An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who has been seeking assistance for
repatriation from the Philippine government since 2011 after he was
diagnosed with ulcer died Wednesday last week inside the consulate in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Raul Hernandez said
repatriation is now being arranged for the Filipino who was identified
by migrant rights watchdog Migrante as Danilo Grefadilyo of Sorsogon.
Hernandez said the OFW was last seen resting alone in one of the benches
of the consulate on April 3, long before undocumented Filipinos began
camping out near the consulate.
Grefadilyo, who appeared sick and weak, told consulate officials that
he has not eaten for several days due to digestion problems and that
“the food he eats was being rejected by his stomach, said Hernandez.
(Roy C. Mabasa)
source: TEMPO
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Baldoz warns OFWs against fake receipts
The fake receipts were issued by some employees of manning agencies who reported the case to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, OWWA said.
Baldoz also instructed OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon to publish notices and issue advisory to recruitment and manning agencies to put internal control mechanisms to prevent the illegal practice.
“The public should be well-advised on the matter for the safety of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Benefits may be compromised if the OFWs’ names are not registered as OWWA members. OWWA members are assured of the social and protection programs and services offered by the Agency,” Baldoz said.
For her part, Dimzon said OWWA is now coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation to help investigate all possible sources of fake documents and bring to court those responsible.
source: Philstar
Friday, April 19, 2013
OFWs are ambassadors of the Philippines
“Remember that you are our ambassadors as well, so your actions also reflect on our country,” Binay reminded OFWs as he repeated his call on Philippine Embassy officials in Saudi Arabia to speed up the processing of papers of undocumented workers who needed to be sent back home and to runaways who needed shelter and legal assistance.
Reports say there are about 80 OFWs camping outside of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah.
Binay, who is also the Presidential Adviser on OFW concerns, made the appeal as the KSA government implements the April 6 three-month reprieve issued by King Abdullah for foreign workers who have problems with their papers.
The reprieve delays the arrests of foreign workers as well as gives them the opportunity to correct their documents.
Working under employers who are not original sponsors is a violation of immigration laws in the Kingdom.
“For workers affected by the Saudization policy, they need to be able to legally transfer from their original sponsors to their current employers. Workers who have long run away from their original sponsors and no longer have valid residency permits or passports meanwhile are in a different category altogether. Theirs is an immigration problem and no longer a labor one,” the Vice President said.
Saudi Arabia, one of the favorite destinations of Filipino workers, is now observing Nizaqat: a government drive to provide more jobs to Saudi nationals.
There is no amnesty for foreigners illegally staying in Saudi Arabia.
source: Lyndon Plantilla/PIA Central Newsdesk
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Illegal Filipinos Numbers Up In Oman
Muscat:
There has been a 100-per cent increase in the number of Filipino
migrant workers who don't have any valid residency or work permits in
Oman, according to a newly released data.
The data, known as the 'Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas', presented by the Commission on Overseas Filipinos (CFO), showed that in 2011, there were some 6,400 undocumented Filipino workers in the Sultanate, whereas in 2010, the number was 3,000.
According to the Ministry of Manpower (MoM), some 12,000 expatriate workers are absconding in Oman, mainly in the fishing areas in the governorate of Al Wusta. "This is a pressing problem across all the governorates in the country. I request government departments, private-sector enterprises, and citizens to cooperate with the MoM to resolve this problem," a senior official of the MoM said.
Expressing shock over the rising figures, Chairperson of Filipino Community Social Club Janete Daang said it is very surprising that the number is so high even though the Philippines Embassy is doing a lot to reduce the number of undocumented Filipinos. "A large number of them enter illegally from other countries, which makes matters worse for us," she told Times of Oman.
Recently, the Philippines Embassy in Muscat closed an employment loophole, which enabled undocumented Filipino nationals to enter the Sultanate without the formal permission of the mission after fleeing from their sponsors in neighbouring countries.
Ernesto C. Bihis, Labour Attaché of the Philippines Embassy in Muscat, noted that all Filipino nationals working in Oman traditionally required a "no objection certificate" to be issued by their embassy in Muscat as part of the visa-application procedure.
"This is mandatory if they are hired from the Philippines," he remarked.
Earlier, migrants entering the country across the border had not been subjected to such procedures, creating a situation where the embassy was not able to properly vouch for them or for the employer.
"We know the embassy officials have managed to change the rule after continuous dialogue with Omani authorities since undocumented workers are more likely to end up with onerous contracts and to encounter immigration or labour cases," Janete Daang added.
