By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Suddenly the “New Zealand Dream” for more than 700 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) became a nightmare when they unexpectedly lost jobs before Christmas last year and good thing the Department of Migrant Workers is now providing financial assistance to them to tide over the crisis.

Maharlika NuMedia gathered that the OFWs found themselves jobless when ELE, described by the New Zealand government as a “skilled labor hire agency in the construction and manufacturing sector,” shut down unannounced just four days before Christmas.

“Yung DMW po very proactive yung stance dito. You know pa dati nangyari na po ito sa [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] so agad-agad nakipag-ugnayan tayo sa counterpart natin — yung [Migrant Workers Office] natin nakatutok,” DMW Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan said.

She disclosed that 107 affected OFWs have already received 1,050 New Zealand dollars (around P36,000) with another 72 set to receive the same.

“Hindi lang po ‘yan ‘yung financial na assistance is just one thing — ang importante po sa kababayan natin ay magkaroon pa rin sila ng trabaho diyan sa New Zealand,” Caunan said.

She said that “several employers” have reached out to the MWO saying they are interested in hiring the displaced Filipino workers.

“So kami naman po kung ganyan kaganda yung intention ng employer sa New Zealand, ipa-facilitate po namin yan lalo na kung makakatulong na magkakaroon ng trabaho doon,” she said.

The MWO in New Zealand has also reached out to various employers in the country to accommodate the displaced Filipino workers.

The OFWs lamented that ELE initially promised to pay their remaining salary but “until now” there was no news of when this would happen.

It was learned that most of the OFWs had not even been in New Zealand for more than a year.

(el Amigo/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — With almost nil threat of the Covid-19 virus, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has observed that overseas employment for Filipinos returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

On Thursday, DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency issued some 2.5 million overseas employment certificates (OECs) and passes to OFWs last year.

“By and large, talagang bumalik sa pre-pandemic levels and more ang overseas employment ng ating mga mahal na OFWs, 2.5 million ang overseas employment certificates and passes ang na-issue ng ating mga tauhan…para magkaroon, mag-facilitate ng mga trabaho ng mga OFWs,” the DMW OIC said in a public briefing.

Cacdac credited the efforts of the late former DMW Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople for reducing the time needed to process the OECs from the previous 30 days to only one or two weeks.

At the same time, there has been efficient provision of assistance to distressed OFWs.

“Of course, iyong ating pagbubukas ng merkado sa Saudi after a deployment ban ay nagbigay-daan din sa restoration of Saudi-Philippines bilateral labor relations na nagbigay ng empleyo sa higit-kumulang na mga 90,000 OFWs na nagtungo sa Saudi Arabia,” Cacdac noted.

(El Amigo/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Showing compassion in line with the spirit of Christmas, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Monday (18 December 2023), distributed P55,000 to each of the abused Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who arrived from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Those with children received an additional P5,000.

Maharlika NuMedia learned that the 50 OFWs were recipients of financial assistance from the government’s “Pamaskong Salubong 2023” program.

The “Pamaskong Salubong” is a yearly program of the government as a way of showing appreciation for the OFWs’ contribution to the country.

One of these distressed OFWs was Jeanie Banaag, 44, who experienced maltreatment during her three months in Riyadh.

She claimed that her employer did not give her food and locked her inside the house.

This compelled Banaag to seek help from the Philippine Embassy which immediately took action and helped her get home.

With her harrowing experience, Banaag remarked that she would no longer work abroad and would try to make ends meet in the Philippines for her child.

Even the vacationing migrant workers were also welcomed by a choir and received loot bags from the “Pamaskong Salubong” program.

(ai/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Good news for those who want to work abroad as the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has bared that the Czech Republic and Austria have struck an agreement with the Philippines for the sustainable recruitment of 5,000 to 10,000 skilled workers.

The DMW said in exchange for Filipino healthcare workers, these countries will sponsor scholarships for Filipino students to ensure an adequate number of skilled workers in the country.

