Many OFWs safe from abuse

Manila, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said yesterday that majority of migrant Filipino workers are safe from abuse and maltreatment.

“Most often, the front page stories surrounding Global Filipinos usually announce bad news or cases of abuse. I wish to assure you that such is not the plight of the majority of our overseas Filipinos,” Binay said in a speech during the Overseas Filipino Workers’ Summit held at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Binay, Presidential Adviser on OFWs’ Concerns, said that “the unskilled and uneducated who are usually seeking jobs as domestic workers, are those that carry the greatest risk.”

“Skilled workers are far less susceptible to such fates and enjoy more in the way of wages, benefits and treatment in their areas of employment,” he stressed.

The Vice President said that understanding such correlation helped improve the processes and strategies of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other agencies safeguarding the wellbeing of OFWs.

Binay mentioned OWWA’s pre-deployment program that provides departing workers with seminars that seek to “acclimatize” them to the host nation’s culture and help them cope with their new environment.

OWWA provides language training, stress management, counseling and basic life skills. The agency also offers 24/7 assistance for OFWs through help desks, electronic mail, telephone hotline, SMS text, or fax, free of toll charges.

The Vice President also noted the efforts of government agencies in securing the welfare of Filipinos against human traffickers and illegal recruiters.

“We are forming more alliances with local government units and private sector organizations in our anti-illegal recruitment campaigns,” he said.

Binay added that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has already signed close to 300 memoranda of understanding with LGUs.

The MOU seeks to provide LGUs with orientation seminar and capacity building programs, including regular and timely update on licensed recruitment agencies, and establishment of help desks. –JC BELLO RUIZ, Manila Bulletin