philippines - A recruitment and migration expert is urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to withdraw and review the negative certifications of 41 countries submitted to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Lito B. Soriano, a consultant for the overseas recruitment industry, said in a statement that the DFA should review the negative certification of the 41 countries, especially Libya and India.

Soriano suggested that instead of a deployment ban against a country, the barring policy must be against erring employers and foreign placement agencies. He urged the DFA to conduct diplomatic dialogue with the host countries on the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

POEA had imposed a deployment ban against 41 countries, including Libya, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Sudan.

The 41 countries banned were found to be non-compliant with the provisions of Section 3 of Republic Act 10022, or the amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

Under RA 10022, OFWs will only be deployed to countries that can guarantee the protection of their rights. POEA employees can be charged with administrative and criminal cases if they allow deployment of OFWs to countries that are non-compliant with Section 3.

According to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, the ban will have a minimal impact on the hiring of OFWs, as it will only affect new hires and existing contracts will not be cancelled. OFWs hired by multinational companies in the 41 countries are also not covered by the ban.

Soriano said in order for the POEA to defer the implementation of the ban, the DFA should first withdraw the certifications it submitted last December.

Soriano also challenged the DFA to disclose the contents of the negative certifications. This is to give POEA the legal reason to temporarily withhold the implementation of the deployment ban, which has triggered flak from private agencies and OFWs who have previously worked in some of the countries.

According to Soriano, countries like Libya, East Timor, India and Sudan have accredited job orders for agencies to fill up and thousands of OFWs are working in those countries.

He cited Libya as an example, as over 10,000 OFWs were repatriated from the country due to civil war. Many of these OFWs are now inching to return to Libya to their former jobs in hospitals, oil fields and refineries.

He also said owners of multinational companies have expressed serious doubts if the new Libyan government will issue visas if the Philippines has banned other workers from going back to their former employers.

Sixty percent of Libyan employers belong to local companies or government-run hospitals, which do not fall under the category of international companies.

In a related development, Libya OFWs are preparing to challenge POEA's new issuances in court to allow them to return to their former jobs.

Some of the workers have reportedly already returned to Libya at the urging of their employers, who have already resumed operations.