NGO urges distressed OFWs to text complaints

Distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) anywhere in the world can take advantage of modern technology like the Short Messaging System (SMS) or text messaging to report incidents of abuses, a non-government organization said Friday. The Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) is asking the media to spread the information that OFWs anywhere in the world can send messages or complaints through text. Ellen Sana, executive director of the CMA, said that the SOS SMS is a service mechanism to relay and report situations of OFWs in need of immediate relief and action from the Philippine government and from NGOs serving migrant workers. She said that OFWs in trouble can simply text SOS to cell phone +63 9209 OFW SOS (+63 9209639 767). Text Message is received by the SOS SMS mechanism where it is logged and stored in the database (Sender’s mobile number used, date and time received, message, sender’s name and address). Text Message is auto-forwarded to designated recipients’ cell phones at the CMA, Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). The SOS SMS System logs recipient’s number and forwarding date, recipient cell phone number and other details. The OUMWA and the OWWA verify the SOS SMS receipt of and transmission of the message and determine appropriate actions to be done. CMA does the same and verifies whether the OWWA or the OUMWA received the message on time. Sana said that the SOS SMS is a 24/7 service conceptualized and developed by OFWs and implemented in cooperation with the various CMA partner NGOs worldwide as well as with the OUMWA and the OWWA. “SOS SMS gives government agencies and NGOs the opportunity to respond and intervene timely, especially when the OFW’s life is in danger," she added. The SOS SMS is also a research tool that establishes a database that permits case documentation, indexation, classification and analysis of various OFW problems and related issues. The system establishes an electronic trail by logging and storing automatically all critical message details that will be useful in developing research leads, remedial recommendations and advocacy thrusts. The CMA is an advocacy group that promotes the rights of OFWs and their families. It works to help improve the economic, social and political conditions of migrant Filipino families everywhere through policy advocacy, information dissemination, networking, capability-building, and direct assistance. -Luis Gorgonio, GMANews.TV