Go seeks creation of OFW department

MANILA, Philippines — A new department dedicated to handling all overseas Filipinos’ affairs must be created soon if only to provide legal assistance to distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) all over the world, like Rose Policarpio, Sen. Bong Go said.

He reiterated this call after speaking with Policarpio, who returned to the country last Tuesday after being acquitted of murder in Saudi Arabia where she spent eight years in jail.

Go lamented that while there are specific government programs that provide legal assistance and psychosocial counseling to distressed OFWs, there is a need for a specific department to deliver various forms of assistance currently scattered across different national agencies.

If created, the proposed Department for OFWs shall bring together government agencies and be entirely dedicated to handling the affairs of overseas Filipinos, Go said.

In 2019, he filed Senate Bill No. 202 which sought to create this department. A second iteration, SB 1835, was recently filed which takes into consideration inputs from concerned executive agencies.

The senator said the proposed Department of Overseas Filipinos shall assume the functions of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, Commission on Overseas Filipinos, all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), International Labor Affairs Bureau under DOLE, and International Social Services Office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The department will also exercise administrative supervision over the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) which he said shall be attached agencies.

“A lot of OFWs have been sent away, not just like Rose, but those who came home because of the pandemic. So they come home, call via Facebook or radio, they will just ask for help anywhere. Sometimes it handles OWWA, sometimes it handles POEA, DFA, DOLE, various agencies. Maybe it’s time for a department, ‘that’s all they will call and coordinate,” Go said.

During their exchange, Policarpio thanked Go for extending assistance and support to help her restart her life.

She also expressed gratitude to the DFA, OWWA and DSWD for helping secure her release and assisting her when she came back to the country.

Go, however, insisted that he was merely doing his job as a public servant. He encouraged Policarpio to come to him if she needs more assistance, such as securing employment and called on all concerned agencies to extend to her other forms of support the government could provide.

“That’s our job, Rose. We are happy and glad you came home. The important thing is that you are safe to return to our country and if there is anything we can do for you and help you, just say so,” said Go in Filipino.

Policarpio, when she was 31, flew to Saudi Arabia in 2013 to work as a food server, but ended up working as a domestic helper.

Three men broke into her employer’s house and killed the Lebanese woman. Policarpio said she fled the scene of the crime because the perpetrators attempted to rape her.

Based on the official police report, Policarpio had gone to the police and reported the incident. However, she was arrested and jailed for the crime.

Policarpio was incarcerated for six years and was finally released in January 2019, after she was found innocent of any crime.

According to Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto, Policarpio would have faced the death penalty had she been convicted. She finally flew back from Riyadh last Sept. 21, and arrived in the country the following day.

Throughout the ordeal, the DFA through the help of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh, worked closely and made strong representations on her behalf. Their timely legal assistance ensured her rights were protected under Saudi laws.

During an interview on dzRH, Go expressed concern that there remained many cases similar to Policarpio. At present, his office alone is monitoring death penalty cases and other calls for help from Filipinos abroad.

Go recalled a similar case he had personally helped which involved an OFW who had been convicted of murder in Bahrain. Roderick Aguinaldo was imprisoned for four years before he received a royal pardon from the Bahraini government. Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines last June 7.