7 OFWs in Maldives jail need help – Migrante

MANILA, Philippines – Seven Filipino workers are languishing in jail in Maldives Republic and need legal assistance from the Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh to ensure their safety and security, according to Migrante International’s chapter in the Middle East. The OFWs in distress are Kenneth Ramos Navarro, Lito Lago, Dario Agao, Christian Ryan Pineda, Jeffrey Jenkins, Gilbert Bendana, and Joey Omawas. They are employed at the Dome Coffee Maldives International Airport. John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said the seven OFWs had been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for allegedly stealing money using a stolen credit card. They were ordered to pay 100,000 Maldives rufiyaa ($7,917) each for damages. Monterona said two others co-accused had been released. They are Glenn Ross Paloma, who has returned to the Philippines and Jose Sebastian, who is now in Canada. The OFWs were employed by Hassan Bagir and were recruited by Centaur International Manpower Services Inc., a private employment agency based in Makati. Monterona said a concerned OFW in Maldives sought Migrante's assistance in behalf of the seven distressed OFWs, pleading for their safety and security. The Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh, which has jurisdiction over Maldives, should provide a lawyer to the seven for their defense, Monterona said. Maldives is a nation of 1,192 islets in the Indian Ocean about 700 kilometers southwest of Sri Lanka. It has a predominantly Muslim population. Monterona said Migrante-ME had been calling on the Arroyo government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to provide lawyers without any hesitation for those facing charges abroad so that their basic rights would be protected as clearly mandated in the Migrant Workers and Overseas FIlipinos Act (Republic Act 8042). "In fact the government has allocated from the national budget an amount of P100 million yearly for that purpose - hiring lawyers for the defense of distress or charged OFWs," Monterona said. Reports reaching MIgrante-ME showed that before the hearing conducted last Feb. 12, the seven OFWs in Maldives had been invited by a Consul Perera and Ahmed Shiran at the office of Wing's Company to sign an affidavit they made at the police. They were made to believe that if they signed their sworn statements they would just be deported back to the Philippines whether they were found guilty or not guilty. Migrante-ME said what the Philippine official had done was to fool the seven into signing an affidavit incriminating themselves and he made sowed hopes and promises that they would be freed soon if they signed the affidavit or statement of admission of the crime they were charged with. The court had given embassy officials 15 days from Feb. 17 to appeal their case, Migrante said. - GMANews.TV