MANILA, Sept. 7, 2011— Troubled Filipino workers abroad would normally ask help from the Church and not in embassies which are tasked to do the job for them, a labor group said.
Church-People Workers Solidarity (CWS) spokesman Gary Martinez said many beleaguered overseas Filipino workers (OFW) have already lost their trust on official government representatives.
“The sad thing here is that they are supposed to be the alter ego of the government but they are the ones lowering the morals of our OFWs,” he said.
“So Filipinos are supposed to choose, they will go first to the Church and to the non-government organizations,” said Martinez, who also chairs the Migrante International, a migrants’ watchdog.
For instance, he cited one incident, where a Filipina reported to the embassy that she was raped but was instead chided by Filipino officials.
He said he, himself, was a recipient of a rude treatment from Philippine embassy officials.
According to Martinez, embassies are hesitant to side with the Filipinos to avoid problems in the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the host countries.
“First, is because of the labor export policy of our government. They are afraid the host country might stop hiring workers,” he said. [CBCPNews]
