OFW's Drive the Philippines' Foreign Policy as Soft Power

The OFW program is undoubtedly a brain drain program which robs the Philippines of its best and brightest. No rational nation would encourage its workers to leave the nation. But not is all as it seems as the DFA recently made clear.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217840

Diaspora, or the spreading of Filipinos across the globe along with the Filipino culture, is the country's “soft power”, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

In diplomacy, soft power is the ability of a nation to influence other nations through attraction and persuasion instead of force or intimidation.

"We send our people or they themselves go without government intervention or support. We deploy our workers, beginning 1973 in the oil crisis, caused by the conflict between Israel and their cousin, the Arabs but not just as workers," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during his speech at a multi-stakeholder symposium.

He said these Filipinos sent abroad are instruments of the country's foreign policy.

"Oftentimes, especially after Republic Act 8042, our diaspora drives our foreign policy," he added.

According to DFA's latest report to Congress, there are 10,854,592 Filipinos abroad. The Americas host 49.04 percent of the tally; the Asia-Pacific, 22.83 percent; the Middle East, 21.88 percent; Europe 6.03 percent and Africa, 1 percent.

Filipinos experience disasters, calamities, famine, war and pandemic happening in their host countries.

While the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ensure the welfare of Filipinos abroad, the DFA sees their potential to be leaders -- their capability to be rescuers instead of being only rescuees.

"In such manner, our diaspora becomes not only a group of Filipinos who seek employment abroad, but more than that: they are a great gift of the Filipino nation to all peoples on earth, and our contribution to world peace and harmony," he added.

To establish a framework of the RA 9148 implementation abroad, de Vega said the DFA could work with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the DMW, Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of National Defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency.

That is an absolutely incredible admission. It should not be forgotten that Philippine citizenship is by blood or "jus sanguis." That means the children of OFWs born abroad are Filipino citizens and are "are instruments of the country's foreign policy."  It's a ridiculous policy as anyone related to a Filipino citizen can become a Filipino citizen despite never having set foot in the Philippines. 

So, how exactly does this soft power manifest? RA 8042 says:

SEC. 2. Declaration Of Policies—

(a) In the pursuit of an independent foreign policy and while considering national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination paramount in its relations with other states, the State shall, at all times, uphold the dignity of its citizens whether in country or overseas, in general, and Filipino migrant workers, in particular.

(c) While recognizing the significant contribution of Filipino migrant workers to the national economy through their foreign exchange remittances, the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. The existence of the overseas employment program rests solely on the assurance that the dignity and fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Filipino citizens shall not, at any time, be compromised or violated. The State, therefore, shall continuously create local employment opportunities and promote the equitable distribution of wealth and the benefits of development.

These words are very clear that "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. That cannot be any clearer yet what do we see in reality but OFWs sustaining economic growth!? Nay, as a PILLAR of economic growth!

https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/11/25/2313962/

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue to fuel consumption and boost the Philippines’ economic resilience, according to British banking giant HSBC.

Aris Dacanay, economist for ASEAN at HSBC, said OFWs are among the Philippines’ strongest “exports,” providing services and manpower to the rest of the world.

“In return, OFWs earn incomes that are usually better than what they could get back home, and a substantial portion of these incomes is remitted to their households to cover their daily expenses,” he said.

Dacanay said OFW remittances remain a pillar of Philippine economic growth.

“This cycle has strengthened the country’s current account, supported the peso, and fueled consumption to the point where consumption became the economy’s pillar for growth,” he said.

According to Dacanay, remittances have represented around 20 percent of the economy’s current account receipts and around nine percent of gross domestic product (GDP) since 2006.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed personal remittances grew by 2.8 percent to $27.24 billion from January to September versus last year’s $23.82 billion.

Of the total, cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 2.8 percent to $24.49 billion from $23.82 billion.

Remittances are the LIFEBLOOD of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. 

Remittances are considered the lifeblood of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. Money sent home by overseas Filipinos augment their families’ income here. 

https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/11/15/2223976/remittances-sustain-growth-expats-help-ease-inflations-sting

Now, those are not official government pronouncements but if the rest of the world can see what is so obvious you can bet your bottom dollar or peso the Philippine government knows the score. The government is not seeking to retain workers by raising wages and working conditions. They are elated that more OFWs are leaving the country post-pandemic. In fact, they encourage it by partnering with other countries to ship off healthcare workers among others. 

This is not merely a private working relationship between employer and employee. The government is deeply involved in promoting overseas jobs. 

The rest of the RA 8042 is mostly about protecting workers. 

SEC. 4. Deployment of Migrant Workers – The State shall deploy overseas Filipino workers only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION ORBANONDEPLOYMENT – Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 hereof, the government, in pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires, may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.

SEC. 23. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. – The following government agencies shall perform the following to promote the welfare and protect the rights of migrant workers and, as far as applicable, all overseas Filipinos:

(a) Department of Foreign Affairs. – The Department, through its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action or make representation with the foreign authority concerned to protect the rights of migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos and extend immediate assistance including the repatriation of distressed or beleaguered migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos;

That whole section is outrageous. Filipinos are regularly deployed to countries where they are raped and murdered by their employees. This happens with alarming frequency in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Employment bans on those countries should be permanent but they never are. It is only when a particular case is amplified and causes outrage that the DFA does anything and only for a month or two when the commotion dies down. If they really cared about protecting migrant workers no Filipino would be allowed into countries where they are routinely killed. 

