OWWA’s recall of welfare officer lauded

The Blas F. Ople Policy Center (BFOPC) has lauded Administrator Carmelita Dimzon of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for recalling the welfare officer in Jordan following complaints from recently repatriated overseas Filipino workers.

The non-profit organization that assists distressed OFWs, in partnership with the Sagip OFW Program of Senator Manny Villar, has assisted at least eight  complainants in executing sworn affidavits charging welfare officer Carmelita Mag-uyon with neglect of duty and gross misconduct.

Susan Ople, president of the BFO Center, said the stories of the repatriated workers were consistent and had a common pattern.

The workers alleged Mag-uyon advised them to return to their abusive employers or pay back the cost of deployment. “This goes against the mandate of a welfare officer, which is to care for and defend the rights of distressed overseas workers especially those trapped in situations of forced labor trafficking,” Ople said.

One of three new complainants claimed Mag-uyon sided with her female employer, despite the OFW’s fears for her personal safety after her male employer exposed himself to her.

When the OFW refused to return to the employer despite threats of being put in jail, the welfare officer brought her to the police that imprisoned the OFW for 11 days.

The complainant alleged she was maltreated by Jordanian policemen and forced to return to her employer, who locked her up in a room.

She had to make an improvised ladder using curtains so she could escape. She went to the Philippine Embassy where she was treated more kindly by the welfare officer, after hearing  of her ordeal at the police station.

Another complainant said she was physically abused by her employers and fed spoiled food or not allowed to eat at all.

When she escaped, the Jordanian agency that recruited her negotiated with her employers for her to return to work without pay for one year to cover the deployment costs.

When she was able to escape again, the complainant sought refuge at OWWA’s Bahay Kalinga in Jordan.

But the OFW said the welfare officer asked for $500 as payment for her plane ticket to the Philippines. She was also told to go to the police station to face charges filed by her employers.

The OWWA officer eventually relented and the complainant was put on the list of OFWs whose repatriation would be shouldered by her agency.

The BFOPC thanked Villar’s office for providing the eight complainants with a lawyer. Ople, a former labor undersecretary, said having a lawyer to guide them and advise them on their rights, emboldened the women to file their complaints.