Group on distressed OFWs: If Villar can do it, why not Arroyo?

MANILA, Philippines - If Senate President Manny Villar managed to repatriate 14 distressed overseas Filipino workers from Middle East in a short period of time, why can’t President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo do the same?

This was the query made by John Leonard Monterona, coordinator of militant Migrante International in the Middle East, as he appealed to the Arroyo government to repatriate an estimated 2,000 distressed and runaway OFWs in the oil rich region.

“If Senator Villar could bring stranded OFWs to their home in just a short time, the Arroyo administration, having all the machinery and resources of the government, could surely bring home the almost 2,000 OFWs," he said.

Monterona said the distressed OFWs are in different deportation and resource centers in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar waiting their chance to go back home.

“We could clearly distinguish the difference between a leader who has a compassion and sincere recognition on OFWs rights and welfare, and a leader who do not have such quality; the former is more on action and the latter is criminally neglectful to OFWs and their families," Monterona explained.

Nine OFWs from Jordan returned home last Monday and another five OFWs from UEA arrived Thursday.

Villar shouldered the expenses for the plane tickets of the migrant workers who were believed to be victims of different kinds of maltreatment.

The Senate leader chanced upon the distressed OFWs in Jordan and UAE while on his way to South Africa, where he attended the annual Interparliamentary Union (IPU) summit last week.

After helping in the repatriation of distressed OFWs, Villar filed a resolution seeking heavier penalties against syndicates involved in human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

Villar on Thursday filed Senate Resolution No. 366 which urges the Senate to conduct a comprehensive review of the implementation of labor recruitment, anti-human smuggling, and immigration laws of the country. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

In Cairo, senior Hamas officials discuss hostage deal with Egyptian intelligence chief ---By TOI STAFF, AGENCIES and LAZAR BERMAN

Delegation said led by terror group’s Qatar-based political leader Ismail Haniyeh; Wall Street Journal reports Hamas demanding 150 security prisoners for each female soldier A delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible deal that would see the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. The delegation was led by Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives in Qatar, and included senior members Mousa Abu Marzook and Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Al-Araby news outlet reported, citing an unnamed Egyptian source. The Hamas officials met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the details of a hostage deal proposal that was presented to the Gaza terror group earlier this week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The outline of the deal was drawn up during a meeting in Paris last week in the presence of Israeli and US officials, as well as Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, a
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more