Press Release
January 3, 2008

Villar says uncaring foreign post personnel aggravating plight of distressed OFWs

Senate President Manny Villar today called for the identification and punishment of embassy and consular office officials and personnel who refuse assistance or display incompetence in extending help to Filipinos, which further aggravates the condition of distressed OFWs around the world.

"The seeming insensitiveness and indifference of a number of our diplomatic and consular officials and personnel have been reported and they are destroying the image and dignity of a larger, more committed, devoted and excellent public servants in foreign service," Villar said.

Ellene Sana, executive director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), wrote Villar and accused some members of the diplomatic corps of bad attitude, negligence and incompetence in attending to the cases of Filipino migrant workers in distress.

Sana cited the case of OFW Teresita Santos, a sewer who was gang raped in August 2005 by five Saudi nationals. The perpetrators were found guilty and were sentenced to four years imprisonment and 500 lashes each. However, Santos accused consulate personnel in Jeddah of depriving her of proper legal advice that almost caused her to lose claim to her private rights.

In a letter-complaint submitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Santos said it was only through the help of fellow OFWs that she was able to file a case to claim for her private rights and accused Assistance to Nationals personnel of blocking the hearings.

Villar also lamented the case of OFWs Julian Camat, Hermilo Ramos and Napoleon Fabregas, who worked for a cargo handling company in Jeddah. They were sentenced by the Saudi court of one and a half years imprisonment for stealing computers in January 2003. They ended up serving four years and four months in detention because of the negligence of the Consulate General in Jeddah.

The CMA also presented the case of Esnaira Angin, a Muslim woman from Maguindanao, who was one of the four OFWs in Dubai whose house was broken into by three Emirati and an Omani national in November 2005. She was stabbed on her chest and back while trying to resist their attackers.

An undocumented OFW, Angin said before the incident took place, she sought the help of the Assistant Labor Attache to be repatriated back to the Philippines but was denied help and shelter at the labor office in absence of money to pay for necessary fees.

"The mindset and thinking of our corps of foreign service must be changed to realize that their existence in countries where they are detailed and stationed is a gift to our citizens, particularly the OFWs. They must show compassion that they richly deserve," Villar asserted.

Villar filed Proposed Resolution No. 248, urging the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to conduct an inquiry on the allegations of bad attitude, negligence and incompetence of some Philippine embassy and consular personnel stationed in various countries in handling cases of distressed OFWs.

He also filed Senate Bill 1879, which seeks to amend Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. The bill seeks to impose penalties on Philippine consular officials and other government personnel for failure to act on complaints of, or to give assistance or render service to migrant workers, their families and overseas Filipinos in distress.

"Over a decade after its enactment, RA 8042 has not entirely lived up to its intended purpose. Filipinos abroad continue to suffer under abusive employers, inhuman working conditions and various human rights violations," the Senate president said.

"Every time a Filipino encounters problems he/she seeks assistance from various posts abroad but some concerned officials fail to extend assistance. Unfortunately, the law does not chastise or penalize any government official in the consular, labor and welfare services who fails or refuses to give assistance to Filipino migrant workers," he added.

Under the proposal, officials and personnel who fail or refuse to render service and/or assistance will be punished with suspension from office of not less than 30 days to dismissal from the service with forfeiture of retirement and other benefits depending on the gravity of the offense, and shall be disqualified from holding any other government office in the future.

Sana expressed support for the Villar bill and said "we join you in upholding the dignity of the Philippine foreign service corps and in upholding government's commitment to the rights and welfare of our OFWs and their families."

Earlier, Villar filed Proposed Resolution No. 189 urging the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment and Foreign Relations to conduct an urgent omnibus inquiry on the plight of detained Filipino workers in various countries in order to formulate remedial measure and devise a package of assistance to protect OFWs.

"An assessment of the legal and social remedies being afforded by our embassies and consular offices to our kababayan detained abroad for various offenses is imperative to ascertain sufficiency of assistance for the protection of OFWs," Villar, also the Nacionalista Party president, said.

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