LABOR Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Saturday asked the remaining overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Syria to come home and not to risk their lives for higher-paying jobs, when a worsening civil war is going on in there.

Baldoz appealed to families of OFWs to encourage their loved ones to leave Syria because the war-stricken country is “not a safe place to work” anymore.

“The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration had stopped the processing of any worker document for Syria,” she said in a statement.

Baldoz added that the Labor office and the Philippine Embassy in Damascus are always ready to assist overseas workers who are willing to come home.

Those who are willing to be repatriated will receive financial support from the government, including business start-up kits worth P10,000, home-based livelihood business development and skills training.

“There are also available job opportunities for them in the country, which would offer better remuneration compared to their salaries as undocumented household service workers and would mitigate the potential risk of maltreatment and abuse,” she said.

So far, more than 3,000 Filipinos in Syria have been repatriated to the Philippines. .