OWWA needs to redefine its Services

HK group hits OWWA chief on 'callous' remarks10/11/2007 06:05 PMA Hong Kong-based Filipino workers group on Thursday criticizedAdministrator Marianito Roque of the Overseas Workers WelfareAdministration (OWWA) for making what it considered as “callous" remarkson the murder of an OFW in Canada.
“Instead of showing concern for Jocelyn Dulnuan, murdered on Oct 1, Roqueused the victim’s death to castigate OFWs who failed to pay their dues toOWWA," said Dolores Balladares, chair of the United Filipinos - Hong Kong(Unifil – HK).
The HK group asked Roque to make a public apology to Dulnuan's family forhis insensitive remarks, which the group sees as OWWA’s justification fornot providing financial assistance for the repatriation of the victim'sremains.On Oct 9, GMANews.TV quoted Roque as reminding OFWs to pay theirmembership dues, saying, “We never know what could happen to us whileworking abroad," noting the case of 27-year-old Dulnuan.“Roque even wrongly depicted Dulnuan as undocumented worker for herfailure to pay her dues to OWWA even if she has a legal employmentcontract in Canada," Balladares said.Roque’s remark also gave Balladares a chance to lash at the “loopholes" inthe OWWA Omnibus Policies which, she claimed, “was secretly approved bythe agency’s board of trustees on Sept 19, 2003."Under its policies, OWWA will only help repatriate OFWs who are victims ofnatural calamities, epidemics and wars. The rule stems from Section 6 ofArticle VIII of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 (RA8042).“But government response to such situations, particularly the Lebanon Warin July and August 2006, was pathetic to say the least," she said.The OWWA failed to provide adequate help to some 30,000 Filipinos trappedin that war. Worse, she said, only 25 percent of the money used torepatriate (eventually) some 4,000 from Lebanon came from the Philippinegovernment.Balladares dared the OWWA to account for the US$293,500 (P 12,972,700)fund releases for the Philippine Middle East Preparedness Team in theUS-Iraq war in 2003.She claimed that no evacuation actually happened during that time andthere was never an audit for those funds.The group called on the congressional committee on overseas workersaffairs and the Senate to conduct an inquiry on the implementation of theOmnibus Policies of OWWA. - Luis Gorgonio, GMNews.TV