OFW group gives Aquino failing grade for 1st year

A militant overseas Filipino worker advocacy group on Sunday gave President Benigno Aquino III a failing grade in his first year in the presidency. Migrante Middle East said Aquino failed to deliver what he had promised during presidential campaigns and policy pronouncements during his inaugural and public speeches. “Thus, we are giving him a failing grade of 65 percent, 10 percent point below the 75 percent passing grade," said Migrante Middle East coordinator John Leonard Monterona. He said Aquino, in his inaugural address last June 30, gave marching orders to all concerned government agencies to attend to various OFWs issues and concerns. But he said such orders may have fallen on deaf ears as there were no more orders and actions to improve the plight of OFWs and their dependents. The group particularly scored the Aquino administration for:

• “Criminal neglect" and dilly-dally in repatriating and providing assistance to OFWs in war-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa such as in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yeman, and Syria.
• The government’s admission it cannot conduct a mass repatriation of affected OFWs, and requiring vacationing OFWs to issue a waiver effectively absolving the government of its responsibility to provide assistance and protection to returning OFWs.
• The execution of three drug mules in China.
• A surge in the number of OFWs on Death Row surge to 122 from 108 worldwide. “There are around 7,000 OFWs in various jails worldwide mostly in the Middle East. Every day, there are six to 10 OFWs (who arrive) in coffins. Many jobless would-be OFWs have fallen prey to human smugglers and drug traffickers," the group said.
• No serious protection for OFWs especially in the Middle East. Many still have been abused, mistreated, jailed, tortured, raped, murdered, and other with trumped-up charges, with no due process, much less indemnification from those who have done them wrong.
• Failure to sue former president Gloria Arroyo and her officials for allegedly misusing OFWs’ trust fund and other government-allocated funds for OFWs and their families.
• Failure to scrap unnecessary government fees and charges that add to the burden of OFWs.
• A new procedure by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in getting an exit clearance, which entails additional time and cost, is an added burden to OFWs.

“We note that (Aquino) is just a year in office and that he has enough time left, five years more in his term, but one year is too long for an unproductive president," Monterona said. — LBG, GMA News