Sen. Joel Villanueva's opening remarks on the hearing on abuses and deaths of OFWs abroad

Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

This hearing is a continuation of our deliberations on the six proposed Senate Resolutions submitted by Senator Pacquiao, Senator Binay, Senator Gatchalian, Senator Poe, Senator Angara, and this representation.

To refresh your memory, all the six resolutions, including the privilege speech delivered by Senator Pacquiao, are all related to the deaths and abuses of OFWs, particularly Joanna Demafelis, the total deployment ban to Kuwait and its impact to the economy and our government's migration policies.

Marami na pong nangyari mula nang unang hearing natin noong February 21, 2018. Ang mga pangyayaring ito ang magpapatunay na hindi nawalan ng saysay ang buhay ng kababayan nating si Joanna Demafelis at iba pang inabuso at pinaslang sa Kuwait.

Bagamat naging mapait ang katapusan ng kanyang buhay, naging mitsa naman ito ng maraming pagbabago, at inaasahan nating magtutuloy-tuloy ang mga developments lalo na sa sistema ng pagpapadala natin ng OFWs sa ibang bansa.

Banggitin na rin ho natin na kahit paano ay nakakita tayo ng hustisya sa sinapit ni Joanna sa pagkakahuli sa mga employer niyang sina Nader Essam Assaf sa Lebanon at Mona Hassoun sa Syria noong February 23, 2018.

Nung February 12, 2018 nag-issue rin si Secretary Bello ng total ban on the deployment of all OFWs to Kuwait.

Sa loob ng 94 days na may deployment ban sa Kuwait, nalagdaan na rin nung May 11 ang matagal nang nakabinbing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) para maprotektahan ang ating mga kababayan sa Kuwait.

Alinsunod sa DOLE Administrative Order 254 at AO 254-A, pwede na ulit mag-Kuwait lahat ng newly-hired professionals, skilled and semi-skilled workers gayundin ang mga Household Service Workers.

Ngayon, may ilang nagtatanong sa atin, na-lift na ang deployment ban at napirmahan na rin ang Memorandum of Understanding, bakit kailangan pa ituloy ang hearing?

I was looking at the POEA Job Orders last night and we found out that at least one month after the total deployment ban, job orders for Kuwait kept coming in. This only shows that, despite the deployment ban, Filipino workers remained among those in highest demand in the Gulf countries.

That's why we need to ensure that the government's efforts are consistent and sustainable, and that similar incidents that happened to Joanna and other OFWs will not be repeated not only in Kuwait but also in other countries which are far worse in terms of labor abuse like Saudi and Lebanon.

Dapat po 'yung bawat isang Pilipinong lalabas ng bansa, lalo na papuntang Kuwait o Middle East, dapat naman mabigyan na natin ng kumpyansa na ligtas sila, na sapat yung skills nila, at kahit paano pamilyar o kabisado nila ang mga batas at kultura ng pupuntahan nilang bansa lalo na itong Kafala system dahil kung hindi, palagi ho tayong mumultuhin nitong mga huling pangyayari sa Kuwait.

Kayo ho sa DFA, DOLE, POEA, tayo hong lahat ang nasa lugar para, ika nga po, maitama ang mga pagkakamali dati.

So, in todays's hearing we want to know the changes in our deployment protocols to prevent such horrors our OFWs experienced from happening again. We are also interested to know what has been done to curb the modus operandi of recruiters that process documents of household workers without any due diligence, and what can be done to deepen the accountability of foreign recruitment agencies and their local counterparts.

Higit sa lahat, gusto nating malaman ang mga detalye kung paano ipapatupad itong Memorandum of Understanding o MOU para hindi naman ho sa papel lang ito maganda. Halimbawa, paano natin matitiyak na hindi na kukumpiskahin yung pasaporte ng mga Pinoy workers dahil sa Kafala, na mabibigyan sila ng holiday, health insurance, makakakain at makakatulog ng tama?

We expect that through our deliberations today, we can identify policy alternatives and craft measures, if need be, to strengthen protection of OFWs and assure our kababayans that abuses are a thing of the past.

Alam ko hong pangarap ho 'yan pero wala namang pangarap na hindi magkakatotoo kung talagang pagsusumikapan natin kaya kinikilala rin natin yung efforts ng DOLE, DFA, POEA and other concerned agencies, kasama rin ang mga NGOs na talagang nagsusumikap na matanggal yung sinasabi nilang kakambal ng ating OFWs na pang-aabuso at disgrasya.

Salamat po.