‘Repatriate stranded OFWs’

SOME lawmakers called for the immediate repatriation and probe of the “deplorable condition” of Filipino workers stranded in the Middle East.

They issued the call after a dialogue on the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) was conducted late July by Makabayan lawmakers, along with with the House of Representatives Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs led by Trade Union Congress Party Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza and 1-Pacman party-list Rep. Enrico Pineda.

“No one left behind? It seems our OFWs have been. As the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) crisis worsens, there’s an alarming trend of OFWs left stranded in deplorable conditions in the Middle East receiving no support both from their employers and the Philippine government,” Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said.

“After speaking with distressed OFWs abroad and learning about their current situation, it was imperative for us to take action and demand accountability from their employers as well as government officials responsible for their condition. We felt it necessary to call for a House investigation on the worsening conditions of OFWs in the Middle East,” he added.

Mendoza, Pineda and Gaite, along with Representatives Carlos Isagani Zarate and Eufemia Cullaman of Bayan Muna, Arlene Broasa of Gabriela Women’s Party, France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list, and Sarah Elago of Kabataan partylist, filed House Resolution 1095, urging for a probe.

The lawmakers noted that the plight of OFWs have worsened because of massive displacement and increasing cases of employer abuses. The said Filipinos endure deplorable conditions in quarantine centers and employer abuse such as contract substitution, unpaid salaries, wage cuts, non- issuance of exit visas and various forms of violence.

An estimated 1.2 million Filipinos are working in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Israeland Bahrain.