MIGRANTS
Abandoned Abroad, Distressed at Home
5,168 OFWs jailed, about 900 denied of OWWA services
Last of two parts

In 2004, many overseas Filipino workers suffered not only separation from their loved ones but also various forms of abuse, ranging from unjust detention to mysterious deaths.  These were made worse by the inability of the government to provide the assistance due them.

BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN
Bulatlat

Bleak, bad, bludgeoned.

This is how Connie Bragas-Regalado, chairperson of the Migrante Sectoral Party-list (MSP), described the situation for the almost 10 million Filipino migrants this year.

Women OFWs stranded in Kuwait Photo courtesy of Migrante

Maltreatment, mysterious deaths, unjust detention and other cases of injustice to OFWs and their families continued in 2004. Migrante International, the largest organization of OFWs and their families, recorded at least 289 cases of abuse last year. Add to this the number of OFWs and their families that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) failed to assist. In the National Capital Region alone, the number of OFWs whose request for assistance was unanswered reached 900 by end-year, according to Migrante.

Mysterious deaths and unjust detention

On Aug. 24, at around 2:30 a.m., Filipina domestic helper Hera Olandres reportedly jumped from her employer’s 6^th floor balcony in Beirut, Lebanon. Post-mortem medical examinations revealed vaginal and anal lacerations and other injuries in her body consistent with sexual assault.

On the other hand, the separate deaths of Taiwan domestic helper Grace Aguilar, South Korea factory worker Levy Argana Yoo, and Singapore domestic helper Juanita Lajot were all attributed to suicide. Evidences however point to the questionable circumstances of their deaths, such as an autopsy report from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showing two stab wounds on Lajot’s nape.

According to Migrante, there were at least four mysterious OFW deaths in the first half of 2004.

Meanwhile, as of Dec. 13, there are 5,168 OFWs languishing behind bars in 56 countries worldwide. Migrante said more OFWs have been imprisoned since the crackdown on undocumented workers intensified in various countries, such as the U.S., Korea, Malaysia and Japan. Among those imprisoned are about 50 minors and more than 600 women.  In Los Angeles, there are 185 Filipinos who, despite being part of the documented 850,253 Filipinos in the area, are under detention.

In death row on the other hand are five OFWs in Malaysia, one in the U.S. and 13 others who may soon be beheaded in Saudi.

The last includes Sarah Jane Dematera, 33, detained for 12 years now and resignedly waiting for her end in Saudi’s death row.

Maltreatment

Maltreatment also hounds OFWs. According to Migrante’s records, there are around 500 maltreated and stranded OFWs in an OWWA-run shelter in Kuwait alone. An OWWA source said that from January to May, 994 OFWs returned home due to abuses, unpaid salaries and inhumane work conditions.

In August, 331 others, allegedly maltreated by their Kuwaiti employers, arrived in the country. One of them was Arlene Mallari, 33, who testified that her employee poured boiling water on her chest and back. Another was Amina Balono, 35, who managed to escape her employer after being denied her salary for almost 10 years. Aside from them, there were also cases of Filipinas who left Kuwait because of sexual abuses by employers.

Meanwhile, 2004 also witnessed the acquittal of three Kuwaiti policemen who, in November 2003, allegedly raped and sodomized Nurmina Piang, 18, a run-away maid at the police station.

Undocumented workers

In Japan, the new Immigration Act took effect last Dec. 2 which penalizes undocumented workers. Based on the Tokyo Immigration Bureau’s records as of last year, about 14 percent of the 219,418 foreign migrants classified as “overstayers” in Japan are Filipinos. Once deported, a foreigner would have to wait 10 years before he could be issued a new Japanese visa.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s national recruitment commission (Sanarcom) and private Philippine recruiters have signed an agreement making contract substitution by Saudi employers legal. The agreement also forces OFWs to agree to a no-running-away condition.

There are around 900,000 migrant workers in Saudi, including more than 10,000 runaways.

In South Korea, there have been reports of Filipino women being sold for sex to American soldiers for $3,000 to $5,000 each. This amount allegedly allows the soldier to have the Filipina as his sex slave while serving his tour of duty. Those who work in clubs may still earn by having sex with Americans for $60.

Seafarers are not exempted from abuse. In late December 2003, Allan Macavinta’s family was told by his agency, the Seawork Force Manila, that Macavinta jumped from the ship when sailing in Brazil a month after. Macavinta’s father however doubted the agency after seeing bloodstains and seemingly bullet holes on his son’s recovered belongings.

Even a report from the Brazilian police that Macavinta was missing while the M/V Athens was docked in Brazil and cadaver was found to be of same physical description with Macavinta’s, the agency maintained that he just jumped from the ship and thus still alive.

With over a half-million registered at the POEA, the Philippines has become the world’s top supplier of seafarers. Most of the seafarers however are underpaid and those who complain of the low wage and unsafe working conditions are blacklisted from boarding ships again.

Mental illness

On the other hand, not all those who return home are in good condition. A top graduate of nutrition and dietetics class, Joyce Sano Alon-Alon, 22, fled to Riyadh to work as a dietician. Just 12 days after, Alon-Alon came back mentally ill.

An OWWA source told Bulatlat that there have been 49 reported cases of OFWs returning home with mental illness from January to June alone this year.

Inutile

Unfortunately, the OFWs’ sufferings do not end once they return home.

“When they or their families get into trouble, they could not have access to their money even if they are OWWA members,” Bragas-Regalado said. According to Migrante, the OWWA Omnibus Policies is “worse than a user-pay system.”

The OWWA Board of Trustees, headed by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, passed the Omnibus Polices as Board Resolution No. 38 last Sept. 19 without consulting with OFWs, she said.

According to the group, the omnibus policies institutionalize the collection of $25 membership fee from OFWs instead of employers, while limiting membership to those with “active contracts.” Migrante added that its implementation started the suspension of some services like repatriation for distressed migrants, assistance to those with mental illness, and the suspension of OWWA’s General Financial Assistance Program.

While services are being cut, the Office of External Affairs in October was created as part of the president’s streamlining program. She however denied it would be a "superbody" despite its apparently extensive reach. The OEA creation came about despite presidential order to abolish redundant offices and freeze the hiring of new government personnel.

Migrante said some of president’s new appointees worked for her candidacy in the last elections.

Former Migrante secretary general Poe Gratela who campaigned for her was promised to head the OEA. Gratela resigned from Migrante November 2003 citing financial problems. Another is presidential assistant for Region 9 Ferdinand Mahusay. Mahusay, brother of Eugenio "Udong" Mahusay who revealed last year the alleged "Jose Pidal" secret bank accounts of First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, took his oath as an OEA member last October. Udong later recanted his allegations. Bulatlat 

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