RP-Syria pact eyed to protect OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - A recent pact between the Philippines and Syria will provide an additional layer of protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFW), Vice President Noli De Castro said Friday.

“I am glad that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has committed to facilitate the signing of the RP-Syria Labor Agreement which will improve the system of Filipino manpower deployment to Syria and promote the welfare of overseas Filipino workers," said De Castro in statement.

The vice president, who is also presidential adviser on OFWs, said that Al-Assad also “warmly received" their proposal to establish a Filipino Workers Resource Center in Syria when they met in Damascus last week.

“This center is established in countries where there are large concentrations of Filipino workers," he said.

Based on data released by the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, around 17,000 Filipinos are currently working in Syria – 80 percent of whom are undocumented.

It added that 90 percent of the Filipinos working in Mideast country are unskilled and are working as domestic helpers.

De Castro said these workers were brought in by Syrian recruitment agencies through their counterpart agencies in the Philippines which are mainly illegal and not registered with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

To address this concern, the Syrian government has reportedly established a licensing system for their recruiters.

The Philippine Embassy, on the other hand, encouraged Syrian employers to have the working contracts of Filipino household helpers authenticated by them.

Meanwhile, the vice president also extended the government’s appreciation to Syria for its help in the repatriation of thousands of Filipino workers from Lebanon at the height of its war with Israel. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, 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

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

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