OFW group urges govt to send consular team to Sabah

MANILA, Philippines — The Federation of Overseas Filipino Workers in Zamboanga Peninsula urged the government on Wednesday to immediately send a consular team to Sabah in Malaysia to monitor the mass deportation of Filipinos there.

A report over radio dzXL quoted the group’s president, James Hassan, as saying consular officers are needed to assist Filipinos who do not have passports and other necessary travel and identifications documents.

A number of Filipinos in Sabah have appealed to Philippine authorities to help them return to the country as some of them have been detained for months because they do not have passports.

Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Esteban Conejos earlier said there are at least 200,000 undocumented Filipino workers in Malaysia.

Last month, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a massive drive to deport foreigners without travel or identification documents from the eastern Malaysian state, where at least 130,000 illegals are reported to be staying.

Since the announcement, thousands of Filipino migrants have been deported, with some male deportees complaining that they were caned during the 30-hour boat ride to Zamboanga.

Last Saturday, another batch of 300 Filipino deportees were ferried back to Zamboanga City from Sandakan in Malaysia. According to Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros, two other deportation centers were set up in Pawa and Mengatal in Sabah where Filipinos are temporarily detained. From there, the Filipino deportees were transported by bus to Sandakan where they board a ferry ride to Zamboanga City.

On Tuesday, the Philippines-Malaysia Working Group on Migrant Workers issued a statement ensuring the humane treatment of Filipino deportees, among others. - Johanna Camille Sisante, with a report from Mark Joseph Ubalde GMANews.TV

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