Migrants' groups seek justice for slain OFW in Canada
Migrante International, an alliance of overseas Filipinos and their families, vowed on Wednesday to help obtain justice for 28-year-old Jocelyn Dulnuan, a Filipina housekeeper slain in Ontario, Canada.
Maita Santiago, secretary general of Migrante International, said its member organizations in Canada, Hong Kong and Baguio City have been working together to ensure that Dulnuan’s death won’t be meaningless.
"Jocelyn's case highlights yet again how the Arroyo administration exacerbates the injustices suffered by overseas Filipino workers. It is incumbent upon the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cover the costs of repatriating Jocelyn's remains. Further, it must also ensure that Jocelyn's killer(s) are brought to justice" Santiago said.
Soon after learning of Dulnuan's murder, Migrante International's member organizations Migrante-Ontario, Migrante-Metro Baguio and groups under the UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK have been in close contact with the victim's family, Santiago said. She said Siklab-Ontario has formed a Jocelyn Dulnuan Support Committee (JDSC) with her relatives and friends last week. It includes Asosacion Negrense, AWARE/Gabay, Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ), Ifugao Association, Migrante-Ontario, DAMAYAN Migrant Resource and Education Centre, SIKLAB, Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada-Toronto (UKPCTO), United Filipinos for Nationalism and Democracy (UfiND), Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) and Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO).
"Jocelyn and countless other migrant workers like her prop up the ailing Philippine economy by infusing more than US$12 billion annually into the country's dollar reserves. The DFA reportedly has a repatriation fund of P45 million and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration fund, to which Jocelyn contributed to before going to Hong Kong, stands at around P8 billion" Santiago said.
Earlier reports said OWWA refused to provide assistance to Dulnuan because she was an unregistered worker. OWWA said she stopped paying her membership dues when she moved from Hong Kong to Canada in 2006.
Quoting data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (SBP), Santiago said remittances from Filipinos in Canada in 2006 amounted to US$591 million.
"Attempts to off-load the responsibility for Jocelyn from one government agency to another or onto the Filipino community is simply unacceptable," she said. “We also demand that the DFA make public what concrete steps it is taking to ensure that a thorough investigation is undertaken by Canadian authorities so that Jocelyn's death does not become another statistic in a 'mysterious death' file," Santiago said.
The Migrante officer said she was hoping that Dulnuan’s death would not just be an addition to the growing number of unsolved murders committed against overseas Filipino workers around the world.
Filipinos in Canada are estimated at 240,000, with 6, 468 deployed in 2006. - GMANews.TV
Maita Santiago, secretary general of Migrante International, said its member organizations in Canada, Hong Kong and Baguio City have been working together to ensure that Dulnuan’s death won’t be meaningless.
"Jocelyn's case highlights yet again how the Arroyo administration exacerbates the injustices suffered by overseas Filipino workers. It is incumbent upon the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cover the costs of repatriating Jocelyn's remains. Further, it must also ensure that Jocelyn's killer(s) are brought to justice" Santiago said.
Soon after learning of Dulnuan's murder, Migrante International's member organizations Migrante-Ontario, Migrante-Metro Baguio and groups under the UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK have been in close contact with the victim's family, Santiago said. She said Siklab-Ontario has formed a Jocelyn Dulnuan Support Committee (JDSC) with her relatives and friends last week. It includes Asosacion Negrense, AWARE/Gabay, Community Alliance for Social Justice (CASJ), Ifugao Association, Migrante-Ontario, DAMAYAN Migrant Resource and Education Centre, SIKLAB, Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada-Toronto (UKPCTO), United Filipinos for Nationalism and Democracy (UfiND), Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) and Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO).
"Jocelyn and countless other migrant workers like her prop up the ailing Philippine economy by infusing more than US$12 billion annually into the country's dollar reserves. The DFA reportedly has a repatriation fund of P45 million and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration fund, to which Jocelyn contributed to before going to Hong Kong, stands at around P8 billion" Santiago said.
Earlier reports said OWWA refused to provide assistance to Dulnuan because she was an unregistered worker. OWWA said she stopped paying her membership dues when she moved from Hong Kong to Canada in 2006.
Quoting data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (SBP), Santiago said remittances from Filipinos in Canada in 2006 amounted to US$591 million.
"Attempts to off-load the responsibility for Jocelyn from one government agency to another or onto the Filipino community is simply unacceptable," she said. “We also demand that the DFA make public what concrete steps it is taking to ensure that a thorough investigation is undertaken by Canadian authorities so that Jocelyn's death does not become another statistic in a 'mysterious death' file," Santiago said.
The Migrante officer said she was hoping that Dulnuan’s death would not just be an addition to the growing number of unsolved murders committed against overseas Filipino workers around the world.
Filipinos in Canada are estimated at 240,000, with 6, 468 deployed in 2006. - GMANews.TV
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