House panel finds govt action vs. ‘sex-for-flight’ scheme lacking

A House panel that investigated the “sex-for-flight” scheme in the Middle East has scored the government for allegedly not doing enough to hold the perpetrators of the “prostitution, racketeering and extortion ring” accountable.

In its report, the House committee on overseas workers affairs particularly chided the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for supposedly failing to use all of their resources to bring justice to those victimized by the scheme.

“If both agencies are truly committed to hold erring officials accountable and restore our OFWs’ trust in these institutions, they would have exhausted all avenues and used every resource to secure the victims’ testimonies and gather sufficient evidence to hold their officials liable,” said Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, the committee chairman, in a letter attached to the report.

“Sadly, we did not see such efforts,” he said.

The panel said DOLE's decision to mete out a one-month suspension without pay to Labor Attaché Adam Musa was a “slap on the wrist” for his offenses. Musa was one of the three labor officials allegedly involved in the sexual abuse of distressed OFWs in the Middle East. According to the House panel, all three officials have yet to be charged in court.

The other two officials allegedly involved in the sex for flight scheme are Labor Attache Antonio Villafuerte and OIC Labor Attache Mario Antonio.

Former OFW Grace Victoria Sales claimed in her testimony she was nearly raped by Musa's driver, Jojo Casicas, during her stay in the Filipino Workers Resource Center or Bahay Kalinga in Saudi Arabia. Instead of handling the case personally, Musa allegedly ordered his staff members to give her a settlement worth SRA 10,000 (over P110,000).

According to the committee, Musa should no longer be posted abroad after the incident and should be meted a penalty “that is more commensurate to the actual offenses committed.”

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz was quoted in the committee report as saying to the media that the penalty given to Musa was already final and executory since there was no motion for reconsideration filed by any party involved in his case.

One of the recommendations made by the House panel was for all concerned government agencies to administer a specially-designed psychological examination and character background checks to applicants to ensure they do not hire individuals who are likely to commit sexual offenses against Filipinos abroad.

“The government, particularly the DOLE and the DFA, must resolve the issue of how to prevent similar cases fro reoccurring in the future to provide the highest form of protection for our OFWs, especially those in the Middle East,” the report stated. —KBK, GMA News

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