'P1 budget for DFA, DOLE if sex scheme unresolved'

MANILA, Philippines - Acting Senate President Jinggoy Estrada will propose a P1 budget for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) if they fail to resolve with dispatch the alleged "sex-for-fly" scheme involving three labor officials in the Middle East.

 

Estrada, chairman of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, dared the Aquino administration to hold liable all the officers in the Middle East who have been allegedly sexually exploiting distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

 

"Gaya marahil ng mga nakarinig ng istoryang ito, ako ay nanggagalaiti sa galit nang aking malaman na ang ilang opisyal ng ating embahada at [Philippine Overseas Labor Office] ay nakuha pang pagkakitaan ang kalunos-lunos na sinapit ng ating mga kababayang OFW," Estrada said in a statement on Thursday.

 

"Sila na tinatakbuhan ng mga OFW at inaasahang magtatanggol sa kanilang karapatan at kapakanan ang siya palang magsasamantala sa kanila," added the senator, who also chairs the congressional oversight committee on overseas workers affairs.

 

He said the DFA and DOLE should render justice to the distressed OFWs allegedly victimized into prostitution and sexual abuse by Filipino embassy and labor officers in exchange of a ticket back to the Philippines.

 

Akbayan Party-list Rep. revealed the alleged sex scheme earlier this week, accusing Mario Antonio, assistant labor attaché in Amman, Jordan; a Blas Marquez from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Kuwait; and a certain Kim from Damascus, Syria.

 

Antonio faced the public for the first time on Thursday, denying the allegations against him and demanding for due process.

 

Related story: Labor officer in 'sex-for-fly' scandal submits to probe

 

The DOLE and the DFA have launched separate investigations into the issue and have called on victims to come out and file complaints before the authorities.

 

Meanwhile, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) condemned the alleged sex scheme, saying it is unacceptable for any official duty-bound to help and protect fellow Filipinos from abuses done by other nationalities to be the number one violator of human rights.

 

"Officials should restore the dignity of women OFWs, not prey on their vulnerabilities. Pimping or sexually exploiting them in exchange for plane tickets back to the Philippines are gross violations," the PCW said in a statement on Thursday.

 

"Let us not close our eyes on this grim possibility. A woman’s body is not a commodity nor should it be reduced to such," the agency added.