MANILA, Philippines – A party-list lawmaker representing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the House of Representatives called on the government to ensure a safe, humane, and habitable shelter for migrants in distress.
In a privilege speech, OFW Representative Marissa “del Mar” Magsino cited a Bahay Kalinga in Kuwait, which the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) discovered was housing 421 documented and undocumented Filipinos, more than double the shelter’s capacity of around 200 people.
“Per DMW, we have 24 MWO (migrant workers’ office) shelters worldwide, 14 of which are in the Middle East. The shelters in Middle East often burst at the seams with hundreds of distressed OFWs seeking a temporary sanctuary, forcing it to accommodate much more than its capacity,” she said in the House plenary on Monday, January 30.
“A shelter is not a home; it is a mere place of refuge, a sanctuary. But we can make it a home for our OFWs who seek a haven in times of distress while on foreign soil, even just for the interim, if we provide the necessary amenities and environment to make them feel at home and ease their pain,” she added.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople sent a high-level team to Kuwait on January 14 after she saw via a virtual inspection the living conditions of Bahay Kalinga occupants there.
Ople later ordered her team to look for alternative buildings that could house the OFWs, and started discussions on how the DMW could upgrade facilities at government-run shelters.
Nearly 200 OFWs from that shelter in Kuwait have returned to the Philippines.
Magsino called on the government to “untangle the knots” in the current repatriation system, pointing out that funds are handled currently by three agencies: the DMW, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
“Having the funds separately administered by various agencies, coupled with the fact that the DMW is still in transition to fully establishing its operations, raise concerns on the effective utilization of repatriation funds and on the clear delineation of the target beneficiaries in accordance with governing laws,” she said.
“One thing is certain and imperative: it should not affect or compromise the immediate repatriation of our distressed OFWs, which would help decongest our shelters, especially in the Middle East,” Magsino added.
Thousands of cases of OFW maltreatment have been recorded worldwide through the years, a bulk of which took place in countries in the Middle East.
The latest high-profile case was the death of 35-year-old Jullebee Ranara, a Filipino domestic worker whose burned remains were found in a Kuwaiti desert. The suspect is the 17-year-old son of the victim’s employer.
Turning emotional, Magsino said: “This is not just a case to add to the statistics; this is a life of our kababayan mercilessly taken from her loved ones.” – Rappler.com
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January 30, 2023 at 06:34PM
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In privilege speech, lawmaker laments crowded gov't shelters for OFWs - Rappler
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