Over 200 Pinoys in Kuwait get amnesty after VP Binay’s visit

(Updated 9:46 p.m.) Over 200 Filipinos in Kuwait charged with minor offenses were granted amnesty, following the one-week special visit of Vice President Jejomar Binay in the troubled Middle East region. “As a result of the (Kuwaiti) Amir’s amnesty, 79 wards at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) with plane tickets will now be repatriated to the Philippines," said Binay, who is also the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) concerns. He added the rest of the more than 200 Filipinos staying at the FWRC will likewise be repatriated as soon as their plane tickets are arranged.
Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates which the Vice President also visited, efforts are underway to repatriate some 80 Filipinos currently stranded there. “We are most grateful to the governments of Kuwait and UAE for this accommodation. We are hopeful that the Amir of Kuwait would soon grant Amiri pardon to 13 Filipinos now under detention," Binay said. Earlier, Binay failed to secure an audience with the King of Saudi Arabia, where some 1,200 OFWs are likewise jailed for petty offenses according to OFW group Migrante-Middle East. This was after Binay wasn’t able to get entry visa to the Kingdom, when the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh failed to schedule him for a meeting with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. (See: PHL Embassy fails to secure Binay audience with Saudi King) Binay upon his return to Manila revealed, however, that a few hours before his flight back to Manila, he received word that the King was ready to receive him and his delegation. But Binay said he had to ask for the meeting to be rescheduled as he had “pressing official duties" back home. Binay was President Benigno Aquino III’s representative to Kuwait’s celebration of its 50th year of Independence, the 20th anniversary of its liberation from Saddam’s occupation forces, and the 5th anniversary of the ascension to power of its present Amir, Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmed A-Jaber Al Sabah. Binay said he carried with him an appeal from the President asking the Amir for amnesty for OFWs charged with minor offenses, and to consider pardon for those presently detained. 36 OFWs from UAE also going home In a related development, a UAE-based news site reported that at least 36 distressed OFWs who fled from their employers due to alleged maltreatment and abuse will be repatriated to the Philippines this coming week. The workers – 28 from Dubai and eight from Abu Dhabi – are booked for a flight home on Monday, March 7, UAE-based news site Khaleej Times reported Saturday. Binay announced the repatriation, according to the article. The workers had sought shelter at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office since fleeing from their employers. A separate story on Gulf News quoted Binay as saying some of them arrived in the UAE on visit visas and took jobs while others did not have proper documents to stay and work there. After his consultation with Filipinos there, Binay said, “By and large, 90 per cent [of OFWs] are happy here. The negative reports would be isolated cases." Binay’s visit to the UAE is also to reinforce his government’s commitment to combat human trafficking and illegal recruitment to the UAE, as the chairman on the anti-human trafficking council and on illegal recruitment. He cited the conviction of three Filipinos who were involved in human trafficking in Abu Dhabi last year. The convicts lured women to the UAE with the promise of proper jobs but forced them into prostitution. “They are now at Al Wathba jail. One is incarcerated for 13 years and two for three years. All the victims were repatriated. We were happy with the outcome of the case," Philippine Consul General Adelio Cruz said in the same article.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMA News