Binay wants all OFW repatriates interviewed

abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines - Vice-President Jejomar Binay is requiring all repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to be interviewed once they arrive in the Philippines.

Binay, who is the chairman of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), issued the order after discovering that a recent repatriate from Syria had used falsified travel documents.

"Our OVP (Office of the Vice President) staff noticed that a female worker who looked suspiciously very much younger than her declared age. The passport she presented said she was in her 30s, but when she was interviewed, she admitted that the passport she was using wasn’t hers,” Binay said, in a statement.

The IACAT will conduct regular interviews of repatriates, as it tries to build its own database of Filipinos who were repatriated and off-loaded. Binay said this would allow them to identify recruitment agencies, government officials and personnel who are possibly involved in human trafficking.

"It would also help establish a possible pattern of deployment being done by illegal recruiters and trafficking syndicates, minimize re-victimization of Filipino irregular OFWs, minimize repatriation costs," he said.

Last January 13, there were 73 repatriates from Syria who arrived in the country, but only 8 were regular workers. It was discovered that most of the women had tampered passports. Ten females admitted to using assumed identities.

"During the interviews, we also found out that all 73 women were not able to receive the actual salaries promised to them. Even the eight regular/documented OFWs did not receive the agreed salaries. Sixty of them were subjected to unfair labor and exploitation. They were victims of sexual, physical and verbal abuses not only by their employers but by the agency personnel based in Syria," Binay said.

The IACAT has started implementing new guidelines on departures for international-bound Filipino passengers in all airports and seaports.