More solons speak out vs. controversial medical service provider

Several more lawmakers on Tuesday expressed concern against Winston Q8 Certification Solutions International, Inc., the medical service provider for would-be OFWs in Kuwait whose manager was linked to the terrorist group ISIS.
Four lawmakers met on Tuesday to discuss Winston Q8 and how it allegedly monopolized medical services to Kuwait-bound OFWs.
"It's just an informal meeting because sabi nga namin, naipasara na ['yung medical clinics affiliated with Winston Q8], dapat malaman rin ng OFWs na 'wag na silang pumunta diyan dahil napa-padlock na 'yan," Pangasinan Rep. Rose Marie "Baby" Arenas told reporters after the meeting.
Arenas appealed to the media to help circulate news that clinics affiliated with Winston Q8 have already been ordered closed by the Department of Health (DOH).
"'Yung mga kababayan natin na galing sa iba’t ibang baryo, hindi nila alam, so sana kung puwedeng ipaalam through you (media) na naisara na ‘yan," she said.
Arenas, together with party-list representatives Harry Roque (Kabayan), Emmi de Jesus (Gabriela), and Jesulito Manalo (Angkla), faced reporters to raise their concerns about the firm, which has previously been the subject of a congressional inquiry called upon by ACTS OFW party-list Rep. John Bertiz.
Roque said Winston Q8 earned P5 million to P6 million a day because of the high fees it asked from prospective OFWs. The firm, however, did not offer the actual screening of the applicants, which was instead done by eight accredited clinics that the DOH ordered closed last month.
“As a way of justifying it, sinasabi nila na ang gobyerno raw ng Kuwait ang nag-require na kailangang dumaan sa Winston Q8. Dalawa po ang argumento natin diyan: Una, nagkaroon na po ng desisyon ang Supreme Court na pinagbabawal po ang decking, o pagpunta sa selected clinics. Kailangan kahit anong accredited clinics puwedeng puntahan. At dapat P2,500 lang ang binabayad,” he said.
“Apparently, hindi lang po sila nangingikil at nagsasamantala sa ating OFWs. Ngayon, sila po umano ay miyembro ng ISIS,” Roque said. "Nabasa ko lang rin sa balita, na ang Kuwait mismo ay nagre-request ng extradition ni Al-Dhafiri dahil siya po ay may nagawa ring krimen sa Kuwait, at related rin sa terrorism."
"So ang tanong ko po, paano naman maja-justify ‘yung existence ng Winston Q8 kung mismong si Al-Dhafiri wanted rin sa Kuwait? Ang tanong, paano napayagan ito sa Pilipinas?" he added.
The lawmakers took the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Health (DOH) to task on the matter.
They also said the exposition about Al-Dharifi and Winston Q8 has opened a “Pandora’s box” on other agencies that are committing fraudulent acts on prospective OFWs.
“This is also calling the attention of different departments [of government]. Sana po maging eye-opener ito dahil mas importante ang buhay ng ating mga OFW. Eye-opener ito para siguro bigyan ng pansin ang OFWs natin,” Arenas said.
Winston Q8, according to its website, is a Philippines-based company that aims “to achieve a preeminent position in this visa processing channels while representing Kuwait's Ministry of Health.” It began operating on August 8, 2016, after it was given the right to pre-employment medical screenings for Kuwait-bound OFWs by the Kuwait Embassy.
Prospective OFWs need to pay between P8,400 to P10,000 to Winston Q8 before they can undergo medical certification tests at any of the following eight clinics in Metro Manila:
  • Ruben Bartolome Clinic Inc.
  • Abakkus Medical Diagnostic Services
  • Orion Medical
  • Diagnostic Center
  • San Marcelino Medical Clinic Co.
  • Global Medical Clinic
  • Agoncillo Medical Clinic
  • Barthol Medical Clinic.
DOH issued the preventive suspension order against the said clinics after the release of a Congressional resolution that said there was an agreement between Winston Q8 and Mawared Services, the agency that issued visas for Kuwait.
The resolution said the Mawared Services allegedly accepted medical certificates exclusively from Winston Q8 Certifications Solutions.
The DOH said the practice was against the law, pointing out that "no group or groups of medical clinics shall have a monopoly of exclusively conducting health examinations on migrant workers for certain receiving countries." —KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vietnam condemns China's 'brutal behavior' in fisher attack ---- Agence France-Presse

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China's "brutal behavior" during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands -- an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam "resolutely protests the brutal behavior of Chinese law enforcement forces against Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam", foreign ministry spokesperson Vietnam Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, using the Vietnamese term for the Paracel Islands. "The above actions of Chinese law enforcement forces seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty" over the archipelago, the statement said. Four of the Vietnamese crew were taken to hospital on Monday
Read more

Russia captures town after 2 years of Ukrainian resistance --- Reuters

Russian forces now control 98.5% of Luhansk, 60% of Donetsk MOSCOW: Russian troops on Wednesday took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022. The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it. Ukraine's eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town to avoid encirclement by Russian troops and "preserve personnel and military equipment". The Russian defense ministry did not mention Vuhledar in its daily battlefield report. Russian Telegram channels, however, published video of troops waving the Russian tricolor flag over shattered buildings. The town, which had a population of over 14,000 before the war, has been devastated, with Soviet-era
Read more

Africa roads are world’s deadliest despite few cars ---- AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Africa has the fewest roads and cars of any region, and yet the largest ratio of vehicle deaths, caused by the usual suspects — unsafe habits, speeding and drinking — but also poor infrastructure, scant rescuers and old cars. As everywhere, speed, alcohol and not wearing a seat belt or helmet are among the main causes of death and injury, say experts. But in Africa, where there are 620 traffic deaths every day, these problems are compounded by bad roads, outdated vehicles, minimal prosecutions and a shortage of emergency services. A recent World Health Organization report found that Africa surpassed the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia — which recorded the most road deaths — with a record ratio of 19.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Home to only around four percent of the world’s automobiles, Africa accounted for 19 percent of road deaths last year. “What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa,” said Jean Todt, a former head of the Internati
Read more