Labor exec denies operating embassy sex ring

MANILA, Philippines - After being accused of operating a prostitution ring victimizing distressed Filipina workers in Jordan, former labor attaché Mario Antonio showed up yesterday to deny the accusation and made an appeal that he not be judged.

“I vehemently deny the accusations being hurled against me. This has been gravely affecting me and my family so I decided to come here to give my side,” Antonio told reporters at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) office in Pasay City.

“I’m asking for your understanding. I appeal to you not to judge me and just wait for the results of the investigation. I hope that you will respect my rights,” he said.

OWWA administrator Carmelita Dimzon sat next to Antonio when he issued the denial. He declined to answer questions, saying he did not want to preempt the investigation.

He said he would give his side in greater detail at a “proper forum.” He excused himself after delivering his statement, leaving Dimzon to answer questions from reporters.

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bellow accused Antonio and other embassy staff of currying sexual favors from female OFWs or pimping them to foreigners in exchange for a return flight to the Philippines.

Also named by Bello in the alleged sex-for-repatriation anomaly were Blas Marquez, a contractual employee of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuwait, and a certain Kim who is a member of the Augmentation Team of the Department of Foreign Affairs at the embassy in Damascus, Syria. According to Antonio, no complaint has been filed against him.

“I have been serving truthfully as a welfare officer in five overseas posts in the past 30 years of my service with OWWA. In my last posting, I was assigned as acting labor attaché of the POLO in Jordan and during this period I have been dedicated in protecting the welfare and rights of our fellow Filipinos there,” Antonio said.

“Because of my conviction to fight for our Filipino workers abroad, I might have made some people unhappy with what I have been doing,” he added.

Dimzon said Antonio returned to the Philippines last June 12 after the end of his tour of duty in Jordan. She denied having knowledge about reports that Antonio had been declared a persona non grata in Jordan.

“He is on leave now since he wanted to take a rest,” she added.

Dimzon said she had heard complaints against Antonio but not of the nature revealed by Bello. She did not elaborate.

“No OFW has come to us to give a statement, affidavit or complaint – even verbal – that she was asked for a sexual favor in exchange for repatriation,” Dimzon stressed.

She said the issue has affected the morale of OWWA officials and employees.

She said it is not unusual for welfare officers to get accused of misdeeds in doing their jobs.

“Just like what he (Antonio) said, it is not impossible that when you do your job, you make some people unhappy so it is likely that someone will complain against you,” she said.

She described Antonio as a “dependable welfare officer who delivers whatever task is given to him.”

“He follows without complaint or question. He is not choosy when it comes to work, he is a very dependable officer,” she maintained. 

Special task force

Despite Antonio’s denial, Bello said President Aquino should step into the case by creating a special task force or commission to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations.

He made the call after a meeting at his Batasan office with five officials of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) led by acting Secretary Rebecca Chato.

He later told reporters that he would resign as member of Congress “in protest over the inaction of labor officials” if no criminal charges were filed against Antonio and Marquez. He said a third official he identified only as Mr. Kim was even caught in an “intimate act” with a displaced Filipina worker last Jan. 1.

Bello said his DOLE informants have expressed reservations about the impartiality of the department regarding the issue.

“They fear there could be a whitewash. They also feel that witnesses would be freer to talk before an independent presidential task force or commission,” he said.

He said his DFA informants have no such doubts on the fairness of their officials investigating Mr. Kim, whom he also called Kim Guro.

Bello also proposed that a presidential body expand its inquiry “historically and geographically” to include past cases and all acts of wrongdoing, including extortion, in other countries such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

“In particular, we have information that there have been similar cases in Qatar and UAE, but these have not been resolved,” he said.

Yesterday, radio dzMM interviewed a certain “Michelle,” who claimed to have been asked by a Philippine labor officer in Saudi to sleep with him at his home instead of at the temporary shelter for distressed workers. She said other labor officers had explicitly asked to have sex with her.

She said she was offered to an Egyptian client who, instead of taking advantage of her, took pity on her and bought her a plane ticket to Manila.

Unbelievable

Bello said he was disappointed with DOLE officials’ claiming no knowledge of the irregularity before he made the exposé.

“These activities are common knowledge among embassy personnel in Jordan and Kuwait. Mr. Antonio faced similar charges in Beirut and Tokyo, while there is a Commission on Audit report on the alleged shortchanging by Mr. Marquez of Filipino workers paying for their employment certificates to the tune of P330,000 per year since 1997,” he said.

He also expressed disbelief over the officials’ statement that they could not force Marquez to fly home and face an investigation, since the latter is a “local hire.”

“They can ask the DFA to cancel his passport to force him to return home. They can file charges against him in Kuwait, if there were laws violated there,” he said.

Bello said he did not have a copy of the supposed Jordan government’s request but added that the DFA had already acknowledged that there was such communication.

He also admitted not possessing any of the sworn statements he said were executed by three witnesses to the supposed Jan. 1 incident involving DFA’s Mr. Kim.

Another party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela renewed calls for the immediate repatriation of distressed OFWs to keep them from being abused while in shelters.

“The prostitution of OFWs in distress is an offshoot of the government’s long-time neglect of our Filipino migrant workers,” Ilagan said in a statement.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, meanwhile, threatened to work for cuts in the budgets of the DFA and DOLE.

Ordered home

At the DFA, Secretary Albert del Rosario has directed the 11 Philippine ambassadors in the Middle East to come home immediately for consultation as well as discussion on the controversy.

“We need to have our ambassadors participate in the fact-finding initiatives that the DFA has started. We need to find ways to collectively encourage victims and witnesses to come forward and submit formal complaints and testimonies,” DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez said yesterday.

Hernandez did not name the 11 diplomats who are expected to arrive over the weekend.

The Department of Budget and Management, for its part, said social welfare attachés would be deployed in six areas abroad to ensure the protection of OFWs.

Under the proposal drafted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the six social welfare attachés will be stationed in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Hong Kong, South Korea and Qatar.

These countries have been identified as having the largest concentration of migrant Filipinos, and where many of them are in crisis situations.

“The deployment of social welfare ambassadors will go a long way in safeguarding the well-being of our workers abroad and giving them immediate aid, even if they’re thousands of miles away from home,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay appealed yesterday for greater cooperation between the Church and the government and other relevant institutions in  safeguarding the welfare of  the families of OFWs.

He made the appeal in a speech delivered before the Asian Working Group of the International Catholic Migration Commission. Binay is presidential adviser on OFWs. – With Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Aurea Calica, Pia Lee-Brago, Jose Rodel Clapano, Christina Mendez