This final section contradicts Section 2 Paragraph c which says "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to...achieve national development."

SEC. 31. INCENTIVES TO PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER HIGHLY-SKILLED FILIPINOS ABROAD. – Pursuant to the objective of encouraging professionals and other highly-skilled Filipinos abroad especially in the field of science and technology to participate in, and contribute to national development, the government shall provide proper and adequate incentives and programs so as to secure their services in priority development areas of the public and private sectors.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1995/06/07/republic-act-no-8042-2/

This section says that the government does encourage highly-skilled OFWs to "contribute to national development" by providing them with proper incentives to "secure their services!" That means the government is encouraging workers to go abroad, hone their skills, and return to the Philippines to participate in national development!

I mentioned that people not born in the Philippines but born to Philippine citizens have Philippine citizenship by right of blood. That is VERY important. This is where the real soft power of the Philippines could come into play. Here is a recent example. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/144013/3-fil-am-legal-luminaries-named-superior-court-judges-in-southern-california

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the appointment of 16 Superior Court judges, including three Filipino Americans in Southern California.

Appointed as Superior Court judges in Los Angeles County were Cristina Legaspi, a principal deputy county counsel for the Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel, and Lowrie Mendoza, assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Bryan Clavecilla, a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court, was named Superior Court judge in the County.

Mendoza has been assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2023 and has served in several roles there since 2005.

She was a law clerk at the Law Offices of Enrico Mendoza from 2004 to 2005 and at Yuhl, Rhames, Yuhl & Atkinson in 2003.

Mendoza earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Terry A. Green.

Legaspi has served as senior deputy county counsel in the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office since 1999 and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law since 2022.

She was an associate at Weissman and Associates from 1998 to 1999 and at Ivie, McNeil and Wyatt in 1998.

Legaspi earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Monica Bachner.

Clavecilla has served as a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court and a senior deputy district attorney and assistant head of court at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Central Justice Center.

Clavecilla earned a Juris Doctor degree from Chapman Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Linda Marks.

Legaspi, Mendoza and Clavecilla have been active as leaders in the Fil-Am community.

Legaspi has served on the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA) and the UCLA Pilipino Pipeline Project.

Mendoza is PABA Foundation  director and Clavecilla is a PABA lifetime member.

Founded more than 40 years ago, PABA is the largest local association of Filipino American lawyers in the United States.

Late last year, Gov. Newsom also appointed accomplished Fil-Am lawyer Christine Gonong as a judge in the LA County Superior Court.

As children of Filipino immigrants these people are all Philippine citizens. This is how Philippine soft power is really working through OFWs. They migrate for economic reasons, raise children who are born citizens of the host country and yet retain their Filipino identity and citizenship, and work their way into the higher echelons of power in a foreign land. 

And the Philippine government wants it this way. Rather than build up the Philippines as an industrial and technological powerhouse with livable wages and safe working conditions the fat cats in charge would rather plunder the national coffers, drive away the best and brightest so they can send back dollars and euros to prop up the economy, and let the masses eat cake pretending they are so happy and resilient. But the DFA did not need to tell us this is what they are doing. It is rather obvious to anyone who cares to look. 

OFWs Would Rather Work in A War Zone Than Return to the Philippines

Right now there is a war going on in Israel. At least one Filipino has been captured by Hamas and four have been killed. The Department of Foreign Affairs has pleaded with OFWs to return home immediately. However some workers are so desperate for jobs that they would rather work in a war zone and risk being killed or captured than return to the Philippines and start from zero. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/content/886060/filipinos-who-remain-in-israel-afraid-of-war-but-need-jobs/story/

While fearing for their safety, several Filipinos opted to stay in Israel for their jobs despite the ongoing conflict in the country, JP Soriano reported on “24 Oras” Monday.

Amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, overseas Filipino workers (OFW) Ricasol Atregeno, Rosielyn Asistores and Princess Joy Palad said they chose not to be repatriated for fear of losing employment should they return to the Philippines.

“'Yung nanay ko nagda-dialysis. Dito ako kumukuha kasi single mother ako. Parang kung uuwi kami, iniisip namin 'san kami?' Back to zero kami,” Atregeno said.

(My mother is undergoing dialysis. This is my only livelihood. I am also a single mother. What will happen to us if we go home? We’ll go back to zero.)

Asistores shared the sentiment, saying: “Kung sakali man na umuwi kami 'yung mandatory na. Kami pa rin 'yung babalik. May kasiguraduhan na kami pa rin 'yung kukuhanin, di sila kukuha ng iba. Kasi ito lang 'yung inaasahan ng pangkalahatan”.

(If ever we will be mandated to go home we will still return to Israel. We’re assured of employment here. They will not hire other people.)

Meanwhile, Palad tearfully admitted feeling scared but said she wants to continue working.

“May takot din per nilalakasan lang 'yung loob namin kasi iniisip namin na nandito na kami. Kung ano na lang kapalaran, 'yun na ‘yun,” she added.

(We’re scared but we’re trying to be strong and leave everything to fate.)

