Ban on deployment of OFWs to Sri Lanka lifted

The suspension of the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Sri Lanka has been lifted after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lowered the alert level in the South Asian country to “precautionary phase,” the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said in an advisory on Thursday. “Based on information provided by the Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh, the [DFA] has lowered the alert level in Sri Lanka from level 2 (restriction phase) to level 1 (precautionary phase) given the improving situation in the country,” the advisory said. Sri Lanka faced its worst economic crisis early this year, which led the Philippine government to stop the deployment of OFWs to Sri Lanka. Based on government data, there were 581 Filipinos in Sri Lanka from July to December last year.