410 OFWs receive OVP assistance in Q1

41 OFWs repatraited from war-torn Syria
41 OFWs repatraited from war-torn Syria . Forty-one undocumented overseas Filipino workers arrive at the NAIA Terminal 1 on Wednesday, May 7, from strife-torn Syria. The repatriation of the OFWs were made possible by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration's repatriation program. Ariel Fernandez
Over 400 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) had received assistance from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in the first quarter of 2014.

These assistance that benefited 410 OFWs included repatriation, assistance on salary and benefits claims, legal assistance for detained OFWs, and grievances against recruiters and agents.

“I encourage those who know of any abuse or mistreatment inflicted on our OFWs to report these cases to me so my office could extend the needed assistance,” said Vice President Jejomar Binay, the presidential adviser on OFW concerns, in a statement Friday.

Recently, the OVP, in coordination with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), repatriated the remains of an OFW who was killed in Kuwait.

Estrella Cabacungan Gonzales, who was engaged in a lending business in Kuwait, was allegedly strangled to death and burned by three Indian nationals in Farwaniya.

After hearing news of his mother’s death, Jingle C. Gonzales went to the OVP to ask for assistance in seeking justice for his mother as well as to seek help in repatriating her remains.

According to Gonzales, the Indian nationals allegedly owed his mother money and that they allegedly killed her to escape paying their debt.

The OVP immediately coordinated with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait for the repatriation.

The OVP also assured Gonzales that the government will see to it that justice will be served in the 

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