Hamas militants carried out their deadliest attack in Israel's history on October 7, when gunmen rampaged through Israeli towns, killing more than 1,000 people and taking scores of hostages to Gaza.

“Tinitimbang nila 'yung sitwasyon. 'Yung iba syempre talagang ganon na lang 'yung kanilang devotion sa kanilang trabaho. Hindi nila basta-basta maiiwan 'yung kanilang mga employer,” said Philippine Embassy in Israel Consul General and Deputy Chief of Mission Anthony Mandap.

(They’re weighing the situation. Some of them are devoted to their jobs and cannot leave their employers.)

First of all let me note that GMA apparently did not upload a picture with this story. No many how many times I loaded this story no picture ever appeared.

Second of all this story is sad. These people do not want to return and its not out of any warped sense of loyalty to their employer. It's because wages in the Philippines are suppressed to the level of unlivability. 

There is one person who is a single mother who's mother is on dialysis who could NEVER pay for all of that making 200 pesos per day in the Philippines. 

Sure, many OFWs went home but there are some who are so hard pressed they would rather work in a war zone than return to the Philippines. How is this not another indicator that the Philippines has a damaged culture?

Kuwait is a Deadly Place for Filipino Workers

In February another OFW in Kuwait was raped and killed. In response the Philippines issued a ban on first-time domestic workers. In response the Kuwaiti government has suspedned the issuance of visas to Filipino workers. So far this measure has displaced 815 OFWs.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/215277/kuwait-visa-suspension-displaces-815-ofws-says-dmw

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) reported that travel to Kuwait has been “deferred” for 815 overseas workers (OFWs) following the Gulf state’s suspension of new visas for Filipinos.

At least 515 of those affected are domestic workers while the rest were supposed to work in service industries as waiters, vendors, sales associates, and nurses.

Imagine being so desperate for a living wage that you spend thousands of pesos to travel to Kuwait to be a waiter. That is ridiculous and the symptom of a much larger problem which is that basic wages in the Philippines do not even meet the poverty threshold. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1766718/basic-wage-in-ph-not-even-enough-to-meet-poverty-threshold-says-think-tan

The poverty threshold, which is set by the government, already “grossly underestimates” poverty in the Philippines, but what’s worse, a think tank stressed, is that the minimum wage Filipino workers receive is not even above the poverty line.

According to Ibon Foundation, Filipino workers and their families “are barely surviving on the minimum wage [set by the government] because this is even less than the official poverty threshold for a family of five.”

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the poverty threshold in 2021, which is the minimum income that a family of five needs to meet basic food and non-food requirements, was P12,030, or almost P80 a day for every family member.

Ibon Foundation already stressed in 2019 that the poverty line is too low–the reason that millions of poor Filipinos are left out of the data, which the government releases every three years.

But this is not the only problem since based on data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission, the average monthly minimum wage in the Philippines is only P8,902, which is P3,128 or 26 percent less than the already low poverty threshold.

As stressed by the think tank, “[this] makes the minimum wage a family poverty wage.”

So, it's no wonder that Filipinos look abroad to earn a higher wage. Sometimes this comes at a great price and mothers are forced to abandon their children who are in turn murdered by their caretaker. 

But let's cut to the chase here. Kuwait is a deadly place for OFWs.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/23/proof-of-life-measures-for-ofws-in-kuwait-proposed

A lawmaker on Tuesday proposed several measures that would help ensure the welfare of Filipino workers in Kuwait.

According to Kabayan party-list Rep. Ron Salo, shelters for abused workers should be non-negotiable during the talks between Philippine and Kuwaiti officials.

The chairman of the House panel on overseas workers affairs also proposed so-called proof of life measures to protect Filipinos in the Gulf nation.

"One of those perhaps is a requirement by the employer that they would bring the Filipino worker to the foreign recruitment office or at the POLO's office regularly. Perhaps, once every quarter or perhaps, every month," Salo told ANC's "Headstart".

"This is what we called the proof of life. That even there are no police officers going to the homes of the employers, we're pretty assured that our Filipino workers are really being treated well," he added.

The lawmaker lamented that some employers still hold the passport of the household workers in Kuwait.

Philippine officials will visit the Gulf State this week to clarify the suspension of the issuance of new entry visas for Filipinos.

Without giving details, Kuwait has said the move was due to the Philippines' violation on a labor agreement.

In February, the Department of Migrant Workers implemented a deployment ban for newly hired or first-time domestic workers in Kuwait following the brutal killing of Jullebee Ranara.

The 35-year-old domestic worker was found dead in a desert in the Gulf State on January 21. 

An autopsy report showed Ranara was pregnant at the time of her death.

If the government thinks imposing a proof of life requirement on Kuwaiti employees is a necessary thing then it's time to outright ban all Filipinos from working in Kuwait. What is it going to take for the government to acknowledge that the Kuwaiti people and government do not have the best interests of Filipinos in mind; that to them the Filipino is a kaffir whose life is worthless?

At least one politician acknowledges this fact. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/20/total-deployment-ban-to-kuwait-yes-says-house-foreign-affairs-panel-chair

Pangasinan 3rd district Rep. Rachel Arenas, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, is calling for a total deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait.

The chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs is calling for a total deployment ban on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Kuwait.

