MANILA, Philippines, December 21 ------ Amid continued reports of abuse and neglect, the government should start prioritizing the protection and welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), senatorial aspirant Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said yesterday.
Eleazar expressed his sentiment as he proposed revisiting the Philippines’ labor agreements with other countries. “We should regularly review the memorandums of agreement (MOA) with other countries involving the deployment of our OFWs. Do they still protect the interests of OFWs? If the answer is no, they should amend them to benefit our workers,” he said in Filipino. “If MOAs are regularly revisited, the Philippine government can initiate labor reforms that will safeguard the rights of our OFWs,“ he added.
Recently, the Department of Labor and Employment threatened to implement a total ban on OFW deployment to Saudi Arabia after it continues to fail to settle more than P5.1 billion in unpaid salaries of over 11,000 OFWs there. A Saudi Arabian court had ruled in favor of OFWs who were not compensated by their employers for up to two years. Some of the OFWs had died while others got sick but still have not received the salaries due to them. Angered by this, Eleazar said if elected he would push for laws in the Senate that further protect OFWs.
Source: philstar.com
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