House bill seeks P500-M supplemental budget for OFW legal aid
Moved by the plight of Filipina drug convict Mary Jane Veloso, progressive lawmakers in the House of Representatives have asked Congress for a P500-million supplemental budget to fund the provision of legal assistance for overseas Filipino workers in distress this year.
House Bill 5704, filed Monday by the seven-member Makabayan bloc, seeks to counteract President Benigno Aquino III’s conditional veto of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ P100-million Legal Assistance Fund, as stated in Special Provision Section 11 of the P2.6-trillion General Appropriations Act for 2015.
In his veto message, Aquino said, “The appropriations in this Act clearly suggest the lack of income sources to justify the creation of a special fund.”
The Makabayan lawmakers, however, believe legal assistance for OFWs should be funded, especially since at least 7,000 OFWs are languishing in jails abroad, based on the data of workers’ group Migrante.
Information from the DFA showed there are 88 Filipinos facing death penalty abroad, mostly in China and Malaysia.
The proposed P500-million legal assistance fund is expected to cover some 1,100 jailed OFWs overseas.
The Makabayan bloc is composed of party-list representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, Luz Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela, Antonio Tinio of ACT-Teahers, Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis and Terry Ridon of Kabataan.
Last-minute reprieve
In pushing for the bill’s passage, the lawmakers recalled the difficulties of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino death convict in Indonesia who was given reprieve last week. Mary Jane reportedly experienced difficulties in seeking government assistance for her drug trafficking case in Indonesia.
Citing anecdotes from Veloso’s family, the lawmakers said she was not provided with a lawyer or translator by the Philippine government since her interrogation by the Indonesian police in 2010, after she was caught at the Indonesian airport with 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage, until the end of the trial.
“It was only after Mary Jane was sentenced to death that the Philippine embassy availed of the services of Indonesian law firm Rudyantho & Partners (R&P). In fact, a strong evidence of government’s lack of concern for the Veloso’s case was its failure to investigate and prosecute [her] alleged recruiter,” they said.
Veloso claims the heroin was put in her luggage without her knowledge by colleagues of her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, who has already turned herself in to Nueva Ecija police.
Mary Jane was granted a last-minute reprieve by the Indonesian government last week in response to a request by the Philippine government for her to testify in the case being pursued against her suspected recruiters.
P100-M legal assistance fund
The party-list lawmakers said despite the sizable contributions of OFWs to the Philippine economy, the government allots “very little funds” for their welfare and protection.
“Philippine Embassies abroad claim that lack of funds makes it difficult for government to provide legal services to Filipinos abroad undergoing trial. Some members of Congress have pressed for bigger budget for the legal assistance fund as a result of this claim, but the budget continues to allocate very little funds for OFWs,” they said.
The lawmakers noted that the Migrant Workers’ Act of 1995, as amended by Republic Act 10022, provided for P100-million legal assistance fund, which shall “be used exclusively to provide legal services to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress…” which “shall include the fees for the foreign lawyers to be hired by the Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs to represent migrant workers facing charges or in filing cases against erring or abusive employers abroad, bail bonds to secure the temporary releases and other litigation expenses.”
“It is the government’s responsibility to provide timely and adequate legal assistance to OFWs in distress. By passing this bill that will ensure that funds are readily available for the legal needs of our OFWs in distress, we can save more OFWs’ lives,” they said. —KBK, GMA News
House Bill 5704, filed Monday by the seven-member Makabayan bloc, seeks to counteract President Benigno Aquino III’s conditional veto of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ P100-million Legal Assistance Fund, as stated in Special Provision Section 11 of the P2.6-trillion General Appropriations Act for 2015.
In his veto message, Aquino said, “The appropriations in this Act clearly suggest the lack of income sources to justify the creation of a special fund.”
The Makabayan lawmakers, however, believe legal assistance for OFWs should be funded, especially since at least 7,000 OFWs are languishing in jails abroad, based on the data of workers’ group Migrante.
Information from the DFA showed there are 88 Filipinos facing death penalty abroad, mostly in China and Malaysia.
The proposed P500-million legal assistance fund is expected to cover some 1,100 jailed OFWs overseas.
The Makabayan bloc is composed of party-list representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, Luz Ilagan and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela, Antonio Tinio of ACT-Teahers, Fernando Hicap of Anakpawis and Terry Ridon of Kabataan.
Last-minute reprieve
In pushing for the bill’s passage, the lawmakers recalled the difficulties of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino death convict in Indonesia who was given reprieve last week. Mary Jane reportedly experienced difficulties in seeking government assistance for her drug trafficking case in Indonesia.
Citing anecdotes from Veloso’s family, the lawmakers said she was not provided with a lawyer or translator by the Philippine government since her interrogation by the Indonesian police in 2010, after she was caught at the Indonesian airport with 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage, until the end of the trial.
“It was only after Mary Jane was sentenced to death that the Philippine embassy availed of the services of Indonesian law firm Rudyantho & Partners (R&P). In fact, a strong evidence of government’s lack of concern for the Veloso’s case was its failure to investigate and prosecute [her] alleged recruiter,” they said.
Veloso claims the heroin was put in her luggage without her knowledge by colleagues of her recruiter, Maria Kristina Sergio, who has already turned herself in to Nueva Ecija police.
Mary Jane was granted a last-minute reprieve by the Indonesian government last week in response to a request by the Philippine government for her to testify in the case being pursued against her suspected recruiters.
P100-M legal assistance fund
The party-list lawmakers said despite the sizable contributions of OFWs to the Philippine economy, the government allots “very little funds” for their welfare and protection.
“Philippine Embassies abroad claim that lack of funds makes it difficult for government to provide legal services to Filipinos abroad undergoing trial. Some members of Congress have pressed for bigger budget for the legal assistance fund as a result of this claim, but the budget continues to allocate very little funds for OFWs,” they said.
The lawmakers noted that the Migrant Workers’ Act of 1995, as amended by Republic Act 10022, provided for P100-million legal assistance fund, which shall “be used exclusively to provide legal services to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress…” which “shall include the fees for the foreign lawyers to be hired by the Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs to represent migrant workers facing charges or in filing cases against erring or abusive employers abroad, bail bonds to secure the temporary releases and other litigation expenses.”
“It is the government’s responsibility to provide timely and adequate legal assistance to OFWs in distress. By passing this bill that will ensure that funds are readily available for the legal needs of our OFWs in distress, we can save more OFWs’ lives,” they said. —KBK, GMA News
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