118 Pinoys in N Marianas tagged as ‘overstayers’

SAN ANTONIO, Saipan – Over 40 percent or 118 of the 293 “overstayers" in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are Filipinos, according to the latest list released by the CNMI Department of Labor. “Overstayers" are those who have overstayed the permission granted to them upon their entry into the CNMI for employment purposes. “Persons in an overstayer status are required to depart the commonwealth immediately," the department said. The CNMI is currently home to some 10,000 overseas Filipino workers and Filipino-Americans. The rest of the overstayers are from China, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh and other Asian countries. Labor said persons who depart the CNMI voluntarily are eligible to return, but once an overstayer is deported, he is no longer eligible to return to the islands. Foreigners whose names may have been erroneously added to the list are asked to report to the CNMI Labor on or before Feb. 23 to correct their records. A private lawyer, however, called on foreign workers whose names appeared on Labor’s overstayers list to contact his law firm immediately to learn more about their legal rights. Robert Myers has been handling labor cases, and is representing foreign workers in a class suit against the CNMI government for not enforcing laws and regulations against employers and bonding companies that failed to pay these workers their wages and labor awards. The US territory of the CNMI is a 14-island chain whose capital of Saipan is about three hours away from Manila. - GMANews.TV