Gov't ready to help OFWs affected by Qatar diplomatic row

PHILIPPINES


The Department of Labor and Employment reminds OFWs that the transfer from one employer to another should undergo a formal hiring process for easier documentation
Patty Pasion
Published 2:10 PM, June 19, 2017
Updated 7:19 PM, June 19, 2017
FOREIGN WORKERS. This file photo taken on October 03, 2013 shows migrant laborers working on a construction site on October 3, 2013 in Doha in Qatar. Karim Jaafar/AFP

FOREIGN WORKERS. This file photo taken on October 03, 2013 shows migrant laborers working on a construction site on October 3, 2013 in Doha in Qatar. Karim Jaafar/AFP
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Qatar that they will get help finding new employers in case they become unemployed due to the country’s diplomatic row with several of its Middle East neighbors.
“Part of the assistance is finding opportunities within other countries but it has to pass through the process, they can’t [do it] on their own,” Labor Assistant Secretary Amuerfina Reyes said Monday, June 19.
Reyes reminded Filipino migrant workers that proper hiring processes must be observed to properly document the transfer of workers for better tracking.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III earlier imposed a deployment moratorium on OFWs bound for Qatar after countries Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Egypt cut their ties with the Gulf nation. Qatar has been accused of supporting terrorists, something it has denied.
DOLE lifted the moratorium last June 15, explaining that the Philippine Overseas Employment Office (POLO) in Doha said the situation there is back to normal.
They are also coordinating with Qatari authorities on assisting distressed OFWs there, like household workers whose non-Qatari employers would be forced to leave the country.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain have told their citizens to leave Qatar after the cutting of diplomatic ties last June 5, and gave Qatar nationals in their countries 14 days to leave. The deadline falls this Monday.
OFW advocate Susan Ople said domestic workers there fear abandonment once their employers leave.
The Qatar government, she said, has informed OFWs and other foreign nationals that they will be allowed to transfer to another employer as long as they have their legal documents and permanent IDs.
Asked about intervention for undocumented Filipino workers there, Reyes said they too will be given assistance but they are encouraged to go to the embassies or the POLOs.
“Those undocumented or irregular migrants that we mentioned earlier, they go to our POLO. And we encourage them to go to our POLOs for assistance or at the embassy,” said Reyes in a mix of English and Filipino.
“If you are documented, it is lot easier for the government to track you, to trace you in case [of] need and to provide you the necessary intervention,” she added.
According to the DOLE executive, POLOs in the Middle East region are coordinating with each other as they expect this particular crisis to happen.
So far, Reyes said they haven’t received reports on the transfer of OFWs from one country to another.
As of 2016, there are around 245,806 OFWs in Qatar. Data from teh Overseas Workers Welfare Administration puts the number of newly hired domestic workers who flew to Qatar at 22,877. (READ: FAST FACTS: How big is the Filipino community in Qatar?) – Rappler.com

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