For the past five years, all that 10 Filipino migrant workers stranded in Saudi Arabia can see are the ceilings and walls of their former employer’s housing facility. On most days, their spirits are dampened. Still, they hope to be reunited with their families someday.
After more than three decades of being one the country’s so-called modern day heroes, Estela’s family laments that they are now left on their own, without government aid provided to them.
Migrante said that Duterte and Bello failed to address the government’s inefficiency in conducting and releasing the results of the PCR test which is what leads to prolonged quarantine periods and additional costs.
“Refunding the training fees in full is a financial relief to the eager claimants amid the impacts of the pandemic to their work and to the families they have left behind in the Philippines. This will also give them a sense of justice.”
Migrante International said there are thousands of OFWs who lost their jobs who have yet to receive any financial assistance from the government.
While their employers benefit from social protections, they continue to expect their domestic workers to continue to serve not six but now seven days a week.
After a decade, Mary Jane Veloso will now be able to narrate her ordeal in full.
“The widespread corruption in the government is the reason why OFWs are strongly against the planned mandatory PhilHealth and premium rate hike. OFWs cannot entrust the government that their hard-earned money will benefit their families and the rest of the Filipino people.”
Looking at history, one can say that state abandonment is very much the official disposition on which the labor export system is hinged. The Philippine government is fundamentally inclined to function simply as what sociologist Robyn Rodriguez calls a “labor brokerage state,” an institutional apparatus that facilitates Filipinos’ outward labor traffic.
“I hope Mary Jane will return soon and my eldest daughter [in Dammam] recover swiftly so that we all can be reunited here. I hope the president is watching, and come to the aid of my daughters,” she added
With no salary and little assistance, some OFWs in the Middle East have resorted to scavenging for food.