This, as Pangasinan 3rd district Rep. Rachel Arenas described as an act of retribution the recent decision of the Kuwaiti government to suspend the issuance of new entry visas for Filipinos.

“This total deployment ban must be enforced until the Kuwaiti government sit down with our officials and agree to our demands. Until then, we should not entertain their demands and acts of intimidation," Arenas said.

Last February, the Philippine government issued a deployment ban on first-time household Filipino workers to the oil-rich nation. This was triggered by the brutal murder of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jullebee Ranara, in Kuwait.

Ranara was reportedly raped, murdered, burnt, and then thrown in the desert.

Arenas, who has been actively assisting OFWs who were victims of abuse together with her mother former Deputy Speaker Rose Marie "Baby" Arenas, reminded the Kuwaiti government that the decision of the Philippines to issue a deployment ban to their country was rooted in its deplorable history of maltreatment against OFWs most especially domestic workers.

She said Kuwait's "coercion style", or plan to pressure the Philippines into lifting the domestic workers ban with its visa suspension, does not sit well with the Filipino people.

“It pains me to see OFWs being abused - more so slaughtered by people whom they selflessly served...This only happens in Kuwait and the Kuwaiti government seems to have no teeth in implementing their laws.

"Our OFWs should be sent to countries who will treat them with dignity, protect their rights, and promote their welfare,” she said.

Can you see the contradiction in this lady's statements? She wants the employment ban to be enforced until the Kuwaiti government meets the Philippines' demands but then she says it pains her to see OFWs being abused and slaughtered! Does she really think that abuse and slaughtering are going to stop simply because the two governments have come to an agreement?

How about imposing the ban forever. And then take measures to fix the national economy. But by all means stop sending Filipino workers to Kuwait!

What Good is a Filipino College Education? Part 2

In a previous look at the benefits of a Filipino college education I showed all the great jobs one can get with a diploma in the Philippines such as gas station attendant and Dunkin' Donuts delivery truck driver. Now it is time to look past those wonderful jobs. It's time to look outside the country because that sheepskin certifying you have a bona fide Filipino college education is a magic ticket out of this joint.

If you study hard and ace all the exams to earn a degree in any sort of hospitality course the door is open for you to work as a waiter in Dubai.  Serving rich Arabs in a hot desert country thousands of miles away from your family and friends, what's not to like? According to the this source the average  monthlysalary for a waiter in Dubai is approximately 1,500 AED which is equivalent to 20,700 Pesos. 

If you want to know what being a waiter in Dubai entails you can read a job description here. It sure isn't a walk in the park. But if you studied for a degree in hospitality then learning the ins-and-outs of a restaurant is not so far out of your league. Be thankful you didn't end up like Randy De Ocampo.

In his report, Dicang cited the case of one Randy de Ocampo who had requested POLO assistance about his situation. 

Ocampo complained that on June 30, 2012, he sent a copy of his passport via e-mail to a friend in Kuwait and after just three days, or on July 4, 2012, he received his commercial visa by courier under the sponsorship of Al-Wazan United Company for Trading and Contracting. On July 27, 2012, De Ocampo arrived in Kuwait on a one-month commercial visa. 

Dicang said De Ocampo did not report to his sponsor because he could not make up his mind about working with the company as a masseur under its branch Philippine Spa. 

“He said he realized that this was not the kind of employment he wanted for himself, he being a forestry graduate from the University of the Philippines. Soon, we received a report that De Ocampo’s visa had expired,” Dicang said.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/52930/filipinos-warned-against-working-in-kuwait-on-commercial-visas

What a crisis of conscience for Randy! Should he waste his degree in forestry to work at a salon in Kuwait? But it was too late as he was already in country before he decided he did not want to work as a masseur. How did he end up in the position of choosing to become a masseur in Kuwait anyway? Must be one heck of a story.

On the other hand you could get a job in the field you studied like Gulliver Banares.

Gulliver Banares, 35, took the 14th place prize and flew in the day before from Selangor, Malaysia where he works with BGMC Corp. Gulliver, who earned a Mechanical Engineering degree at Adamson, has been an OFW for six years and comes home twice a year for a maximum of 10 days each vacation. He and wife Esmeralda have two daughters, 16 and 11. It was perfect timing that Gulliver was in town for a home leave.

https://www.philstar.com/sports/2019/12/24/1979470/worth-all-hard-work

Gulliver has been an OFW for six years and only comes home to see his family 20 days each year.  That means in six years he has only seen his family 120 out of 2,190 days. It is true that a man has to do what he has to do to take care of his family but spending only 20 days a year with them is rather awful. That is hardly any time to spend with one's family. Dad is basically an absentee father. He better be careful he has not been made a cuckold.

Finally let's not forget the nurses. A nursing degree will open doors that would otherwise remain sealed shut for eternity.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088631

"They need 30,000 nurses, hospital workers, medical workers. That's a big number," Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III in an interview Wednesday. 

He, however, clarified that the 30,000 job offers are not solely for Filipino health workers. 

"They want us Filipinos. In their order of preference, number one is the Philippines," the DOLE chief said.

