MANILA, Oct. 20, 2011— Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles has expressed alarm over reports that many jobless Filipinos in Saudi Arabia are selling their own blood to hospitals just to make ends meet.
At the same time, Arguelles called on the Aquino administration to seriously address the issue, which according to him, is an indication of the government’s inability to address the needs of poor Filipinos.
“It’s clear that they (government) are not providing hope within the country. This is alarming because it shows how miserable the life of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” he told church-run Radio Veritas Thursday.
“Even here in our country, many are selling their organs just to survive and earn money for their families. This is a sign of misery… that there is no (job) opportunity in the country,” said Arguelles.
According to the prelate, the government should act on the problem immediately before it is too late or before more Filipinos resort to such desperate measure.
“I hope the government would take action to this and help our OFWs in Saudi,” Arguelles added.
“Above all, to avoid these problems, let’s create more jobs here in the country,” he also said.
Migrante-Middle East earlier reported that some jobless and undocumented OFWs were forced to sell their blood to survive and send remittance to their families.
The migrant watchdog estimated that there are between 8,000 and 10,000 undocumented OFWs in Saudi Arabia. [CBCPNews]
