Legarda: Don't send domestic workers to 'abusive' countries

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Loren Legarda, Senate committee on foreign relations chairperson, has called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to stop sending Filipino domestic workers to countries where a lot of abuses have been reported.

During a hearing on the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189 or the decent work for domestic workers convention at the Senate Thursday, Legarda said the government should take steps to protect Filipino domestic workers, almost all of whom are women, from being subjected to abuse at the hands of their employers.

“Maybe we should stop sending to those countries that have been mistreating Filipino domestic workers,” Legarda said.

The ILO Convention 189 was adopted by the general convention of the ILO on June 16, 2011 and was signed by President Aquino last May 18. In a letter to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Aquino called on the Senate to ratify the treaty soon.

Legarda said she is ready to sponsor the Convention in plenary when the legislative sessions resume next month.

During Thursday’s hearing, Legarda asked the DOLE and the DFA to provide her committee with a list of the top five countries with the most number of recorded abuses on Filipino domestic workers.

Outgoing DFA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said the department will provide Legarda with a list of the 10 countries with the most number of cases involving domestic workers.

“It is the number of cases and not necessarily abuses. The indicator there is the number of cases filed against OFWs. Indication of problems that our OFWs are facing in these countries,” he said.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) head Hans Cacdac also provided a list of five countries with the most number of violations involving OFWs: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Qatar and Kuwait.

Cacdac said the POEA and the DFA are in the process of negotiating with these countries for the institution of several measures that would protect the OFWs from unscrupulous recruiters.

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay lauded yesterday an agreement signed by the Philippines and United States, wherein the two government will coordinate to ensure that OFWs are well-informed on US health, safety and wage laws.