Philippines blocks workers heading to Qatar amid fears Gulf diplomatic crisis could lead to food shortages and riots
Manila takes precautions amid fears that problems like food shortages could affect the more than 250,000 Filipinos in Qatar should the crisis worsen
The Philippines has temporarily blocked Filipinos from travelling to Qatar for work because of the possible “ripple effects” of several Arab powers breaking off diplomatic ties with Doha and “wild rumours” of what’s happening there.
Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said the ban would be in place until the government has completed its assessment.
“I temporarily suspend the deployment of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the county of Qatar. This is for us to be able to assess the situation because there are so many wild rumours going around, saying things are not going well there,” Bello said in a statement on Tuesday.
“For example, we know for a fact that Qatar does not produce its own food. If anything happens that they run out of food and food riots will take place, definitely our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers)... will be the first victims,” he added at a news conference.
“That’s why we really need to make preparatory measures to meet a possible exigency.”
More than 2 million people from the Philippines are working in the Middle East as domestic helpers, construction workers, engineers and nurses, with Qatar hosting 250,000 and Saudi Arabia hosting almost a million.
Watch: store shelves empty amid Qatar crisis
Filipinos working in the Middle East sent home $7.6 billion in remittances in 2016, making the region a major source of foreign exchange inflows which help drive one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said the government was concerned about the possible “ripple effects” of the Arab-Qatar rift on its workers abroad.
“Concerned government agencies are looking at the matter and will extend assistance and other support for OFWs who may be affected by such action,” Ernesto Abella told a media briefing.
The Philippines is one of the world’s largest recipients of remittances. For the whole of 2017, the central bank expects remittances to grow 4 per cent from last year’s $26.9 billion, which was equal to around 10 per cent of gross domestic product.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
