5,168 OFWs jailed, about 900 denied of OWWA services
Aubrey SC Makilan, Mar 9, 2005
Bleak, bad, bludgeoned.
This is how Connie Bragas-Regalado, chairperson of the Migrante Sectoral Party-list (MSP), described the situation for the almost 10 million Filipino migrants this year.
Maltreatment, mysterious deaths, unjust detention and other cases of injustice to OFWs and their families continued in 2004. Migrante International, the largest organization of OFWs and their families, recorded at least 289 cases of abuse last year. Add to this the number of OFWs and their families that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) failed to assist. In the National Capital Region alone, the number of OFWs whose request for assistance was unanswered reached 900 by end-year, according to Migrante.
Mysterious deaths and unjust detention
On Aug. 24, at around 2:30 a.m., Filipina domestic helper Hera Olandres reportedly jumped from her employer’s 6th floor balcony in Beirut, Lebanon. Post-mortem medical examinations revealed vaginal and anal lacerations and other injuries in her body consistent with sexual assault.
On the other hand, the separate deaths of Taiwan domestic helper Grace Aguilar, South Korea factory worker Levy Argana Yoo, and Singapore domestic helper Juanita Lajot were all attributed to suicide. Evidences however point to the questionable circumstances of their deaths, such as an autopsy report from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showing two stab wounds on Lajot’s nape.
According to Migrante, there were at least four mysterious OFW deaths in the first
half of 2004.
Meanwhile, as of Dec. 13, there are 5,168 OFWs languishing behind bars in 56 countries worldwide. Migrante said more OFWs have been imprisoned since the crackdown on undocumented workers intensified in various countries, such as Women OFWs stranded in Kuwait
Photo courtesy of Migrante
the U.S., Korea, Malaysia and Japan. Among those imprisoned are about 50 minors and more than 600 women. In Los Angeles, there are 185 Filipinos who, despite being part of the documented 850,253 Filipinos in the area, are under detention.
In death row on the other hand are five OFWs in Malaysia, one in the U.S. and 13 others who may soon be beheaded in Saudi.
The last includes Sarah Jane Dematera, 33, detained for 12 years now and resignedly waiting for her end in Saudi’s death row.
