Congress urged to probe OFW deployment to Jordan

MANILA, Philippines – Migrante International called yesterday on Congress to immediately investigate the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Jordan despite the deployment ban, saying it is “state-sponsored human trafficking.”

“There is an immediate and urgent need for the government to investigate the continuing recruitment of OFWs to Jordan despite the ongoing deployment ban issued by the Philippine government following cases of abuse from the region in 2007. We have verified with the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) and they have affirmed that the ban is still in effect,” said Migrante International secretary-general Gina Esguerra.

If this were the case, Esguerra said, the Philippine government has to explain the most recent cases of OFWs in distress brought to Migrante International, most of whom arrived in Jordan within the last six months.

Migrante presented to the media the families and relatives of 20 OFWs in Jordan who recently staged a hunger strike to call on government authorities to address their plight.

The 20 OFWs were all victims of illegal and human trafficking and sought refuge at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jordan after they escaped their employers due to maltreatment, non-payment of salaries, sexual and physical harassment and slave-like conditions. They are seeking immediate repatriation and the waiver of deployment costs for which they are being charged.

Esguerra said the OFWs and their families disclosed that most of them were able to enter Jordan via Hong Kong and Dubai and then later had their employment contracts authenticated by the POLO in Jordan.

“POLO, DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) have some serious explaining to do. POLO’s main responsibility, in compliance with the ban, is to immediately assume that any Filipino national they may encounter is a victim of human trafficking and therefore exhaust all efforts to send them home,” Esguerra said.

He questioned why POLO needs to authenticate employment contracts, “because this means this human trafficking has the blessing of the government.”

Esguerra also expressed concern over the deadline set by the government for Philippine diplomatic posts to submit to the DFA a certification that their respective countries of responsibility are safe for deployment. The deadline has been set on Nov. 20, as mandated by the amended Republic Act 10022 or the Migrants’ Act.

Migrante said the Philippine embassy, POLO and ambassador in Jordan have no basis to certify the country safe for deployment in light of the recent cases.

Countries that had recently submitted certification to and were declared safe by the DFA are Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Kuwait, Laos, Myanmar, Ireland, Saipan, Norway, Syria, and Vietnam. Of these, Migrante International has recorded cases of human rights violations and abuses from Syria and Kuwait.

Esguerra urged Congress to investigate the strict implementation of deployment bans, as well as seek a review and evaluation of existing bilateral agreements between the Philippine government and countries of destination of OFWs.

The Philippines is said to have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jordan government on the protection of OFWs but its substance has not been made known to the public. She added that it is up to now unclear if the memo has indeed been signed by both parties.

The DOLE reported to Congress recently that the Philippines has more than 100 bilateral agreements with different countries concerning OFW deployment and the protection of Filipino migrant workers. –Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star)