30,000 foreign workers is bad for Germany but great for Filipinos who are the German's first round draft pick. This is no place to lament the fall of Germany and the rest of Europe. Why not take every advantage you can if someone is willing to give it to you? But how easy can it be to be a Filipino in Germany? Many Filipinos do not speak English as good as they claim. Nose bleeding, anyone? Navigating German accented English, not mention actually learning German, will be an extra task on top of all the regular nursing duties.

But I hear it's worth it. From what I am told most freshly graduated nurses work a year-long internship with no pay! That is slave labor. No wonder there is a shortage of nurses in the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1072188

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is planning to decrease the deployment of nurses to other countries, Secretary Silvestre Bello said on Wednesday. 

Bello said they are looking at the possibility of lessening the number of medical professionals, including nurses, being sent overseas. 

"All the while, I thought there is an oversupply of nurses. But I just learned that those graduating with nursing degrees and have passed the Board only train for two years and will go (abroad)," he added. 

Bello said the government should do something by increasing the salaries of nurses for them to stay in the country. 

"In order for them to not want to work abroad and just stay here, we should also consider increasing their salaries. And the President appears amenable to giving them that," he said.

Having been to several hospitals I can guarantee it's not only the pay that is pushing nurses to seek work abroad.  It is also the horrendously unsanitary working conditions.

If you are a college student remember just slug on through it. Don't give up. Get your sheepskin and get out of here!

Forgotten Scandal: OFWs Sexually Abused by PHL Embassy Officials in Kuwait

This post was originally going to be a rehash of the past pointing out all the times that OFWs have been abused in Kuwait, which is rather often, but I stumbled onto something bigger and apparently forgotten: the sexual abuse and trafficking of OFWs by Philippine embassy officials.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/48294-trafficking-charges-ph-embassy-officials-kuwait

A Philippine embassy official has been implicated in the trafficking of migrant workers in Kuwait. 

In an initial report by the Kuwait Anti-Trafficking Task Force released Friday, January 17, trafficking and other related charges were recommended against Philippine consul Ibrahim Daligdig Tanandato, two embassy-hired contractuals, two embassy-hired lawyers, and 3 recruiters. 

Tanandato is the Assistant to (the) National Unit Head in the Philippine consular office in Kuwait. 

The complainants were allegedly hired by an embassy official to work as domestic helpers, even without any proper documentation as migrant workers. They were given a monthly salary of P8,000. 

The same official was also accused of deceiving one of the helpers into believing that her back pay had not yet been released by her previous employer.  

Sexual abuse, unpaid back pay, and a 20-hour work per day with no or limited food were just some of the conditions that complainants endured in the hands of their employers, based on sworn statements. 

Kuwaiti OFWs alleged that an official of the Philippine embassy in Kuwait hired them to work as domestic workers without proper documentation. They also allege they were subject to long days, little or no food, and sexual abuse by their employers. The DOJ recommended charges be brought against Philippine consul Ibrahim Daligdig Tanandato and many others.

In a nutshell, the complainants alleged in their Sworn Affidavits that a government official hired them to work as  domestic helpers with a salary of only fifty (50) Kuwaiti Dinar (KD) a month, and without any proper documentation from POLO-OWWA; that with abuse of power and position, the same government official took advantage of one of the victims by deceiving her that her  backwages have not been paid yet by her previous employer; that the Embassy-hired lawyers, together with the Embassy-hired contractuals and government  officials, demanded money from the complainants as Attorney's fees; and that a government official and an Embassy-hired lawyer advised and insisted that she settles her case in exchange of money. Two of the complainants also alleged that they were recruited as handlers of K-9 Bomb Sniffing Dog with a monthly salary of Php30,000 to Php35,000; that one of the complainants paid Php10,000 to one of the respondents as training fee, and Php23,000, purportedly, for the immigration officer; however, upon arrival in Kuwait, they were made to sign a document with a salary of only 110 KD per month. 

Further, the Task Force recommended that the DFA and the POEA look into the abuses allegedly committed by Kuwaiti or other foreign  employers/nationals, and that after conducting the necessary investigation, to study the possibility of permanently blacklisting them from employing OFWs, or representing them in  legal cases. 

It appears that a number of the complainants have been maltreated by their employers, or by the wives of their employers; that the Embassy-hired lawyers failed to assist the complainants in the prosecution of their cases against the offenders; that some employers did not pay the complainants' backwages; that a complainant was made to work for twenty (20) hours with limited or no food at all; that employers locked two of the  complainants in the house to prevent them from escaping; that a  complainant was sexually abused by her employer and his son; and that one employer touched and pinched the butt of one of the complainants.

https://www.doj.gov.ph/news_article.html?newsid=252

Amazingly there is no information on what happened next to Ibrahim Daligdig Tanandato or anyone else whom the DOJ recommended charges be filed against. They all practically disappear from the news and from the internet. No word on if they were actually charged and convicted or what. Nothing.  

Aside from Kuwaiti embassy officials trafficking OFWs one official was involved in a sex-for-flight scheme. The NBI recommend charges be filed.

https://www.doj.gov.ph/news_article.html?newsid=225

Said Final Report recommends that charges for Attempted Rape and three (3) counts of Abuses Against Chastity be filed against a male Assistant Labor Attaché (hereafter referred to as "the ALA") assigned to a Philippine Embassy in the Middle East, for acts allegedly committed against three (3) distressed, female Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were seeking assistance from the Philippine Embassy. Also recommended to be charged with Attempted Rape and Abuses Against Chastity, is a local hire, who served as the driver of a Labor Attaché (hereinafter referred to as "the LA") assigned to the same Philippine Embassy. 

