Akbayan's Bello wants independent body to probe alleged 'sexploitation' of OFWs

A party-list lawmaker on Friday asked Malacañang to form an independent body to probe the alleged sexual exploitation of Filipino workers in some Philippine embassies and consulates particularly in the Middle East.

In an interview with reporters at the Supreme Court, Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello said some witnesses might refuse to speak about the controversy because they did not trust some officials at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which is currently probing the incident.

Asked who should make up the independent body, Bello said: "We will leave it up to the executive department to do that."

"Pero siyempre, there are some people of some stature kagaya ng ating Ombudsman ngayon who can be part of it," added Bello, chair of the House committee on overseas workers affairs.

Bello was at the Supreme Court to take his oath as the newly-re-elected representative of Akbayan party-list in the House of Representatives. He took his oath before SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

The DOLE had earlier assured the public that it would wrap up its ongoing investigation after two weeks.

"So expect criminal charges to be filed in two weeks time," Bello said.
 
At a press briefing Tuesday, Bello said three Philippine embassy and labor officials in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait  have been accused of sexually abusing OFWs in exchange for repatriation.
 
These alleged cases of exploitation were uncovered when Bello's committee investigated the reported "sex-for-flight" activities where female overseas Filipinos were allegedly offered repatriation by officials in exchange for sex.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario said he was initially unaware of reports of prostitution rings allegedly operated by Philippine embassy staffers, despite purported knowledge of senior foreign officials that nefarious practices had been going on.

A number of Philippine envoys to the Middle East have already been ordered to come home for consultations amid the reported exploitation. — Mark Merueñas/KBK, GMA News

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