DMW must ensure OFWs won’t lose jobs after air traffic system glitch, says solon

By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu - 2 years ago

MANILA, Philippines — The newly-constituted Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) must ensure that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are affected by the grounding of flights in and out of the country on New Year’s Day still have their jobs, a lawmaker said.

In a statement on Tuesday, Kabayan party-list Rep. Ron Salo said the fears of OFWs are justified, as they may not be able to return to work on time after spending the holidays in the country.

Last Sunday, January 1, flights nationwide or the entire Manila flight information region (FIR) were shut down after the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) malfunctioned.

“We are fully aware of and understand the fears of our OFWs. The Government must do everything in its powers to ensure that our OFWs are not sanctioned, or worse, terminated because of this unfortunate event,” Salo, chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, said.

“I am urgently calling on the DMW to give our OFWs the necessary protection from termination or sanction and reassure them that their jobs are safe and that they don’t need to worry. Our OFWs should not be the ones to suffer because of this disruption,” he added.

Many OFWs have already expressed fears that they would not be able to return to their jobs on time, thus jeopardizing their source of livelihood.

The DMW previously said that they had mobilized migrant workers officers on alert to assist OFWs stranded at major ports like the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), where over 60,000 passengers were said to have been affected from January 1 to 2.

Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople vowed that DMW and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration “will continue to assist affected OFW passengers until all flight schedules have been rebooked and are on track.”

READ: Airport glitch brings to light 2012 order on passenger rights

But aside from the government, Salo said that even private recruitment agencies should already coordinate and inform their foreign counterparts about the situation while noting that the problem is out of the OFWs’ hands.

“Private recruitment agencies should immediately coordinate with their foreign counterparts or foreign employers to provide updates on the flight status of affected OFWs. Manning agencies should likewise undertake the same measure with their foreign principals concerning affected seafarers,” he said.

“I also call on the other agencies of the government to ensure that the needs of our OFWs and other passengers are necessarily provided for while they are stranded in our airports,” he added.

This is not the first time a House lawmaker has urged the government to assist stranded passengers. On Monday, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said in a separate statement that the CAAP should already classify the technical glitch as a “safety reason” to make full reimbursement an option for passengers.

Salceda explained that under the Joint Administrative Order No. 1, series of 2012 of the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Department of Trade and Industry, passengers would have the right to be reimbursed for the full value of their fare if the CAAP certifies that the flight cancelations were caused by “force majeure, safety and/or security reasons.”

READ: Salceda: After flight glitches, gov’t should offer full refund

CAAP and Transportation officials explained on Sunday night that the flight delays and cancellations were caused by both the commercial and backup uninterruptible power supply (UPS) of the CNS/ATM not functioning.

The CNS/ATM allows control towers to communicate with planes to manage traffic in the Philippine airspace. According to CAAP Director General (ret.) Capt. Manuel Tamayo, one of the blowers of the main power supply, conked out, leading them to switch to the backup UPS.

However, it also malfunctioned when they tried to switch to the standby power supply.