Repatriation of 1 OFW held, 4 on way home
THE Philippine Embassy is Riyadh is working on the repatriation of overseas Filipino worker Jose Jonathan Botor Bigas who had finished serving his prison sentence more than a year ago for a drug-related offense in Saudi Arabia.
Bigas who was sentenced to a year in jail and 250 lashes in August 2007 finished serving his sentence in August 2008. Embassy officials said he was scheduled to be repatriated last month but due to administrative procedures between the Saudi court and the Governor’s Office, he remained at the Dammam Reformatory Jail. Embassy officials, who have requested the Department of Foreign Affairs to disburse funds for Bigas’ repatriation, have asked concerned Saudi authorities to inquire into this matter.
Meanwhile, Makati mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay played savior to five female OFWs who had been stranded in Malaysia for more than a month by taking care of their plane tickets home.
One of the OFW’s, Salome Arboleda, arrived home over the weekend and personally thanked Binay at his office Tuesday, saying that if not for the latter’s generosity, they may still be waiting for a ride home until now.
Binay, who is running for vice president in 2010 in the slate of former President Joseph Estrada, also took care of the plane fare of Arboleda’s fellow OFWs –Florida Concepcion, Frieda Samson, Ella Romano and Nora Goliata. The papers of the four are still being processed by the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
Binay heard about the five women’s plight while in the Malaysian capital to attend the Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Conference where he sits as chairman. He said the five were among the 45 OFWs forced to stay at the country’s embassy in Malaysia because of problems with their documentation and the lack of money to buy plane tickets. "Most Filipinos in Malaysia run into trouble for overstaying and for not having the proper papers required by Malaysian immigration authorities. There are those who have been abused by employers who refuse to pay their salaries, and there were cases of rapes," Binay said.
He echoed the concern of various advocacy groups on the lack of control by labor authorities on illegal recruitment and the recent calamities that could increase the number of Filipinos being duped into bogus jobs in Malaysia and other destinations. – Ashzel Hachero