There are still more than 200 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) stranded in Jordan waiting to be repatriated to the Philippines according to a migrant workers' advocacy group.

The Migrante-Middle East, an alliance of overseas Filipino workers’ organizations based in the Middle East said there are still more than 200 runaway and distressed OFWs in Amman, the capital of Jordan where the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) is located, run, and managed by Philippine Embassy.

"We have been informed by a distress OFW who asked assistance from us that there are more than 200 distressed OFWs seeking refuge at Philippine Embassy’s FWRC in Jordan; many of them have been there for more than 6 months to 1 year," John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator said in a statement.

The Philippine government imposed an OFW deployment ban in Jordan last year because of numerous cases of OFWs’ abuses and maltreatment by abusive employers.

"The imposition of deployment ban in Jordan does not mean relaxation or a halt repatriating OFWs victim of abuses and maltreatment especially those who have long been in the FWRC staying more than six months to one year; they should be repatriated immediately so that they could start a new life and reunited with their families who have also been waiting for them," Monterona said.

He related that on July 24, 2009, he formally endorsed to the attention of Philippine Ambassador Julius D. Torres the case of OFW Realyn Orio who was forced to run away from her abusive employer and sought refuge at the FWRC in Amman, Jordan.

Monterona said his group is still waiting the official reply from the Philippine Embassy in Jordan on what action it has to take so that OFW Realyn Orio and the 200 plus stranded OFWs in Jordan could be repatriated soonest.

"The Philippine Embassy in Jordan simply acknowledge receipt of my formal case endorsement despite reminding them twice and asking what actions it will take so that we could revert the information to the families and relatives of the stranded OFWs in the Philippines," Monterona said.

Meanwhile, The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has warned female job applicants against accepting offers of employment as entertainers in Turkey.

"The POEA is not processing employment documents of overseas performing artists (OPAs) to Turkey and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is not keen on allowing their deployment due to lack of established protective and monitoring mechanisms," stated an advisory posted at POEA's website, www.poea.gov.ph.

"Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said deployment of OPAs shall be allowed only in the presence of a bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Turkey to assure the protection of Filipino workers in that country," POEA's advisory added.

It was learned that the the POEA had been receiving complaints from OFWs who were abused while working in night clubs in Turkey.