Labor advocate urges govt to identify undocumented OFWs in Korea

Labor advocate Susan Ople urged the Philippine government to identify the several thousand undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in South Korea who live and work “under the radar" of the Philippine Embassy. “Hindi alam kung nasan sila, hindi sila macontact, so hindi sila mai-inform in case of emergency," Ople, head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, told GMANews.TV on Monday. (The government doesn’t know their whereabouts, or how to contact them, so they can’t be informed in case of emergency.) Undocumented OFWs are “highly vulnerable," Ople said, urging the government to “exhaust all means" to find and identify them. According to Ople, officials can set up a mechanism such that Filipinos with relatives who are undocumented OFWs in South Korea, can be tapped to obtain their contact information and whereabouts. Ople pointed out that most OFWs in South Korea work for small or medium enterprises and their employers are unlikely to have the resources to ensure the safety of all their workers when the situation worsens in the Korean peninsula. Moreover, safety instructions and announcements are generally printed or broadcast in the local language, and most Filipinos are more familiar with English than Korean, she added. DOLE drawing up list of undocumented OFWs in Korea Meanwhile, Philippine labor officials are drawing up a list of undocumented Filipino workers there who may need assistance if the situation worsens. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz earlier said they have coordinated with the Filipino community in Korea to locate these undocumented workers, radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo reported on Friday. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), there are 50,000 to 60,000 Filipino workers in Korea, Baldoz said. On Thursday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. had said their records as of December 2009 show there are 50,270 Filipinos in Korea. There are also some 11,000 illegal or undocumented Filipinos in Korea, said Baldoz. P25-M fund for OFWs in Korea On Thursday, Baldoz said labor officials have readied P25 million for overseas Filipino workers based in South Korea in case of any contingency. She said her department also ready to augment the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and welfare office personnel if needed. “The (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) Board of Trustees has initially set aside P25 million ready to be used for any contingency involving our OFWs in South Korea," she said in a statement posted on the DOLE website on Thursday. Baldoz added that the DOLE is also ready to augment POLO and welfare office personnel in Seoul if there is a need. – VVP, GMANews.TV