MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / June 19, 2013) – Filipina workers abroad who are victims of sexual abuse by some Philippine embassy and labor officials said they are willing to testify against their abusers provide the government assure their safety and security, according to Migrante.
The Filipino migrants’ rights group said several of the victims are now ready to give their statement to back their claims against erring officials.
“Today, an OFW victim along with two others conveyed to us that they will issue an affidavit and will file a complaint if Philippine authorities could assure their safety and provide security upon return to the Philippines,” Migrante vice chairman John Leonard Monterona said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
This prompted Monterona to call on the Aquino government to provide the necessary assistance to the victims and assure their safety amid allegations of sexual abuses on distressed Filipina overseas workers by some officials in exchange of airfare for their repatriation and for sustenance while at the Philippine embassy shelters.
Monterona, also Migrante’s coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa, said they welcome Rep. Walden Bello’s call for an investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of Filipina workers in Jordan, Kuwait, and Syria.
Bello heads the special Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs who exposed what he branded as “sex-for-flight” modus operandi allegedly by some Philippine embassy and labor officials in those counties.
“We welcome the calls to probe the sexual abuses allegation against embassy and labor officials. This is not new anymore as we have been reporting this many years ago; about Philippine officials who are taking advantage of the distressed women OFWs at Philippine shelters and pimping them in exchange for money so that they can buy an airplane tickets for their repatriation,” Monterona said.
He said sexual advances and abuses among distressed Filipina workers in the Middle East have been a common knowledge among the Filipino communities.
“It is a disgrace that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment, and even Malacanang are not seriously acting to stop these criminals occupying positions at various Philippine posts abroad,” he said.
Monterona also cited numerous cases of sexual abuses on distressed Filipino workers involving embassy employees and officials.
He said one Filipina worker, who accused an embassy driver of sexual abuse, said: “Hindi ko po alam ang intension niya pero nakakaranas po kami ng pangha-harass mula sa kanya tulad ng panghihipo, nanunusok siya ng tagiliran, humahawak siya ng titan, nangingiliti at nangyayakap at marami pa pong iba.”
Another woman said that she was also a victim of abuse by a labor official and that she had been threatened if she reports this to authorities, according to Monterona.
“Nagulat na lang po ako ng bigla po niya akong yakapin at pinaghahalikan sa bibig at itinaas po niya ang damit ko,” she told Monterona.
Monterona said other Filipina women were forced to flee from the embassy after officials ordered them to “entertain” some clients in exchange for money.
“We are urging the victims to formally file complaints against their abusers. The culprits must be sent to jail. The Philippine government must put an end to the sexual abuses on our distressed Filipina women by some criminal elements working in various embassies and labor offices abroad,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said he has already recalled the Philippine ambassadors and labor officials from Jordan, Kuwait and Syria who were implicated in the alleged sexual abuse and harassment of Filipina migrant workers.
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