DOLE alarmed over the rising number of undocumented OFWs

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has expressed alarm over the rising number of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in several parts of the globe including Amman, Jordan.

As this developed, DOLE Secretary Arturo Brion issued a warning to those who want to work abroad without the necessary legal documents and work visas.

Citing a report from Amman-based Labor Attache Henry Parel, Brion said majority of the distressed OFWs who took temporary refuge at the Filipino Workers Resource Centers (FWRCs) were undocumented.

Brion said that about 180 of the total 236 OFWs who took refuge at the centers or Bahay Kalinga in January 2008 were not documented. Only 56 of the distressed OFWs had proper documents. The OFWs were mostly household service workers (HSWs).


Last December, distressed HSWs staying at the FWRC in Amman totaled 225, out of which 170 were undocumented while only 55 were documented. In response, Brion issued an order last month suspending the deployment of HSWs to Jordan.

The DOLE head said the suspension should warn OFWs not be enticed to work as HSWs in Jordan by unscrupulous individuals and agencies without the acquisition of proper documents such as job contracts and work visas.

The suspension means that no OFW is allowed to work in Jordan as an HSW, he said.


Brion also warned Filipino workers from dealing with agencies offering assistance in looking for jobs in Dubai without the necessary employment contracts.

He said workers seeking employment with only tourist visas abroad are putting themselves at great risk even in top destinations like Dubai.


"I appeal once again to workers to check first with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration the existence of job orders in Dubai and other places abroad for any offer they may get from agencies and not to leave the country without proper documents," he said.


"Undocumented workers are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation since there are no contracts to bind their employers with responsibilities and corresponding liabilities that usually go with legitimate employment contracts."


Undocumented OFWs in distress along with the documented ones seeking refuge at FWRCs are being assisted by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) staff.


He cited the assistance extended to a total of 775 documented and undocumented distressed OFWs by the POLO in Amman last year, which included repatriating the OFWs to the Philippines.-ABSCBN News

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