One witness, a male distressed/runaway OFW and a volunteer worker at the POLO Office, stated in his Sworn Statement that he witnessed the attempt of the ALA to rape complainant AAA on 18 May 2013, as he was inside the pantry, where the divider was only made of glass and through which he could clearly see the room or office where the assault was taking place. He saw the ALA forcibly kissing AAA, while the latter tried to get away. The ALA, however, held her hands and, thereafter, pulled her into a rest room. Two (2) to three (3) minutes thereafter, the witness saw AAA run out of the room.  

Another complainant ("CCC"), on whose account the third count of Abuses Against Chastity against the ALA is based, sought help from POLO-OWWA after escaping from her abusive employer, who, at some point, had locked her in a room for two days and two nights without any food and water, causing her to pass out and be hospitalized. She was interviewed at the POLO Office, the last of which was conducted by the ALA, who also brought her to Bahay Kalinga. She, too, in her Sworn Statement, alleged that she was verbally abused and disrespected by the ALA, including one occasion when, while they were inside a car, the ALA asked her if she was ever touched by her employer end, if not, whether he (the ALA) could touch her instead. 

She also recounted receiving phone calls from a certain "Muhammad", who offered her a part-time job involving "going to heaven" or just a one-night stand, in exchange for her ticket to the Philippines. She received such calls on more than one occasion, and when she rejected his offer, he requested a photo of her in her underwear instead. She reasons to believe, however, that "Muhammad" is actually the ALA, based on, among others, her familiarity with his voice, the fact that he was the only one who knew her contact number, and the person's knowledge about personal details about herself that only the ALA knew about. When she finally arrived back in the Philippines late in May 2013, she found out that she already had a ticket as far back as February 2013, which the ALA never disclosed to her.

The report is long and lewd and a must read. Whatever happened to this man though? No idea. But a few months after this DOJ report three men involved in the sex-for-flight scheme were rehired at the Kuwait embassy.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/pinoyabroad/359202/embassy-labor-officer-accused-of-sex-for-flight-in-kuwait-rehired/story/

The three men have been identified by the government's Kuwait Anti-Trafficking Task Force as Case Officers Joselito Atienza, Omar Khalil, and Saleh "Casley" Watamama. All of them are staff members under the Philippine Overseas Labor Office/Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO/OWWA) of the Department of Overseas Labor and Employment (DOLE).  

The “sex-for-flight” scheme first erupted in Philippine media as part of revelations by Rep. Walden Bello in June of 2013 that involved Philippine officials in other embassies in the Middle East.   

Assistant Secretary Lila Ramos Shahani of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cabinet Cluster, under the Office of the President, told GMA News Online that she had earlier informed her superiors there is ample evidence to suggest such activities had been taking place since the mid-1990s.   

Several other embassy-based personnel who have been accused were recalled to the home office to face charges, but the three men remained in Kuwait. They have even retained the same positions despite a January 17, 2014 memorandum from Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz ordering the non-renewal of all POLO-OWWA local hires in Kuwait.  

In March, or two months after the order from Baldoz, labor attaché Cesar Chavez issued a memo retaining the three men. He told GMA News Online in a phone interview from Kuwait that doing so would make it easier to investigate them.  

“It was the collective decision of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the DOLE to hold on to those implicated in the sex-for-flight controversy, because we are expecting the Department of Justice to conduct a preliminary investigation on the matter,” Chavez explained in a memo justifying the contract renewal.

These three men were accused of improper and criminal activities but were rehired because it would "make it easier to investigate them." But was there an investigation? What happened to this men? Were they charged and sentenced? Again no idea. Their names disappear and the trail goes cold. 

As the above article says it was in June 2013 that sexual scandals inside the Philippines' embassies were exposed when Rep. Bello made several stunning accusations.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/31556-embassy-officials-prostitution-overseas-filipino-workers

Philippine embassy staff in various posts in the Middle East are sexually abusing and prostituting distressed overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). 

This was disclosed by Akbayan Rep Walden Bello, chairman of the House committee on overseas workers' affairs, on Tuesday, June 18.  

Branding them as "predators," Bello identified the officials as: 

• Mario Antonio, the assistant labor attaché in Jordan

• Blas Marquez, a local hire or a contractual employee of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuwait

• A certain "Kim," who is a member of the Augmentation Team of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at the embassy in Damascus, Syria

"Sexual abuse on our womenfolk perpetrated by their hosts in a foreign country is an awful crime. But there is something more awful, and that is their exploitation by their own compatriots in that strange land," Bello said in a press conference.  

Bello gathered the information through interviews with department and embassy insiders, affidavits of witnesses, and confidential reports. 

"I am asking [Foreign Affairs] Secretary Albert Del Rosario and [Labor] Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, two individuals that I respect greatly, to move immediately to recall the officials I have identified, dismiss them from government service, and criminally prosecute them," Bello said. 

Antonio and Marquez are accused of running "prostitution rings" in Jordan and Kuwait, respectively. Antonio supposedly sold at least one female OFW for as high US$1,000 (about P40,000) for sex, according to Bello.  

