by Aleta Nieva-Nishimori, ABS-CBNnews.com Posted at 07/12/2013 7:46 PM | Updated as of 07/15/2013 7:33 PMAquino Promises: A mid-term assessment (6 of 10) - SONA 2013
Protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is a professed priority of the government. However, the sex-for-flight exposé in June 2013 that dragged the names of certain embassy and labor officials in the Middle East has cast doubts on how government is protecting and looking after the welfare of OFWs in these areas. The scandal sent concerned departments scrambling to nip problems in the bud. What made it more alarming was the fact that those victimized were under the custody of the government’s Bahay Kalinga, supposedly a safe haven for distressed OFWs. Those linked to the scandal were recalled, investigations are on-going, and measures to improve services to OFWs, like the deployment of female labor officers, have been announced.
The government also hopes to bring home as many undocumented OFWs affected by the crackdown on foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. But as of July 2, only 815 Filipinos had been repatriated. The posts in Saudi Arabia are being blamed for the snail-paced repatriation.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), meanwhile, has told repatriated OFWs that they can avail of the various reintegration programs of the government to help them put up small businesses and livelihood projects.
In terms of protection and welfare, the DOLE made headway by inking a bilateral agreement with Saudi Arabia for household service workers. The agreement covers the recruitment, deployment and assistance for runaway workers, and those who want to go home were told they can access various government programs for returning OFWs.
The issue of brain drain also made the headlines following the resignation of PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando from the state weather bureau.
Servando reportedly accepted a teaching post in Qatar. OFW rights groups say this again shows that job opportunities and higher pay continue to force Filipinos into leaving their homeland for employment abroad.
But not all migrating Filipinos go through legal channels. Illegal recruitment and human trafficking persist. In 2012, around 1.8 million Filipinos were deployed overseas, with household service workers registering the highest number of deployment. Over 300 victims of illegal recruitment were received by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The agency intensified its campaign against illegal recruitment by tapping the help of Jobstreet.com.ph.
Also this year (2013), President Aquino signed Republic Act No. 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012. But this was not enough to get the Philippines out of its Tier 2 status in the US State Department’s Global Trafficking in Persons Report. Bad eggs in the Bureau of Immigration still provide "escort service," although some have been caught and prosecuted.