Name discourteous foreign service and labor officials, OFWs urged

MANILA, Philippines - A top Department of Labor and Employment official urged overseas Filipino workers on Friday to expose discourteous Philippine embassy and labor personnel in their work sites so that they may be punished. Labor Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz told GMANews.TV that impolite government employees could face disciplinary actions that range from a warning to permanent dismissal. “It depends on the gravity of the case," she said. “But OFWs have to name and expose these people because there is a penalty for discourtesy." Baldoz made the statement in response to a query during a migrant workers’ forum spearheaded by the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment Through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS) on Thursday. A former domestic helper in Singapore narrated her encounter with a discourteous embassy official. She said she asked the Filipino official’s help after her Singaporean employer did not follow the proper monthly salary of $400 stipulated in her contract. Instead of at least recording the complaint, the official reportedly insulted the OFW. “’Eh inilagay lang naman sa kontrata ‘yan para tumaas ng konti ang tingin sa inyo’ (That was only put in your contract so that they would not think so lowly of you)," the woman quoted the Filipino official as saying. “That was wrong. That person should not have treated you that way," Baldoz told the woman. According to Baldoz, Philippine embassy personnel, which includes foreign service officers under the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and labor and welfare officers under the DOLE, undergo a two-month immersion period to become accustomed to the life and culture of their destination country. She admitted that the training should also require an intensified human resource component so that Philippine officials would be better equipped in dealing with the concerns of Filipino workers overseas. The Administrative Code of the Philippines states that public officers and employees must serve the public “with the utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives." “If they are found guilty of mistreating OFWs, these officials would be punished," Baldoz said. She reiterated, however, that without any complaint there would be no basis to investigate erring personnel. - GMANews.TV