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MANILA, Philippines -- A congressional inquiry into the new immigration measures passed by the European Union and their possible “harsh effects” on the jobs and human rights of overseas Filipino workers has been sought by lawmakers at the House of Representatives.
Gabriela Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Liza Maza, Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño, and Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano filed House Resolution 682 directing the committees on overseas workers’ affairs, and foreign affairs to look into the matter.
There are about 953,519 OFWs across Europe, 112, 990 of them undocumented.
The lawmakers said these migrant workers were facing threats to their jobs and human rights following the passage of the Directive of Return by the European Parliament last June 18.
The new EU immigration seeks to penalize undocumented immigrants with up to 18 months of detention without trial if they fail to leave the EU and face a re-entry ban of up to five years.
Figures for the first half of 2007, the lawmakers said, showed that more than 200,000 of the more than eight million illegal migrants in the EU were arrested and some 90,000 expelled.
"More arrests, deportations and human rights violations are feared to be committed when the law takes full effect in 2010,” they said in their resolution.
Instead of simply dismissing as mere speculation the growing fear of the EU law's harsh effects on OFWs, the lawmakers urged the Philippine government to learn from the migrants' experiences with stricter immigration laws of the United States.
They pointed out an observation by United Nations Special Rapporteur Jorge Bustamante that the US immigration laws denied migrants basic due process and human rights, and violates international law.
Even the US’ own Supreme Court, the lawmakers said, declared in 2005 that it was unconstitutional for government authorities to detain illegal immigrants indefinitely.
