MANILA, Philippines – Isiniwalat ni OFW Partylist Rep Marissa Magsino ang ilang problema na kinahaharap ng mga Overseas Filipino Workers(OFWs) sa South Korea at Hongkong na nagiging biktima ng pang aabuso, illegal recruitment, human trafficking, contract switching, investment scams at paglabag sa labor standards na ang ilan ay mismong gawa din ng kapwa Filipino.
Sa isang privilege speech sa Kamara umapela si Magsino na matutukan ang kalagayan ng mga OFWs sa nasabing mga bansa.
Ayon kay Magsino sa pagdalo nya sa Pistang Pinoy sa Korea 2023 noong June 9 hanggang 13 ay nakipagpulong ito sa mga OFWs kung saan nalaman nya na ang mga OFWs ay nagiging biktima din ng mga kapwa Filipino.
“There are complaints against Philippine recruitment agencies, which facilitate the hiring of OFWs, mainly artists, entertainers and cultural workers, who then fall victims to prostitution and human trafficking. There are also charges of complicity of some Filipinos in the commission of massive investment scams in South Korea victimizing our OFWs. The scheme has, to date, reportedly netted Php 150 million of blood money from our OFWs in South Korea”pahayag ni Magsino sa kanyang privilege speech sa House Plenary.
Ilang OFWs din ang nagrereklamo na nagiging biktima ng extortion ng mga tiwaling personnel ng Bureau of Immigration gayundin ang ilang seasonal workers sa ilalim nf the Seasonal Workers Program (SWP) ang nakakaranas ng pang aabuso.
“The SWP aims to address the acute manpower shortage in the agriculture and fishery sectors in South Korea. Foreign seasonal workers are allowed to work in fruit, vegetable and fishing farms for 3 to 5 months, provided they are under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between local government units. However, since the program stems mainly from LGU- to-LGU agreements, the implementation system does not go through the stringent screening of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Accordingly, there have been reports of increasing contract violations and exploitations against OFWs deployed through SWP” paliwanag ni Magsino.
Sinabi ni Magsino na ang mga reklamo ng ilang OFWs ay kanya nang inilapit sa Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) at National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) para sa agarang aksyon.
Nasa 59,000 ang OFWs sa South Korea.
Samantala, isiniwalat din ni Magsino ang ilang pang aabuso sa mga OFWs sa Hongkong kasama na ang ginagawang pagsasanla ng mga pasaporte.
Si Magsino ay bumisita sa Hongkong noong June 18 hanggang 19, 2023 kung saan nakipagpulong ito sa Philippine Consulate General para alamin ang kalagayan ng may 200,000 OFWs sa Special Administrative Region.
Karamihan sa mga OFWs sa Hong Kong ay nasa linya ng household service workers.
“Among the pressing issues affecting OFWs in Hong Kong are contract termination regulations and the rampant pawning of Philippine passports by unscrupulous individuals”ani Magsino.
Tiniyak ni Magsino na ang lahat ng reklamo na ipinarating ng mga OFWs ay kanyang ipararating sa Kamara upang agad na mahanapan ng solusyon.
“Recognizing that each host country presents its own challenges, we need to pursue appropriate and country-specific approaches rather than applying blanket solutions to the problems of our OFWs employed abroad. And we can only propose appropriate solutions if we hear firsthand their sentiments and see for ourselves how they are faring in their host countries. Despite the advantages of technology in bridging distance, personally visiting our OFWs as they are immersed in their communities abroad still provides better perspective.”pagtatapos pa ni Magsino. Gail Mendoza
