RP-Syria pact eyed to protect OFWs

MANILA, Philippines - A recent pact between the Philippines and Syria will provide an additional layer of protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFW), Vice President Noli De Castro said Friday.

“I am glad that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has committed to facilitate the signing of the RP-Syria Labor Agreement which will improve the system of Filipino manpower deployment to Syria and promote the welfare of overseas Filipino workers," said De Castro in statement.

The vice president, who is also presidential adviser on OFWs, said that Al-Assad also “warmly received" their proposal to establish a Filipino Workers Resource Center in Syria when they met in Damascus last week.

“This center is established in countries where there are large concentrations of Filipino workers," he said.

Based on data released by the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, around 17,000 Filipinos are currently working in Syria – 80 percent of whom are undocumented.

It added that 90 percent of the Filipinos working in Mideast country are unskilled and are working as domestic helpers.

De Castro said these workers were brought in by Syrian recruitment agencies through their counterpart agencies in the Philippines which are mainly illegal and not registered with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

To address this concern, the Syrian government has reportedly established a licensing system for their recruiters.

The Philippine Embassy, on the other hand, encouraged Syrian employers to have the working contracts of Filipino household helpers authenticated by them.

Meanwhile, the vice president also extended the government’s appreciation to Syria for its help in the repatriation of thousands of Filipino workers from Lebanon at the height of its war with Israel. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

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