OWWA hit for missing OFW

The husband of a missing overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Oman assailed yesterday the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for its alleged ineptness in locating the whereabouts of his wife and their apparent lack of interest in assisting him.

Conrado Pines, 51, husband of the missing 44-year-old OFW, Mercia Cultura, also suspects that corrupt OWWA officials and their Filipino counterparts in Oman might be behind the "mysterious disappearances" of Filipino workers in the Sultanate.

"There seems to be an orchestrated effort by OWWA officials and the Filipino employees at the labor center in Oman to hide the real situation of my wife," a visibly distressed Pines told The STAR in Tagalog.

According to Pines, Mercia’s last letter was in August last year, informing him that she was staying at the Philippine labor center in Oman after running away from her cruel employer.

After more than a year without any communication from his wife, Pines sought OWWA’s Workers Assistance Division to contact the country’s labor center in Oman.

Pines said he was able to talk to a certain Jamaldin who informed him that his wife had been recruited by another employer, but refused to give its name and address.

Pines said he made several calls to Jamaldin regarding the whereabouts of his wife, until their last talk in October when Jamaldin reportedly told him to forget about his wife.

"Forget your wife, she may be no longer interested in coming back to you," Pines quoted Jamaldin as telling him in Tagalog.

According to Pines what he heard from the labor official was devastating to him. He said he could not believe that instead of reassuring him of the safety of his wife, he was even insulted by the official. – Nestor Etolle