A PETITION FOR CLARIFICATION OF ISSUES AND TO APPEAL FOR CHANGES TO CURRENT POEA AND OWWA PRACTICES WHICH AFFECT OFWs IN BRUNEI AND WORLDWIDE
A Petition is being made to the President of the Philippines, His Excellency Benigno Aquino III and the Vice-President Jejomar Binay in his capacity as the designated minister looking into the issue of welfare of Filipino Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs).
The Petition shall include the following points:
1) A review of the practice of making (i.e., forcing) OFWs to get overseas exit clearance (OEC) whenever they visit the Philippines. It is prayed that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), POEA and OWWA
- clarify the rationale behind the OEC as to why it is being imposed on vacationing OFWs
- justify what and how much charges are involved
- reveal who determines the fees, and
- enlighten us at to where the collected money goes (Has it ever been audited?).
2) The issue of OWWA membership which is supposed to be voluntary on the part of OFWs but is being used as a prerequisite to the issuance of the OEC (The current practice is - No OWWA membership, No OEC. No OEC, the OFW is denied boarding on his/her return flight.)
3) The seemingly high cost of consular services at the Philippine Embassy here in Brunei and why no proper official receipts are issued for certain fees collected (only cash register printouts are given) .
4) Why is it that no proper records were collected and kept on individual OFWs for so many years and then suddenly such records are supposed to be updated now to comply with a recently passed Law? But then, the updating process requires submission of documents already submitted earlier for a costly contract “authentication exercise”! Also the update will again carry a stiff fee to be paid by the OFW! In this day and age of computers, this OFW database should have been in existence long ago and simply updated and maintained over the years. Why do OFWs have to pay for this exercise? It should be funded in the general appropriations.
5) An appeal to review and repeal many predatory policies and practices of POEA and OWWA that burdens OFWs who suffer such practices in silence (and anger!) mistakenly believing that the Government, through the abovementioned agencies, can do what it pleases and that dissent will result in “getting into unnecessary trouble” so the majority simply pay in their eagerness to come home.
These issues are talked about in local OFW circles and lots of anger and resentment have been aired but no official complaint has been submitted so far.
These practices are in existence for such a long time that many billions of pesos must have been collected over more than two decades. OWWA funds especially are supposed to be for the benefit and welfare of OFWs but is it really being used that way? The burning question is “where is the money and who are benefiting from it?” Is it not against the charter of the OWWA to use the funds for other purposes? Is the President allowed to divert that money in contravention of the said charter?
Can the Government and its relevant agencies, for once, begin to think of ways to help OFWs and not how to “milk our HEROES”? STOP THE ABUSE OF THE OFW!