46 distressed Pinays return from Syria, UAE

MANILA, Philippines - Forty-six Filipina workers who were allegedly abused by their employers in Syria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) returned to the Philippines Wednesday, courtesy of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII). In a statement, Vice President Noli De Castro said that 24 of the workers came from the Syrian capital of Damascus and 22 from Dubai, UAE. All of them escaped from their employers after complaining of maltreatment and unfair working conditions, he said. “These women have all reportedly suffered maltreatment in the hands of their employers, ranging from physical abuse, working without payment, being forced to work for multiple households, not being allowed to return home, and others," said De Castro. The 46 women, he said, were accompanied by Labor Attaché Virginia Calvez when they arrived on Wednesday aboard an Emirates Airlines flight. Prior to their return, the OFWs stayed at the Halfway Quarters of the Philippine Embassy in Damascus and later on at the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai. De Castro, who is also presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers, said he first learned of the plight of the women during his April visit to Damascus and Dubai. He said he found out that their employers refused to pay for the distressed OFWs' repatriation because they left their work. Moreover, they were ineligible for benefits from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) because all of them were undocumented. De Castro then appealed for help from the private sector and the FFCCCII, which had been known for building classrooms for public schools every year, responded. “My concern was to bring these women back home as soon as possible, and I know that the fastest way to mobilize funds for this is to tap the private sector. Thankfully, the FFCCCII responded immediately to their need for help," he said. He said that the plight of these 46 women should serve as a warning to others who may be thinking of “taking shortcuts" to overseas employment. “We understand that many Filipinos are eager to seek better opportunities abroad. But they should be very careful and wary of questionable recruiters, because the consequences could be even worse than the ones we’ve seen here," he said. The vice president revealed that 90 percent of Filipino expatriates in Syria are undocumented. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas, likewise, said that of the 529,114 Filipinos in the UAE in 2007 – about 35,000 were considered undocumented. De Castro also said this incident underscores the need to seriously go after illegal recruiters. “We have already identified some of the top illegal recruiters. We need to make a serious effort to go after them and apply the full force of the law. Otherwise, they will just be sending more victims for every one we repatriate," he said. The Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment recently said that there are about 20,000 standing warrants of arrests for large-scale illegal recruiters in the country. - Kimberly Jane Tan, GMANews.TV