Group on distressed OFWs: If Villar can do it, why not Arroyo?

MANILA, Philippines - If Senate President Manny Villar managed to repatriate 14 distressed overseas Filipino workers from Middle East in a short period of time, why can’t President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo do the same?

This was the query made by John Leonard Monterona, coordinator of militant Migrante International in the Middle East, as he appealed to the Arroyo government to repatriate an estimated 2,000 distressed and runaway OFWs in the oil rich region.

“If Senator Villar could bring stranded OFWs to their home in just a short time, the Arroyo administration, having all the machinery and resources of the government, could surely bring home the almost 2,000 OFWs," he said.

Monterona said the distressed OFWs are in different deportation and resource centers in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar waiting their chance to go back home.

“We could clearly distinguish the difference between a leader who has a compassion and sincere recognition on OFWs rights and welfare, and a leader who do not have such quality; the former is more on action and the latter is criminally neglectful to OFWs and their families," Monterona explained.

Nine OFWs from Jordan returned home last Monday and another five OFWs from UEA arrived Thursday.

Villar shouldered the expenses for the plane tickets of the migrant workers who were believed to be victims of different kinds of maltreatment.

The Senate leader chanced upon the distressed OFWs in Jordan and UAE while on his way to South Africa, where he attended the annual Interparliamentary Union (IPU) summit last week.

After helping in the repatriation of distressed OFWs, Villar filed a resolution seeking heavier penalties against syndicates involved in human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

Villar on Thursday filed Senate Resolution No. 366 which urges the Senate to conduct a comprehensive review of the implementation of labor recruitment, anti-human smuggling, and immigration laws of the country. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

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