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[av_heading heading=’EDITORIAL | OFWs in distress’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
Ni Ime Sornito
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Wednesday, June 21, 2017
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IT IS NOT infrequent that we hear sad stories of wrongly-accused overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Some are pardoned. Others eventually convicted and sentenced to die. Thus one news the other day was such a relief. Overseas worker Jennifer Dalquez was saved from the death row in the United Arab Emirates.
She was sentenced to death in May 2015, one year after she accidentally killed her employer who allegedly tried to rape her. The other day, a UAE court acquitted her of the crime of murder. Thanks to our Department of Foreign Affairs, she was extended all the necessary assistance.
Dalquez, however, was convicted of the crime of stealing a cellphone and for this she was sentenced to five years in prison less the number of days she already spent in jail.
How many Filipinos in the Middle East are languishing in jails? They have been charged with various offenses, ranging from petty crimes such as theft and illegal entry, to serious crimes like murder and drug trafficking. This is an added burden to our embassies and consular offices whose function is primarily for maintaining diplomatic relations.
In the 1990s, the country was shocked by the story of Flor Contemplacion, the domestic helper who was accused – and later convicted and hanged – of killing her ward and a fellow DH in Singapore. Her case opened our eyes to a necessity: OFWs with legal troubles ought to be extended legal assistance. Over two decades after Contemplacion was guillotined, many OFWs continue to be convicted and sentenced to die; some of them were executed and some of them were lucky to have their death sentences commuted; others were granted pardon.
The Dalquez case should serve as a reminder to our government to make a systematic and rationalized OFW assistance programs. In coordination with the DFA, the Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration are tasked to actively ensure the welfare of our global workers.
We have many sensational cases in Middle Eastern countries where many Filipinos are jailed because of trumped up charges, or committed acts in self-defense. We should not leave them alone.
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