DOLE to send rapid reaction team to MidEast to assess OFW welfare


By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News
A "rapid reaction" team will be sent to the Middle East to assess the welfare and needs of Filipino workers there, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said Tuesday.
At a press briefing, Bello said Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad III and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) deputy administrator Arnel Ignacio will lead the team.
Officials from DOLE, OWWA, and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will assess major OFW hubs including Jeddah, where there are reports of OFWs having mental health problems.
"There are 11 of them. That is the reason that prompted me to come up with this RR team kasi baka hindi lang ito sa Jeddah, baka meron pang other areas na ganun din ang situation," Bello said. "We will not allow our workers there to languish in misery."
DOLE's team will also assess how many Filipino workers are affected by diplomatic crisis in Qatar.
"How many are being displaced? Hindi pa natin nade-detect dahil meron ding nadi-displace na hindi documented," Bello said. "Kaya tayo merong rapid reaction team para dun nila alamin yung kalagayan ng ating mga OFWs.
Bello advised Filipinos who lost their jobs in the Middle East, especially those rendered jobless by "Saudization," to return home and find work in the Philippines or take advantage of OWWA's reintegration program.
"Our advise for them, kung wala na talagang trabaho, is to come home at, hopefully, meron namang trabahong naghihintay sa kanila at kung wala man, meron namang livelihood extended to them by the reintegration program of OWWA," he said.
A one-week job fair will also be set-up by DOLE in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to offer OFWs jobs in the Philippines. —KBK, GMA News

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