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HON. WALDEN F. BELLORepresentative 

 AKBAYAN Party

15 August 2011

Chairman’s Update: COWA investigated OFWs’ concerns of Abuse andEmployment opportunities in the Middle East

To our dear migrant kababayan,

Greetings of Solidarity!

I am pleased to inform you of that the Committee of Overseas Workers Affairs kicked off the second regular

session of the 15th Congress with a thorough investigation of the safety and welfare concerns of migrant

workers in the Middle East, particularly in relation to the certification of countries fit to receive OFWs; the Gulf countries’ announced nationalization policy; and, particular cases of abuse reported to Philippine authorities.

The highlight of the session was an update provided by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officers on

delayed repatriation of the remains of an OFW and on the cases of abused OFWs.

Updates on particular cases of OFWs

The case of Andy Dimacali 

Andy Dimacali was an OFW killed in Saudi. Because the circumstances that lead to the murder of Dimacali

were unclear and because of the delay in repatriating the victim’s body, the family had strongly criticized the

DFA.

Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) Executive Director and former

Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya reported that Philippine Embassy in Riyadh has already submitted its

report on the case of OFW Andy Dimacali. He said that the costs for the repatriation of the remains of OFW

Dimacali were shouldered by the DFA.

Endaya criticized the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, under the leadership of Philippine Ambassador to the KSA

Ezzedin Tago, for being remiss in its duty to immediately repatriate the remains of OFW Dimacali. He

disagreed with the post’s explanation that the delay was caused by the difficulty to locate the next-of-kin of 

the deceased OFW. In defense of Amb. Tago, OUMWA Special Assistant Atty. Enrico Fos excused the delay on

the ground due to on-going investigations on the case.

The Committee requested from the DFA to submit a report on the case.

The case of “Cristy”  

“Cristy,” not her real name is a 24-year-old domestic worker in Kuwait. She reported that her female

employer gravely abused and maltreated her. She escaped from her employer on June 12 and requested a taxito take her to the Philippine Embassy.

She was recruited by Asmar Agency, her contract stated she will work as a chambermaid in Brunei, however

following a week there, she was transferred to Kuwait and made to work as a domestic.

Endaya told the Committee that the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait has already submitted its report on the

matter. He said that OFW Cristy is already under the custody of our Filipino Resource Center (FRC) and a

lawyer was already assigned to handle her case.

The case of “Salley”  

Salley (not her real name) is a 34 year old OFW working as a school cleaner in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. She

was allegedly raped by three Arab men inside the service bus of the school where she's working. She was nine

months pregnant and had just come from a maternity clinic for her check up when the incident took place.

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DFA reported that on July 13, shortly after she gave birth, DFA representatives met her in the hospital to

follow up on her case and evaluate her condition. The representatives also reported the cooperation of the

Dammam General Prosecution and Investigation Board, that set up a hearing for Salley to identify her

aggressors. On July 19, with the DFA representatives in attendance, Salley positively identified one of the

three suspects, Mr. Muhammad Ahmad Abdulla Asiri. The suspect admitted to rape and robbery, for which his

family sought an out of court settlement that Salley rejected.

The Embassy further reported that the warrant of arrest for the two other suspects has already been issued.They are also in the process of looking for a lawyer to represent Salley. Meanwhile they are preparing the case

against the suspects while waiting for the schedule of the next hearing.

Members of the Committee said they would await updates on the above cases and other reported abuses of 

our OFWs.

Updates on certification of countries that are fit to receive Filipino migrant workers

The DFA, represented by OUMWA officials Ricardo Endaya and Enrico Fos, explained that they had issued

positive certification for 114 countries. Negative status was given to 39 countries because they did not meet

any of the criteria stipulated under Sec. 4 of RA 10022. In the Middle East, Syria was given positive

certification, Libya was given the negative certification. Bahrain, UAE, Yemen, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia

received “qualified”positive certification, which means that they have national legislations that protect

migrant workers except domestic workers.

On the part of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Administrator Carlos Cao said they

received 76 certifications for compliant countries from the DFA in May. In the same month, they also

requested the DFA for clarification of some countries’ certifications.

This representation had also raised the issue of why Libya and Syria had different certifications if security

considerations were made, especially given the political instability in Syria, which the DFA has yet to resolve.

In conclusion, the committee had granted Admin. Cao’s request for COWA to extend their deadline for

certification once again, as it was pending with the POEA governing board. The DFA had also made the

commitment to look into the implications certification results will have on the employment of Filipino workers

in the various countries, as well as other aspects of political and economic relations.

Nationalization policies in the Gulf Countries

The POEA assured the committee that we should not be alarmed with the announced nationalization policy in

the Gulf states, primarily because this has been on the agenda of the said states since the late 1980s and

amplified recently by the various political uprisings in the said countries where demonstrators demanded their

respective governments to prioritize employment for their nationals rather than for migrant workers.

Likewise, they assured us that the executive is ready to adopt mechanisms that would ease the employment

problem this would create. They had particularly cited on-line registration assistance for blue and green work,

and the implementation of on-site reemployment assistance for workers in the red/yellow companies who will

be displaced. The government has also committed to exploring reintegration measures for OFWs.

The Agency also clarified that the nationalization policy does not cover domestic work.

Saudi’s ban on domestic workers

The POEA confirmed the unilateral announcement of the Saudi Ministry of Labor that it disagrees with the

$400.00 minimum wage requirement that the Philippines has set for domestic workers. In relation to this, the

Saudi government announced that, effective July 2, 2011, they no longer issue VISAs to domestic workers from

the Philippines and Indonesia.

The DFA announced to the committee that they continue to look into the consequences this policy will haveon the RP-KSA relations.

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Suspension of technical working group meetings on Mandatory Insurance and OWWA Charter bills

This representation also announced that we will not rush consideration of bills to expand mandatory

insurance and establish the Charter of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Owing to

many requests to provide input, we will set up a internet consultation mechanism through which our

kababayan can provide their feedback on the said pieces of legislation.

In a separate meeting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), we also conveyed our requestto Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz for a detailed assessment of the implementation of the mandatory insurance

provisions of the amended Overseas Workers Act (RA 10022) before considering bills proposing the extension

of mandatory insurance.

We will also request for the OWWA to submit its position paper with respect to the OWWA charter.

Please be informed that this representation continues to receive the concerns of migrant kababayan that are

either brought to the Committee, or received thru Akbayan and our office in Congress. We continue to work in

close coordination with the DFA, DOLE, and other related agencies to ensure that the needs of the BagongBayani are addressed in a timely matter.

Thank you very much for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Walden Bello, Chairman, Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs