Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Nalzaro: Five Cebuanas abroad By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
FOR the unemployed and those dreaming of working abroad, consider the following as a lesson.
Five young Cebuanas earlier recruited to sing in a club in Miri City, Malaysia are now in hiding after they escaped from their Malaysian employer who allegedly forced them to work instead as guest relation officers or GRO. Among them is Precious Adel Hermias, whose relative informed me about the girls' plight in Malaysia.
I contacted Hermias yesterday morning and she narrated in my radio program their sad experience. She said a friend recruited them as singers and they left Cebu for Kota Kinabalu by plane last November. They took another plane from Kota Kinabalu to Miri City, which is part of Borneo island and three hours by plane from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
At first, Hermias and the others did sing in a club. But fellow Filipinas who arrived ahead of them warmed them to prepare for the worst because their employer will eventually force them to work as GRO and to drink with and entertain male customers. If they refused, they won't be given their salaries.
Hermias said that what her fellow Filipinas said did happen, which prompted them to escape. They initially reported their plight to the Malaysian authorities but were ignored. Fortunately, a Filipino hid them from their employer, who has sought police assistance and accused them of violating their employment contract.
I was able to contact labor attache Josephus Jimenez in Kuala Lumpur and he promised to attend to the victims. Jimenez, a Cebuano, said he will help facilitate the girls’ travel papers and provide them with air fare so they can go back to the Philippines.
Well, the plight of the five Cebuanas is just one of the many sad stories of our kababayans who dream of working abroad with the hope of freeing their family from the bondage of poverty. *** READERS’ REACTIONS. I received an e-mail from Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia reacting to my column last Monday on Gov. Gwen Garcia's decision to distance herself from media interviews.
Garcia said that his sister is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. If she reacts to media criticisms, she will be accused of being too sensitive and onion-skinned. If she does not listen to the criticisms, she will be accused of being calloused and insensitive to public opinion.
I forwarded Garcia's letter to the opinion section of this paper and I hope it will be published in full.
Another reaction came from Tony Padua of Lapu-Lapu City. He supports the governor’s decision saying that she is on the right track. The media, Padua said, has wrongly treated the governor despite her satisfactory performance especially in the Asean summit preparations.
Well, that's the beauty of democracy. We can agree to disagree.
