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By Michael Paolo Jamias, Contributor
The Philippine Embassy in Rome, Italy, through
Ambassador Philippe J. Lhuillier, has successfully negotiated the
release and repatriation of five contract workers allegedly abused
by employers in neighboring Albania.
The workers were deployed in December to work at
a restaurant gas station in Patos, an industrial city about 250
kilometers south of Tirana, the Albanian capital. They complained of
verbal abuse, being on-call without any day off from work, and
movement restrictions as they can only roam inside their
accommodation premises.
The father of one worker pleaded for their
immediate repatriation and sought the help of the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Upon verifying the plight of the workers,
Philippe J. Lhuillier, Philippine Ambassador to Italy, Albania and
San Marino, sent Assistance-to-Nationals Officer Antonio Villar and
Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan to check on the workers and deliver to
them basic necessities prior to repatriation.
Villar and Roldan secured the workers’ release
after negotiating with the employer and finalizing an agreement with
the Albanian Labor Ministry. The workers arrived at Ninoy Aquino
International Airport on June 8.
Lhuillier, in the diplomatic service for nearly
a decade, said the recent rescue shows the dedication of Philippine
Embassy staff in advancing the interests of OFWs under their care.
Italy-based OFWs also won their struggle to stop
POEA’s implementation of the controversial Memorandum Circular No.
4, Series of 2007 on direct hiring. The Embassy staff immediately
made steps to exempt Filipinos residing in Italy from the said
memorandum, corresponding with the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration, Department of Labor and Employment, and DFA to air
OFW sentiments on the memorandum.
Among its achievements, the Philippine Embassy
in Rome has added a pavilion where computer education programs are
now held for Filipinos who want to learn information technology. It
also launched recently an informative and up-to-date website
www.philippineembassy-rome.com where OFWs can post questions and
queries on the website.
The DFA staff also facilitated the improvement
of Social Security Service (SSS) housing loans for OFWs. “We were
able to extend the SSS housing loan amnesty by another year (till
May 1), lower the applicable interest rates, and extend the loan
term to a maximum of 30 years,” said Lhuillier.
The DFA has also lowered the cost of passport
from 65 to only 40 euros, aside from the certificates and notarial
fees lowered from 32.50 euros to 20 euros.
The interest for Pag-ibig housing loan has also
been lowered to 7 percent per annum for loans below P750,000, and 10
percent for loans P750,000 and above.
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