OFWs in HK mark Flor Contemplacion death anniv with rally vs. OEC

HONG KONG — Some Filipino workers here marked the 22nd death anniversary of Flor Contemplacion on Thursday with a rally calling for the total abolition of the Overseas Employment Certificate.
About 20 members of various Filipino groups picketed the office of the Philippine Consulate General in Admiralty and submitted a joint statement.
"Kaming mga migranteng manggagawa sa Hong Kong ay nagkakaisa at nanawagan na lubusan nang alisin ang Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC)," the groups said.
"Sa pangatlong pagkakataon, ito ay muli naming pinaabot kay President Duterte at sa Secretary of Department of Labor and Employment dahil hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay marami pa rin sa ating mga balik manggagawa ang napepereisyo ng hindi naman kailangang OEC," they added.
Vice Consul Alex Vallespin received the group's submission.

OEC is a requirement for OFWs departing from the Philippines to their employment destination. But many OFWs say it is a useless document that serves no other purpose but to generate revenues for the government.
Contemplacion was executed in Singapore on March 17, 1995 after she was convicted for killing fellow Filipino domestic helper Delia Maga and Maga's four-year-old Singaporean charge in May 1991.
Though Contemplacion reportedly confessed to the crime, there were reports quoting witnesses that said she was coerced and that the young victim's father strangled Maga after his child drowned in the bathtub under her watch.
Contemplacion's case and execution, which strained relations between the Philippines and Singapore, became a rallying cry against the inhumane, abusive, and exploitative working conditions that many Filipino domestic workers and laborers face abroad.  —KBK, GMA News

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