CHIZ ASKS OWWA FOR DETAILED REPORT ON REPATRIATION EXPENSES

Senator Chiz Escudero has asked the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to submit a detailed report on the repatriation expenses of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from war-torn areas abroad to determine if mechanisms put in place to bring them home were adequate.

At the budget hearing of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Escudero, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said the current political unrest in various parts of the Middle East showed that more Filipinos are needing repatriation than what was documented by the OWWA.

"The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) needs to address the issue of an instituted repatriation mechanism and the issue of undocumented overseas Filipino workers given the current situation of countries under hostilities wherein more and more Filipinos should be repatriated," Escudero said.

The senator is pushing for a program wherein OFWs seeking to return can immediately do so under the mechanisms implemented by the DOLE and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Noting that the Philippines has more people deployed in practically all corners of the world compared to other countries only underscores the importance of having a comprehensive program that would extend protection to migrant workers, the senator said.

According to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, there are over 10 million Filipinos residing and working abroad, half of them are permanent residents and the other are overseas workers, of whom 700,000 to 800,00 are undocumented.

When asked by Escudero if they have a record of the names of the undocumented workers, Baldoz said: "No, they were only estimates. For example, in Syria, they (OFWs) were repatriated. When the war broke out, that was the only time that they were documented."

DOLE also added that the estimates of undocumented OFWs were provided to them by the DFA.

"Our migrant workers have been propelling the country's economy thus earning them the title of heroes. For us to repay them is to ensure that their government is out there to oversee and ensure that their welfare is adequately protected and secured," Escudero said."

In the same hearing, Escudero asked the DOLE on what was being done to curb illegal recruitment as he noted an upward trend in the number of placement agencies found violating labor and recruitment laws.

As of June this year, the number of illegal recruitment has reached 400, well past the 300 victims recorded for the entire year of 2013.

POEA officer-in-charge Jesus Gabriel Domingo told the budget hearing that the main problem with illegal recruitment was there were "willing victims."

"Despite being aware of the proper procedures and their desire for a greener pasture, they resort to illegal means...illegal recruiters are usually encouraging them that this is the best way, the fastest way to go abroad," Domingo said.