"Kim," on the other hand, was supposedly caught in January "in an intimate act with a female OFW at the embassy shelter for distressed OFWs.  

Bello said these "predators" should be "stripped of their positions," recalled from their posts, and prosecuted in the Philippines.  

Bello's exposé is based on his interviews with "unimpeachable sources" at the DFA and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). These sources "asked us to expose the criminals in their ranks because their acts are giving their agencies a bad name," Bello added.

These are explosive accusations and apparently the only thing that happened is Mario Antonio and Blas Marquez were relieved from their positions. Their trail goes cold rather quickly. Were they charged? Convicted? What about all the other people allegedly involved in the abuse of OFWs in the Jordanian and Kuwaiti embassies?

And what about the evidence Lila Ramos Shahani claims to have that this kind of activity has been happening since the mid-1990's? What is the nature of that evidence? Who does it involve? Has anyone from the NBI or DOJ investigated this evidence? Are these activities still continuing at the Philippines' embassies? Are the stories above just the tip of the iceberg of decades of sexual abuse of OFWs at the hands of Philippine embassy officials?

Despite the abuses OFWs in Kuwait and the rest of the Middle East face at the hands of their employers the government still allows them to be sent to their doom. Why is that? Just a few days ago the government issued another ban on OFWs to Kuwait. The previous ban was nearly two years ago when the same situation, the death of a maid, occurred. 

In 2011 the government threatened to place a ban on OFWs going to Kuwait because they could not guarantee their protection which is the same scenario happening now.

https://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-kuwait-qatar-face-ban-on-filipino-maids--418458.html

Ultimately Kuwait did not make the cut of 41 countries the government banned OFWs from working in. That does not mean Kuwait was or is safe for OFWs. It's not. History makes that abundantly clear. 

Stabbed in the vagina 

An OFW who has sought help from Embassy officials told of her experience of abuse and exploitation. 

"Kris," not her real name, said she decided to escape from her Kuwaiti female employer after the employer stabbed her vagina, inserted pepper inside her private parts and sprayed it with a liquid bleaching product. 

She sought the help of then head of the DFA Assistance to Nationals Section Ibrahim Tanandato who assured her a case will be filed. 

Kris said her case did not move even after one year of her stay at the POLO-OWWA shelter. 

Shortly after, she was surprised when she was informed she lost her case already. 

Kris told ABS-CBN that it was a staff member of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait who helped her after learning about her case from another source. It was the American who recommended a human rights lawyer to follow up her case in court. It was only then that the case eventually moved.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/01/20/14/ph-officials-kuwait-linked-human-trafficking

"Kris" was disgracefully and shamefully abused by her employer and the Philippine embassy sat on their butts!  It took the help of a U.S. Embassy staff member to get her case moving. How's that for meddling in the Philippines' sovereign affairs!

The current ban on OFWs to Kuwait won't last forever but it seems OFWs will continue to be abused by their employers, their employer's pet lions, and those who are tasked with protecting them.

OFW and Fil-Am Tragedies

It's not easy being an OFW. Not only are you the economic backbone of the nation and your family's main breadwinner but you also have to deal with so much abuse from your employers. Sometimes being an OFW can mean a matter of life or death. Likewise being a Fil-Am has it's own pitfalls.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/682938/ofw-jumps-from-dubai-building-s-3rd-floor-to-escape-agency/story/

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Dubai jumped from the third floor of a building where she claimed she was being held against her will by her employment agency. 

In a Sunday report on GMA 7 news program "24 Oras Weekend", the Filipina worker pleaded for help so she could return to the Philippines. 

The Filipina worker arrived in Dubai last December, and was picked up from the airport and brought immediately to her agency. 

She was promised that she would have an employer. But she claimed that weeks passed with no such patron, and she was being held captive by her agency without food. 

Another Filipino brought her to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai for assistance getting her back home to the Philippines. But this was not possible as her passport was still being held by the agency.

Employment agencies confiscating passports is the most common form of bondage for OFWs.

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/01/29/filipina-domestic-helper-raped-jeddah-saudi-arabia.html

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said it is assisting a Filipina domestic helper in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia who was allegedly raped by a representative of her recruitment agency. 

The victim was purportedly raped five times by the suspect. According to the DFA, the suspect was supposed to take the Filipina worker to a new employer, but he, instead, brought her to a hotel where the incident took place. 

"The victim was able to contact [Philippine Overseas Labor Office], which came up with an alibi for the suspect to bring her back to the Consulate," the DFA said.

Raped by someone she was supposed to trust.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/683231/paralyzed-ofw-back-home-after-six-months-in-saudi-hospital/story/

She and her employers were involved in a car crash in July 2018. She has since been paralyzed. 

In an interview an hour before her flight back to the Philippines, Salgado (on a stretcher) told GMA News her sad story from the accident. 

She also narrated how the accident took place while she and her employers were on their way  to Ridadh from Albaha. 

The impact of the car crash killed her employers (a couple). She suffered severe injury from neck to her legs, which paralyzed her.

Now she will be more of a burden than she can even imagine. Will her family resent having to take care of her 24/7?

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/01/31/ofw-executed-in-saudi-for-murder/

A 39-year-old Filipina household service worker (HSW) was executed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a scant media advisory. 

