Villar urges gov’t to act fast to help distressed OFWs in Jordan

Senate President Manny Villar Jr on Thursday urged the government to act immediately on the plight of about 150 distressed overseas Filipino workers in Jordan who are awaiting repatriation.

"We should avoid resorting to last-ditch efforts which compromise the safety and security of our OFWs," Villar said in a statement.

The Philippine government on Monday imposed an indefinite ban on the deployment of new workers to Jordan after 120 to 150 OFWs, mostly household helpers, fled from their employers because of abuses, including rape and non-payment of wages.

The workers sought refuge at a Philippine-run social welfare center in Amman.

"The repatriation of OFWs who long to return to the comfort of their families in the Philippines after suffering in the hands of their foreign employers should be a priority of the government," the Senate President said.

Villar recently helped in the repatriation of eight minors at the Filipino Workers Resource Center in Amman, Jordan. One of them is Nisan Labay who arrived on Nov. 23.

Villar has filed several bills in the Senate; among these is the measure seeking to strengthen counseling services to OFWs in distress by qualified social workers.

"Our embassies carry the tremendous responsibility of looking after our distressed OFWs, which necessitates hard work at the earliest time of turmoil faced by our countrymen abroad," he said.

The new ban on the deployment only applies to new hires. OFWs returning to "good-standing" employers in Jordan are exempt form the restriction, said Rosalinda Baldoz, head of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Aside from distressed OFWs in Jordan, at least 60 runaway Filipino workers have been staying under a bridge in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also asking for help from the government.

“Mahirap po dito, pag umuulan wala kaming masilungan kundi sa puno o flyover sa Al-Khandara," said Bonifacio Franco Jr, one of the OFWs in Jeddah.

“Nagbayad po kami ng 800 Saudi riyals (P8, 847) sa tinatawag na Myra, isang Filipino rin po, kapalit ang pag-uwi namin sa Pilipinas" (We were made to pay SR 800 (P8,847) to a person named Myra, also a Filipino, in exchange for our repatriation), Franco said. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

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