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BY AYIN DREAM D. APLASCA
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January 26, 2018
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THIS IS MY 100th column article. To celebrate this milestone, I am writing about my favourite subject in law school in relation to one of the recent issues in our country.
Earlier this morning, I was listening to a radio program where the anchorman discussed about overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait. Seven Filipino workers recently died in that Arab nation hence the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ordered the suspension of deployment of OFWs there.
Friday last week, Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III signed Administrative Order 25-208 suspending the sending of Filipino workers to the said country. He ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to stop the processing of overseas employment certificates of Kuwait-bound workers.
Is this acceptable? Yes.
The POEA has taken over the functions of the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEDB) and National Seamen Board (NSB). The principal functions of the POEA are to formulate, implement and monitor the overseas employment of Filipino workers; protect their rights to fair and equitable employment practices; and deploy Filipino workers through government-to-government hiring.
In the third principal function, Republic Act 9422 (Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995) provides that the POEA should see to it that it deploys only to countries where the Philippines has conducted bilateral labor agreements or arrangements; observing and/or complying with the international laws and standards for migrant workers, and guaranteeing to protect the rights of the Filipino migrant workers.
Let’s see if the three conditions apply in the present issue. First, the Philippines and Kuwait signed four bilateral agreements, covering diplomatic, social, economic and cultural relationships between the two countries. Two of these bilateral agreements were the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Recruitment and Employment of Filipino Household Service Workers; and Memorandum of Understanding in the Field of Labor Cooperation.
Second, as far as I can remember, the Kuwaiti government adopted a domestic workers labor law to protect the said workers. It was commendable because Kuwait was the first in the Arab Gulf to pass such law.
Lastly, there was protection but what is happening right now seems that OFWs are losing their rights as migrant workers in the Arab nation. News are all over – sexual abuse and death. Sad reality.
The President is right when he said that the Arab nation is an ally especially in improving the Philippine economy. However, he cannot stand the abuses against OFWs. Therefore, the issue needs to be resolved immediately. In this way, we will improve in protecting and creating rehabilitation programs for OFWs.
A great challenge remains. Despite the hopelessness of our OFWs, they consistently remain in this situation to send money to their families back in the Philippines. They may fight back. But how far can they go?
The determination in them is the reason why many of us need to continue helping them in whatever ways we can. Justice is moving forward.
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(Atty. Ayin Dream D. Aplasca practices her profession in Iloilo City. She may be reached thru ayindream.aplasca@gmail.com/PN)
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