Citing reports from Philippine Ambassador to Riyadh Adnan Alonto, the DFA said Saudi authorities carried out the sentence against the Filipina worker who was found guilty of murder. 

While no other details were immediately provided about the case, the DFA said it was not able to save the life of the Filipina after the Saudi Supreme Judicial Council classified her case as “one in which blood money does not apply under Shariah law.”

Apparently this murder was not a crime the lady could simply pay her way out of except with her own blood. Tragic but not really. Execution is the price one pays for murder. But one must wonder what are the circumstances which drove her to do this. Plenty of OFWs in Saudi Arabia are abused to the point of death.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/172952/dfa-filipinos-in-paris-apartment-fire

In a statement, the DFA said that the Philippine Embassy in Paris was coordinating with local authorities to know if any Filipinos were among those who died and were injured in the blaze that affected in a district in Paris where many Filipinos are known to be living in.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/news/684196/dfa-filipino-couple-among-those-killed-in-paris-blaze/story/

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday confirmed that a Filipino couple were among those killed in a fire that hit an apartment building in Paris on Tuesday. 

Four other Filipinos residing in the building survived.

A lady intentionally set that building on fire after a neighbour argued with her about the loud music she was playing. Sad.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/02/16/19/dfa-sends-condolences-to-kin-of-fil-am-killed-in-illinois

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday condoled with the family of Anthony Del Barrio, a Filipino-American whose frozen body was found in Chicago last month. 

“The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago was in contact with police authorities who said they are investigating the death as a possible homicide,” the DFA said in a statement.  

The consulate learned that the victim was a third generation Filipino-American born and raised in the United Sates.

A third generation Fil-Am? That means he is 100% American and the DFA and Consulate shouldn't be involved at all.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/content/684967/filipina-domestic-worker-repatriated-from-saudi-after-death-threats-from-employer/story/

Constantino, a 43-year-old Laguna native, has been a domestic worker in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since December 2018. But she sought help several weeks later after her employer Maryam Awadh Ai Nofayej threatened to kill her after she was accused of stealing from Nofayej's house.

Only a few weeks after arriving she left because her employer threatened to kill her. Why are Pinoys sent to work in Saudi Arabia when these kinds of abuses continue to happen in that country?

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/content/685641/pinoy-killed-in-deadly-brawl-aboard-taiwan-fishing-boat/story/

A rescue operation was under way after a knife fight broke out aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean, with one worker killed and several thrown overboard, Taiwan's coast guard said Wednesday. 

The fight broke out in the early hours of Wednesday aboard the "Wen Peng", a Taiwanese vessel manned with 21 Filipino and Indonesian workers. 

One Filipino was killed and another critically wounded in the brawl. 

Taiwan has one of the world's biggest tuna fishing fleets in the world but a poor record in its treatment of migrant workers. 

According to a report by environmental group Greenpeace in 2016, Taiwan's fishing industry is "out of control" with rampant labor and human rights abuses toward foreign workers. 

There are an estimated 160,000 migrant workers working on board Taiwanese fishing vessels, mostly from South East Asian countries of Philippines and Indonesia.

Filipinos will put up all kinds of abuses as long as they get paid well.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/685455/jordanian-filipina-partner-arrested-for-illegal-recruitment/story/

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has arrested a Jordanian national and his Filipina live-in partner on allegations of large-scale illegal recruitment that has cost some 100 victims P4 million in fees. 

The supposed accomplices allegedly promised victims employment as cleaners, waitresses, delivery personnel, janitors and drivers in Dubai. 

Olor allegedly demanded P25,000 to P32,000 for placement and processing fees, but she and Tarrish "repeatedly failed" to deploy the workers, the NBI said. 

Filipinos will gladly scam their fellow countrymen who are desperate for an overseas job.

https://usa.inquirer.net/22330/five-filipinos-die-in-delano-california-vehicle-crash

Jalson Laguta was driving an SUV carrying his passengers when it swerved off the road on northbound Highway 99 for an unknown reason, hit a tree and caught fire, according to the California Highway Patrol.

How awful. A whole family dead in a car wreck.

All the above stories are tragic so let's end on a positive not about a Fil-Am nurse.

https://usa.inquirer.net/22314/filipina-nurse-in-illinois-gets-hospitals-dr-mlk-jr-humanitarian-award

Bagaconza was recognized for rendering humanitarian aid in developing areas, including the Philippines, Bolivia, Guatemala and Africa. 

Bagaconza saves her annual paid time off and money for volunteer medical missions. Bagaconza volunteers with the organization Poor Household of God. 

“Being born in a third world country, I was born and raised in the Philippines, you see poor people, hungry people,” Bagaconza said in a news release. “I volunteered after graduating from nursing school in a local clinic before I came to the United States and it all evolved from there.” 

Bagaconza also collects clothing and other goods to donate to orphanages in the Philippines 

“In 2011, I started my first mission trip to the Philippines. I did it for three years in the Philippines, then I extended,” she said. “If I’m going to help, I’m not only going to help people in the Philippines, I want to help other people, too. Every year, I’m thinking: Where do I go next?”

Before she left the Philippines she was already a do-gooder and with the money she makes in the USA she is able to do even more good to people around the world.