Stranded OFWs must go through legal process - DFA
By PIA LEE-BRAGO
The Philippine Star
Stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have to go through the legal process of deportation before they are repatriated to the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.
Rejecting the OFWs’ request to the Philippine Consulate General to issue fictitious documents to facilitate their immediate return to the Philippines, the DFA said it will not allow the use of such documents to send Filipinos back home.
"We support the approach of the Consulate to go through the legal process. Hindi dapat (We can’t) short cut," DFA Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis said.
At least 84 OFWs have reportedly remained stranded after fleeing from their abusive employers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The OFWs, including 10 women and two children, were among the over 100 OFWs forced to live under a bridge in Al-khandara district, said Migrante Philippines chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado.
The workers, some of them women victims of sexual harassment, recently set up camp outside the RP consulate in their bid to immediately be sent back to the Philippines.
Seguis said the Consulate reported that 74 stranded OFWs went to the Consulate last Thursday evening to seek assistance and accommodation while awaiting travel documents for their deportation.
Of the number, he said 18 OFWs agreed to go through the legal process of deportation.
"But some of the OFWs want the Consulate to issue them fictitious documents. And the Consulate said hindi ito puwede (this can’t be done)," Seguis said.
"It’s deplorable that RP Consul General Ezzedin Tago and the Department of Foreign Affairs have neglected them for this long," Regalado said as she criticized the government’s "playing deaf and dumb to their pleas when they’re in distress."
But Seguis contended that the Consulate wants the OFWs to honestly declare their problems and identify their employers to find out if the Filipinos are facing charges.
The OFWs complained that they were required to work longer hours and their salaries have remained unpaid.
Seguis lashed at Migrante for claiming that there are 179 stranded OFWs.
"We never do anything right for Migrante. They are all talk. Why don’t they be the ones to talk to the Saudi Arabian government and help OFWs?" he said.
The Consulate reported that fixers are posing as agents of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah and collecting fees ranging from SR500 to SR2,500 (about P1,000 to P5,000) in exchange for the immediate repatriation of overstaying and run-away OFWs.
In a report to Vice President and Presidential Adviser on OFWs Noli de Castro, the Consulate said they received information from Alan Omar Loyola, president of Tau Gamma Phi, last Tuesday that some individuals are posing as consulate agents and claiming they can help with the repatriation of run-away OFWs.
De Castro said the fixers have spread rumors that the Saudi Arabian government is offering amnesty because of the Hajj season.
"According to the Consulate, there is no way they are connected to any of these individuals or fixers because all transactions are conducted inside its premises by its personnel who have Consulate IDs and have resident permits issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he added.
The Consulate said that Filipinos who have absconded from their employers and are posing as pilgrims are risking arrest, investigation, and detention.
Last month, the Consulate met five OFWs who submitted the aliases of 51 OFWs seeking immediate relief such as food and medicine and their repatriation through the backdoor.
"The Consulate offered to assist in the repatriation of the workers in accordance with existing Saudi legal procedures for the issuance of exit visa of sponsored expatriates. The Consulate stressed that they can extend assistance to resolve their cases through the regular channels," De Castro said.
Consulate officials explained and discussed with them options for the resolution of their cases under Saudi laws and regulations.
OFWs who wish to go through the process shall present themselves, with representation of the Consulate, to Saudi authorities for investigation and processing. – Artemio Dumlao
The Philippine Star
Stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have to go through the legal process of deportation before they are repatriated to the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.
Rejecting the OFWs’ request to the Philippine Consulate General to issue fictitious documents to facilitate their immediate return to the Philippines, the DFA said it will not allow the use of such documents to send Filipinos back home.
"We support the approach of the Consulate to go through the legal process. Hindi dapat (We can’t) short cut," DFA Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis said.
At least 84 OFWs have reportedly remained stranded after fleeing from their abusive employers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The OFWs, including 10 women and two children, were among the over 100 OFWs forced to live under a bridge in Al-khandara district, said Migrante Philippines chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado.
The workers, some of them women victims of sexual harassment, recently set up camp outside the RP consulate in their bid to immediately be sent back to the Philippines.
Seguis said the Consulate reported that 74 stranded OFWs went to the Consulate last Thursday evening to seek assistance and accommodation while awaiting travel documents for their deportation.
Of the number, he said 18 OFWs agreed to go through the legal process of deportation.
"But some of the OFWs want the Consulate to issue them fictitious documents. And the Consulate said hindi ito puwede (this can’t be done)," Seguis said.
"It’s deplorable that RP Consul General Ezzedin Tago and the Department of Foreign Affairs have neglected them for this long," Regalado said as she criticized the government’s "playing deaf and dumb to their pleas when they’re in distress."
But Seguis contended that the Consulate wants the OFWs to honestly declare their problems and identify their employers to find out if the Filipinos are facing charges.
The OFWs complained that they were required to work longer hours and their salaries have remained unpaid.
Seguis lashed at Migrante for claiming that there are 179 stranded OFWs.
"We never do anything right for Migrante. They are all talk. Why don’t they be the ones to talk to the Saudi Arabian government and help OFWs?" he said.
The Consulate reported that fixers are posing as agents of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah and collecting fees ranging from SR500 to SR2,500 (about P1,000 to P5,000) in exchange for the immediate repatriation of overstaying and run-away OFWs.
In a report to Vice President and Presidential Adviser on OFWs Noli de Castro, the Consulate said they received information from Alan Omar Loyola, president of Tau Gamma Phi, last Tuesday that some individuals are posing as consulate agents and claiming they can help with the repatriation of run-away OFWs.
De Castro said the fixers have spread rumors that the Saudi Arabian government is offering amnesty because of the Hajj season.
"According to the Consulate, there is no way they are connected to any of these individuals or fixers because all transactions are conducted inside its premises by its personnel who have Consulate IDs and have resident permits issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he added.
The Consulate said that Filipinos who have absconded from their employers and are posing as pilgrims are risking arrest, investigation, and detention.
Last month, the Consulate met five OFWs who submitted the aliases of 51 OFWs seeking immediate relief such as food and medicine and their repatriation through the backdoor.
"The Consulate offered to assist in the repatriation of the workers in accordance with existing Saudi legal procedures for the issuance of exit visa of sponsored expatriates. The Consulate stressed that they can extend assistance to resolve their cases through the regular channels," De Castro said.
Consulate officials explained and discussed with them options for the resolution of their cases under Saudi laws and regulations.
OFWs who wish to go through the process shall present themselves, with representation of the Consulate, to Saudi authorities for investigation and processing. – Artemio Dumlao
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