SOS sounded for jailed OFW in Dubai

Relatives of a jailed and allegedly maltreated overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday appealed to the government for help.

The OFW, identified only as Mirasol, has been in jail since 2008 and is now suffering from erratic blood pressure and may go insane due to allegedly inhumane treatment by the UAE prison authorities, an article on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news site quoted the relatives as saying.

Militant migrant workers advocacy group Migrante said that while Mirasol had served her first sentence, her employer filed two more cases, pressuring her to pay AED684,200 (US$186,236.47 or P8,682,101.12) she allegedly stole by forging company checks.

“With the new civil cases filed against her, the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, this time, should provide legal assistance to Mirasol so that she could be properly represented and defended in court. Besides, it is clearly stated in RA 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 that whenever an OFW is facing a legal case abroad, he or she must be provided legal assistance by the government," Migrante-UAE secretary general Nhel Morona said in the article.

According to Migrante’s records, Mirasol, 38, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment but the sentence was reduced to six months. The Sharjah Court also ordered her deported after her release.

Mirasol, a former accountant at a Dubai firm, had spent more than one year at the Sharjah Central Jail.

Morona said Mirasol and her husband sought assistance from the Philippine Consul General (PCG) shortly after her arrest but it allegedly ignored their request for help.

The article said it was only last Jan. 18 when Mirasol’s sister Maria received a letter from the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA). The letter reportedly advised Mirasol’s sister to get a lawyer for her defense,
as the next hearing for the two new cases, is set on February 7.

Morona said it was only last January 26 when Maria and the OUMWA had a dialogue on how to take her sister out of jail and repatriate her, together with her three-year-old daughter whose visa expired August 10, 2008.

He said that during the case dialogue at the DFA, Maria asked the DFA-OUMWA to give her sister legal assistance. “However, the OUMWA representative said there is no assurance that they can provide Mirasol a lawyer. This is really unforgivable," he said.

“Upon entering the prison, the prison authorities have confiscated her personal belongings like mobile phone and cash amounting to AED5,000 (P63,515.83 based on the 30 January 2010 foreign exchange)," he added.

The article quoted Mirasol as claiming that her company had framed her up and made her a sacrificial lamb.

Her employer filed the first case against her on Feb. 10, 2008, for allegedly forging checks (Case No.2008/2291). She was sentenced to four months in prison, to be released June 30.

However, a new case was filed against her, Civil Case No. 2008/1663. Another civil case was slapped against her (Case No. 2008/9064 on October 20, 2008.

Due to the new cases filed, the Sharjah court ordered Mirasol to remain in jail. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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