New medical screening system for Kuwait-bound OFWs opposed

Migrant workers' rights advocates on Thursday called on the government to stop a new medical screening system for overseas job applicants for Kuwait that they said would give rise to a "cartel" of medical clinics.
The new system, which started operations on August 8, was set up by a Philippine-based firm called WINSTON Q8 Certification Solutions Inc., which ACTS OFW party-list Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III described as a "mysterious company."
"Who controls WINSTON Q8 Certification Solutions, Inc? No one really knows because even its website does not mention who the owners are," Bertiz told the Serye Media Forum.
"Yet, this company shall have full control over the fate of the job applicant and the financial transactions of its accredited medical clinics," he added.
GMA News Online was still trying to reach WINSTON for its comment as of posting time.
Bertiz said the new system is "oppressive" as it limits the choices of overseas job applicants for Kuwait to only seven accredited clinics all based in Metro Manila.
He said under the new medical screening system, applicants for jobs in Kuwait would not be issued receipts after depositing P8,400 to a BPI account.
Only after paying this amount and uploading scanned documents of the deposit slip, passport, photos and other documents to the WINSTON website can an applicant choose from the seven pre-selected clinics that would schedule his or her medical exams, Bertiz said.
"This is a clear case of a monopoly at the expense of our overseas workers and the national government," he said.
These concerns were echoed by civil society organizations such as the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and the Filipino Migrant Workers Group.
"The new medical scheme is clearly anti-OFW. Why are they forcing overseas job applicants from the Visayas, and Mindanao to travel all the way to Metro Manila for medical tests with only seven clinics to choose from?" said Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center.
She noted that the applicants are not even sure of being accepted by their desired Kuwaiti employer.
Jun Aguilar of the Filipino Migrant Workers Group (FMWG) said other countries might follow the WINSTON model in creating their own cartel of medical clinics if the Philippine government fails to enforce existing laws against the cartelization of medical tests. —KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more