RP-Malaysia working group too busy to stop abuse of Sabah deportees - group

MANILA, Philippines - A militant group on Wednesday said human rights violations against Filipino deportees from Sabah continue despite the working group created by the Philippine and Malaysian governments.

“It’s not existing and just a press release to cover up atrocities of the crackdown being done by Malaysian government to undocumented migrant workers," said Migrante International Chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado in a statement on Wednesday.

The RP-Malaysia working group on migrant workers was created in 2005 by the Philippine and Malaysian governments to defuse the international outrage brought about by the massive crackdowns performed by Malaysia on many undocumented workers.

According to Migrante, the crackdown conducted by Malaysia involved about 40 Gestapo-like raids every night on migrant communities. Immigration detention centers in Sabah were also allegedly filled with 30,000 undocumented workers and refugees just after three months.

Regalado said the inter-agency committee created by Philippine government tasked to monitor the RP-Malaysia working group on migration, is too busy processing the travel documents of the deportees so that they can go back to work in Malaysia, instead of looking into their plight.

“The RP-Malaysia working group on Migrant Workers is not functioning since human rights violations against deportees continue contrary to what both governments are claiming," said Migrante in the report.

“They were packed in crowded detention cells, with little food and water. They slept on floor cement and received beatings from Malaysian authorities," said Regalado.

Most of the deportees came from war-torn areas like Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan.

The migrant leader said they will seek congressional hearings and investigations on both Houses of Congress and the Senate regarding the matter.

Migrante said it will also submit their report to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva and will file complaints to UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Jorge Bustamante when he arrives in Manila this month.- Kimberly Jane Tan, GMANews.TV

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