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MANILA — The Department of Migrant Workers has lifted the ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia, its chief said Friday.

"I had issued a department order lifting the ban on the processing of and verification of documents for new hires of domestic workers in Saudi Arabia," Secretary Abdullah Mama-o told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

But the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) contradicted the policy, saying the newly created agency still has no power to remove the deployment ban.

• Deployment sa Saudi pinatutuloy ng DMW; DOLE kumontra

Mama-o insisted that his department can now do its function under the law, telling Labor chief Silvestre Bello that his remarks were "inappropriate."

"I have commenced exercising fully the mandate and the power and authority for the Department of Migrant Workers that has been vested upon me by law all employees are now effectively working under my control and leadership," Mama-o said.

Mama-o said he is still awaiting a scheduled meeting with Bello to discuss the issue.

A migrants organization earlier said that the conflicting policy statements by the government officials have caused confusion among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

--TeleRadyo, April 29, 2022