HON. WALDEN F.

BELLO
Representative

AKBAYAN Party
14 September 2011

Status of Repatriation of OFWs from hotspots in the Middle East and OFWs in Afghanistan priorities in latest Committee Hearing
Sa mga minamahal naming kababayan, At August 24 hearing of the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, the committee discussed critical issues of repatriation from Libya and Syria, the threat of termination of workers contracts in Afghanistan, GAMCA decking, the certification of countries that are fit to receive Filipino workers, and the US credit downgrading and its effects on migrant workers remittances. In attendance, again were officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Health, several recruitment agencies and migrants organizations. The Situation in Libya and the state of Repatriation of OFWs Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos began the discussion on the Libyan situation with a confirmation that, indeed, an overseas Filipino worker was abducted by armed men in Libya in the previous week, to which the Department responded swiftly to reach the OFW and bring him to safety. He proceeded to discuss the phases of the evacuation of Filipino workers in Libya. According to Conejos, in the 1st phase, from February 26 March 15, more than 10,000 OFWs from Libya had been repatriated in a record time of 10 to 15 days. As rebel forced their way from Benghazi to Tripoli, repatriation efforts went into Phase 2, or the intermediate phase, at which point officials exerted all efforts to convince OFWs to go home. While additional 90 OFWs were repatriated, a good number of OFWs employed as nurses and teachers decided to stay in Libya. At the time of the hearing, the repatriation efforts were in Phase 3 or the concluding phase. Conejos described the situation as east, south and west were converging Tripoli, he further reported that a 5-man rapid response team were deployed to Tunisia, Syria and other exit points to receive workers leaving Libya. The DFA facilitated the procurement of 400 seats in an International Organization for Migration (IOM) vessel that will take migrant workers from Libya. As the repatriation efforts entered phase 4, or the final phase, 1,600 OFWs were still remaining in Tripoli and surrounding areas. Another 700 were still in Benghazi. Of 1,600 who insist on staying in Tripoli, DFA reached 800. Of these 800 only 91 indicated a desire to get home. Undersecretary Conejos also pointed out despite the fact that the situation in Libya continues to be fluid and the final stage of the civil war is about to unfold the Philippine embassy in the country has been among the few that did not close. We also asked for the DFA to explain whether the DFA had initially overestimated the number of Filipino workers in Libya, or if there remains a number of workers that are unaccounted for, because there is a disparity between the estimated number of OFWs in Libya when the crisis broke out earlier this year, which the DFA said then was some 26,000 to 27,000, and the total number of migrant workers evacuated thus far that totals to over 10,000. Usec. Conejos conceded that the original figure of 25 to 27,000 is an overestimation. Data show that there are only about 15 or 16,000 OFWs in Libya that are documented. He further explained that DFA usually overestimates to take into consideration the undocumented workers. POEA Administrator Carlos Cao said that, as good news, out of the ten thousand OFWs repatriated from Libya, POEA referred 1,063 to private recruitment agencies which were able redeploy some 648 OFWs to different destinations. The Situation in Syria and the Progress of Repatriation efforts Usec. Conejos also provided the committee with a detailed assessment of the situation in Syria to contextualize the on-going efforts to assist OFWs in Syria:

The crisis started on March 15, 2011, when the military arrested 6 or 7 youths writing pro-democracy slogans in walls. That time, the DFA raised Alert Level 2, this meant Filipinos were asked to stay away from public places demonstrations could take place. As the crisis progressed, DFA initially raised Alert Level 3 in only three (3) areas, the centers of the opposition. This meant OFWs were asked to seriously consider leaving the country, with the government footing the bill. On August 16, the Philippine government raised Alert Level 3, for all of Syria. Damascus and Aleppo seem stable on the surface, with heavy military presence, but Latakia, Homs, Hama, and Dara are sites of heavy crackdown by the state. Conejos explained that for the facilitation of expedient repatriation, the Government organized a Task Group on Voluntary repatriation. There is also a Negotiating Committee in charge of negotiating with employers or companies employing OFWs to allow migrant workers to be repatriated. One of the complications of repatriation work in Syria is the fact that 90% of OFWs there are undocumented. At the time of the hearing, 58 OFWs were already at government shelters and the government gave the commitment that they will be given priority for repatriation. Another 25 OFWs were in various detention centers in Syria. Conejos explained that, at that time, they were still negotiating with the Syrian government if they could be repatriated as well. Usec. Conejos explained that because the DFA has learned from the Libyan experience, Executive Order 34 created the Overseas Preparedness and Response Team (OPRT), composed of DOLE, DFA, DND, DILG, DSWD, OPA. Daily security briefing on the issue also takes place. For the contingency plan for Syria, Usec. Conejos explained that the following have been identified as exit points: Damascus and Aleppo airport, highways: Jordan and Lebanon to the South, Turkey to the North, Water: Tartus and Latakia ports for Greece and Crete to the West; Israel is a non-option, particularly because Golan Heights is militarized. Usec. Conejos also submitted a copy of the Contingency Plan to the Committee. As for the budget, Usec. Conejos explained that the Department of Budget Management allocated the P250 million savings from the passport funds. It was also during the discussion that Mr. Lito Soriano of LBS Recruitment revealed that most of the 11,000 OFWs in Syria are domestic workers, and 90% of them are undocumented. He likewise suggested that investigations should be made into the the suspicious increase in deployment of workers to crisis-hit UAE and its connection to the high OFW presence in Syria, as UAE may be a midpoint from which OFWs are redeployed to other Middle Easter countries. In response to this, POEA Administrator Cao committed to provide information, according to him, from January to August 16, 2011, there have been 731 OFWs deployed to Syria, 677 of which were new hires, 54 were re-hires. We asked Usec. Conejos to submit contingency plans for all the Gulf States, especially for Saudi Arabia which has the most number of OFWs. On the threat of termination of the Working Permit of Filipino Workers in Afghanistan Rep. Mitos Magsaysay raised the issue that United States government has threatened to terminate contracts of Filipino migrant workers in their bases and employed by American companies operating in Afghanistan if the Philippine does not lift the travel ban that it has placed to Afghanistan. They had given August 31 as the deadline. A total of 6,000 OFWs, (some 3,000 of which are employed inside military bases) earning anywhere between US$ 1,000 to 20,000 will be affected. Saying that OFWs are safe in the military bases in Afghanistan, Rep. Magsaysay pressed the DFA to review the deployment ban and immediately lift it. In response, Usec. Conejos explained that in August 2010, when the Philippine government decided to maintain the deployment ban to Afghanistan and Iraq, the government granted OFWs working in the said countries the continuation of their work until their contract expires on 31 December 2011, after which a reassessment will be done. The DFA representative conceded that it is safe to work in the military bases. Usec. Conejos further explained that two weeks ago, a high level committee convened by Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa met to discuss this issue. The DFA and DOLE have given their recommendations to the Committee, 2