Non-payment of salaries.
The most common reasons for their decision to run away from their employers in neighbouring countries are the non-payment of salaries and sometimes physical abuse by their employers. "From just 1,500 in the year 2000, the number of Filipinos without valid residence or work permits is steadily growing in Oman," noted the CFO report.
The Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas also showed that in 2011, there were only 140 permanent migrants (immigrants, dual citizens, or legal permanent residents) in the Sultanate, whose stay did not depend on work contracts.
The number of temporary migrants, including Filipinos who are employed overseas but are expected to return, stood at 43,318 in 2011. Students, trainees, entrepreneurs, and businessmen are also considered to be part of this category.
In 2011, there were 10.46 million overseas Filipinos — five per cent of international migrants worldwide — spread across 217 countries.
To avoid being tricked, the Department of Foreign Affairs has advised all job hunters to check the official list of labour-market opportunities on the Consulate General's website.
The CFO was established in 1980 to promote the interests of Filipino immigrants and permanent residents in other countries and to preserve and strengthen overseas Filipino communities all over the world .
The data covered 214 countries in 2009, 217 in 2010, and 227 in 2011, wherein the CFO noted there were 10.46 million overseas Filipinos, up from 8.6 million in 2009 and 9.5 million in 2010.
Part of the estimate was taken from the remittance records of overseas Filipinos and the departure/arrival documents filled out by immigrants at all airports and seaports in the Philippines.
source: Times of Oman
The data, known as the 'Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas', presented by the Commission on Overseas Filipinos (CFO), showed that in 2011, there were some 6,400 undocumented Filipino workers in the Sultanate, whereas in 2010, the number was 3,000.
According to the Ministry of Manpower (MoM), some 12,000 expatriate workers are absconding in Oman, mainly in the fishing areas in the governorate of Al Wusta. "This is a pressing problem across all the governorates in the country. I request government departments, private-sector enterprises, and citizens to cooperate with the MoM to resolve this problem," a senior official of the MoM said.
Expressing shock over the rising figures, Chairperson of Filipino Community Social Club Janete Daang said it is very surprising that the number is so high even though the Philippines Embassy is doing a lot to reduce the number of undocumented Filipinos. "A large number of them enter illegally from other countries, which makes matters worse for us," she told Times of Oman.
Recently, the Philippines Embassy in Muscat closed an employment loophole, which enabled undocumented Filipino nationals to enter the Sultanate without the formal permission of the mission after fleeing from their sponsors in neighbouring countries.
Ernesto C. Bihis, Labour Attaché of the Philippines Embassy in Muscat, noted that all Filipino nationals working in Oman traditionally required a "no objection certificate" to be issued by their embassy in Muscat as part of the visa-application procedure.
"This is mandatory if they are hired from the Philippines," he remarked.
Earlier, migrants entering the country across the border had not been subjected to such procedures, creating a situation where the embassy was not able to properly vouch for them or for the employer.
"We know the embassy officials have managed to change the rule after continuous dialogue with Omani authorities since undocumented workers are more likely to end up with onerous contracts and to encounter immigration or labour cases," Janete Daang added.
Non-payment of salaries.
The most common reasons for their decision to run away from their employers in neighbouring countries are the non-payment of salaries and sometimes physical abuse by their employers. "From just 1,500 in the year 2000, the number of Filipinos without valid residence or work permits is steadily growing in Oman," noted the CFO report.
The Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas also showed that in 2011, there were only 140 permanent migrants (immigrants, dual citizens, or legal permanent residents) in the Sultanate, whose stay did not depend on work contracts.
The number of temporary migrants, including Filipinos who are employed overseas but are expected to return, stood at 43,318 in 2011. Students, trainees, entrepreneurs, and businessmen are also considered to be part of this category.
In 2011, there were 10.46 million overseas Filipinos — five per cent of international migrants worldwide — spread across 217 countries.
To avoid being tricked, the Department of Foreign Affairs has advised all job hunters to check the official list of labour-market opportunities on the Consulate General's website.
The CFO was established in 1980 to promote the interests of Filipino immigrants and permanent residents in other countries and to preserve and strengthen overseas Filipino communities all over the world .
The data covered 214 countries in 2009, 217 in 2010, and 227 in 2011, wherein the CFO noted there were 10.46 million overseas Filipinos, up from 8.6 million in 2009 and 9.5 million in 2010.
Part of the estimate was taken from the remittance records of overseas Filipinos and the departure/arrival documents filled out by immigrants at all airports and seaports in the Philippines.
source: Times of Oman
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