On the other hand, the Ambassador of Italy expressed his country’s interest in accepting more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“We might have more and more Filipino and Filipina nurses in Italy, but also in other kinds of sectors even more professional than that. Even engineers,” Italian ambassador Marco Clemente said.

According to DMW, it has spoken to Hungarian labor officials who have offered “world-class” benefits that include housing for qualified OFWs in the manufacturing, agricultural, and hospitality sectors.

“Gusto din nila tumulong (They want to help) to ensure that there will be more Filipino workers, not only for Austria but for the Philippines, so nandyan yung mga scholarship, yung mga training,” DMW Undersecretary for Policy and International Cooperation Attorney Patricia Yvonne Caunan quipped.

She added that Germany would also like to accommodate non-healthcare workers in their triple-win agreement with the Philippines.

“Ang maganda dito, as you know, yung mga opportunity dito. Hindi lamang sa ating workers, pati na para sa mga pamilya nila,” Caunan revealed.

The DMW advised interested applicants not to fall prey to scammers and to always check their list of available job orders via their website.

(ai/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

FOLLOWING THE STATEMENT of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia assured him that the settlement of the unpaid salaries of some 10,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) was already being processed, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac on Wednesday said they will continue following up its release.

To recall, in November last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman committed to allocate some 2 billion riyals for the unpaid salaries of some 10,000 overseas Filipinos employed by construction companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016.

“From our talks with our own counterparts there…we were also informed that the Ministry of Finance is on board to take care of the financial matters because this would involve disbursement of funds,” Cacdac disclosed when interviewed on CNN Philippines.

Migrante Philippines chair Arman Hernando had proposed  that the government advance the unpaid salaries while awaiting the money transfer from the Saudi government.

“Kung talagang seryoso sila na ibigay na ‘yung unpaid salaries ng mga Saudi OFWs – matagal na nga po naming panawagan diyan eh – abonohan muna nila…. Sinasabi ni Pangulong Marcos na pinahahalagahan niya ang sakripisyo ng ating mga OFWs. Eh di unahin na nilang bayaran, at i-reimburse na lang nila kapag nagbayad ang Saudi Arabia sa kanila,” Hernando said earlier.

Last March, the DMW said it would provide P10,000 in aid to each worker waiting for the Saudi government to fulfill its promise.

Maharlika NuMedia learned that the promised funding to the OFWs would come from the DMW which has a budget of P15.8 billion for 2023 and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“It’s just hard to pin down a timeline at this point because the Saudi processes still continue. In principle, we respect the Saudi processes, and at the same time we’ll continue to persist in terms of coordination and follow-ups with the Saudi government,” Cacdac explained.

(ai/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

PRESENCE OF MIND must have saved the lives of two overseas Filipino workers when they hid inside a “safe room” amid the fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants who made a surprise attack on Israel early Saturday morning but five OFWs are still missing.

This developed as the Department of Migrant Workers (DMWz) said on Monday at least one Filipino was injured following a massive offensive by Hamas against Israel.

“We know of one who got injured in the process of rescue. He got shot in the arm, and grazed by a bullet. But he is not in a life-threatening situation, he is in a hospital,” DMW officer-in-charge Hans Leo Cacdac said in an interview with ANC’s “Dateline.”

He added that the DMW helped at least 25 OFWs and their families move to safer ground in Israel after the Hamas militant group launched its surprise early Saturday.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Israel Pedro Laylo Jr. said Israeli authorities were able to locate two of the seven Filipinos who were earlier reported to be unaccounted for.

“Actually lima na lang (ang unaccounted), ‘yung dalawa bale noong nag-clearing operations ‘yung IDF [Israel Defense Forces] may dalawa na nakita sila,” the envoy said in his interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

He added that Philippine authorities continue to coordinate with their counterparts in Israel to ensure the safety of Filipinos and locate those who have remained unaccounted for.

But the OFWs in Gaza refused to be repatriated at the moment, according to OWWA Administrator Arnell Ignacio

.Around 200 OFWs are braving the retaliatory Israeli airstrikes that have flattened some residential buildings in the Gaza Strip. (ai/mnm)