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By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
Senate President Manuel Villar expressed alarm
Wednesday that 4,770 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are in jail in
63 foreign countries, as he pressed for the passage of a P1-billion
Assistance to Nationals fund to assist OFWs in distress.
“In whatever altitude, time zone or climate,
except for Antarctica, there is a Filipino in jail there,” he
said.
He feared that the number of jailed OFWs could
even be bigger as some Philippine diplomatic posts were vague in
their reports.
“The increased funding is a small safety net
that we can put up compared to the $14.45 billion that OFWs remitted
through formal channels alone last year,” he said.
Villar said most of those jailed had violated
immigration laws. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) estimated
that of the 7,945,751 overseas Filipinos as of June 2007, some
444,000 were undocumented.
“The undocumented OFWs are candidates for
legal problems and their tribe will grow as more Filipino flee
poverty at home and the possibility of jail will not deter them,”
he said.
He added that a big number of cases stemmed from
cultural reasons.
“Believe it or not, one Pinay was charged with
sending out a malicious text message,” he said.
He noted that the rest were charged with or
convicted of violations of the penal code.
“In India, a ship captain was caught smuggling
oil. In China, a Filipina was caught while working as a drug mule.
In one country, almost all of the Filipinas were in jail for alleged
adultery,” he said.
Malaysia has the most number of Filipinos in
jail with 1,600, followed by Japan with 734; Qatar, 554; US, 406;
and Abu Dhabi, 198.
Villar proposed a “replenishable” P1-billion
fund as he noted the inadequate funding to help OFWs in distress. He
said the fund will come from appropriations, the internal income of
the DFA from passport and consular fees, and membership fees of the
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Abused female OFWs
Earlier, Sen. Loren Legarda filed a resolution
urging the Senate Committee on Labor headed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
to inquire into the cases of two female OFWs, one of whom was held
hostage and raped by her employer and four others in Saudi Arabia,
and the other believed to have been murdered in Kabd desert in
Kuwait.
Legarda said the woman held hostage in Saudi
Arabia had called her husband to report that she had been raped by
her employer and four of his friends, one of whom even videotaped
it.
“Her relatives have asked Philippine
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Antonio Villamor in a letter dated May
21, the ambassador has yet to give a reply,” she said.
But while the OFW in Saudi Arabia is still
alive, the second Filipina identified as Fatima Sagadan Maulana is
dead, probably murdered on May 9 after she was allegedly raped.
Kuwaiti authorities discovered her decomposing
body on May 16. The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait has already
contracted the services of private counsel to help ensure protection
of the rights of the victim in the ensuing probe. A suspect had
already been arrested and charged.
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