24 out of 62 OFWs on death row saved - DFA

MANILA, Philippines - The government had already saved 24 of the 62 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) currently on death row in other countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

In a report submitted to Malacañang, Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Esteban Conejos Jr said that 11 of these 24 OFWs had already been released and repatriated back to the Philippines.

Conejos said the 62 cases span the period from January 2006 to June 2008, of which 30 are active death penalty cases currently in various stages of appeal, while the remaining eight were potential death penalty cases that the Philippine government is closely monitoring and assisting.

In the same report, the DFA revealed that a total of 252 OFWs had also received legal assistance during the same period, while 254 others had been involved in human trafficking cases.

The department also reported that 7,712 OFWs worldwide had also sought various kinds of aid like shipment of remains and medical assistance from the several Philippine embassies and consul office abroad.

The DFA also reported that in 2006, they have helped repatriate back to the country some 11,000 OFWs from Lebanon; 228 from Kazakhstan and 90 from Timor Leste following on war, civil unrest and labor disputes in the said countries.

The government also helped in securing the release of 147 land and sea-based OFWs included in various hostage-takings, kidnappings and other emergency situations in other countries, very recently in Nigeria and Somalia. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more