and the decision will be issued shortly. Usec. Conejos gave his commitment to the committee that he will immediately speak with the Executive Secretary to get his final word on the matter. We had also raised the issue against the bully-tactics that the US government is playing. The US government and their contractors have benefited from the services of the Filipino workers, and now they issue arbitrary terminations and dismissal orders to threaten the Philippine government into lifting the deployment ban to Iraq and Afghanistan. Because these arbitrary decisions put OFWs at a grave disadvantage, we urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to make a formal protest to the US government to register the Philippines refusal to succumb to the US manipulation. As the rough exchange between Rep. Mitos Magsaysay and Usec. Conejos concluded, Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay and this representation felt it important to commend the exemplary performance Usec. Conejos demonstrated in the field. Towards the end of August, the DFA came out in the news to announce that result of the reassessment conducted on the matter: Filipino workers who are already working the US bases in Afghanistan and Iraq are allowed to continue working for as long as necessary, however the deployment ban remains. Progress of Certification of Countries Fit to Receive OFWs POEA Administrator Cao announced that the POEA board will meet on August 26, 2011 to finalize the certification. At the time of the hearing, there were 121 compliant countries, partially compliant countries were at 28 and non-compliant countries were 46. Eight countries continue to be without certification. The committee once again agreed to wait for POEA board for the final list of the countries and their certification. Decking practice of GAMCA The committee also discussed the controversial decking practice of the GCC Approved Medical Centres Association (GAMCA). As many of our kababayan have experienced, working in the Gulf countries necessitate acquiring medical certification from members of GAMCA, and the practice is for the migrant worker to be referred to a particular clinic, which often imposes exorbitant costs on our kababayan. The question was raised at the committee hearing on what the status of GAMCA is. According to Atty. Rodel Flores of the Department of Health, the Pasay City Regional Trial Court issued an injunction against GAMCA, and that he believes that GAMCA has been abolished. In response to this, Rep. Mitos Magsaysay pointed out that GAMCA filed with the Pasay RTC a petition for Prohibition with prayer for issuance of a temporary restraining order and/ or preliminary injunction against DOH Secretary Enrique Ona. It was also revealed during the hearing that GAMCAs operations are not duly located within the legal or administrative framework. There is apparently no document that explicitly states Gulf Countries require GAMCA as the sole body through which medical certification must be obtained, and there is likewise no document that states that decking is the process through which certification must be obtained. The committee agreed to prioritize the issue of GAMCAs decking practice at the next hearing to clarify the status of GAMCA, from which it would be easier to undertake mechanisms to regulate or even abolish the practice outright. It was also under the issue of GAMCA that the committee briefly discussed allegations that a high-ranking DFA official involvement in a money making scam, to which DFA representatives responded by vouching for the integrity of the said official. And as there was no clear proof to back the allegations up, the committee felt it sufficient for the official in question to provide an affidavit as a response to the said allegations. The Impact of US Credit Downgrade on Remittances As the US economy continues on its downward spiral, the committee also felt it within its mandate to assess the effect this would have especially on remittances. Ms. Ruth Gonzaga of Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that, based on the projections of the Development Budget Coordinating Council, the BSP expects the credit rating downgrade of the United States to have minimal effect on remittances. While remittances from the United States have been declining in terms of percentage, there is overall significant stability in the flow of remittances. Total remittances continue to grow by 5-6 percent. 3

In conclusion, the committee continues to monitor the development of various issues that were discussed in the previous hearing, as well as other concerns our migrant workers continue to raise through the media or through direct communication with this representations office. We continue to encourage the various organizations to provide us feedback regarding any concern they may have, or any issue that must be addressed by the committee urgently. Likewise, we continue to facilitate communication between OFWs and their families and the executive agencies whenever a request comes to the office. Rest assured that the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs works tirelessly in order to ensure that the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers across the globe are duly protected and their needs duly addressed. Mabuhay ang mga bagong bayani. Sincerely,

Walden Bello Chairman Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Philippine House of Representatives