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Saturday, August 05, 2006
Arroyo to Lebanese gov't, employers: Let Pinoy workers go
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday appealed to the Lebanese government and employers of the remaining Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Lebanon to free Filipino domestic helpers.
Arroyo, who was clad in black, issued the call as she expressed indignation over the death of two Filipino workers in Lebanon who were forced to jump off the buildings where they were staying to escape from the war-torn country.
"I express the indignation and outrage of the Filipino people over this incident and I am directing our crisis team on the ground to undertake all means to protect the lives and human rights of our nationals in Lebanon," she said.
She added that many OFWs in Lebanon, most of them working as domestic helpers, have been barred by their employers from leaving prompting them to escape to join the evacuation.
The President earlier revealed that some OFWs who have recently arrived had the same experience. She said many Filipino maids in Lebanon were either left behind by their employers to watch after the house while they escaped to safer areas or even countries, while others are left in the custody of their apartment managers or relatives.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said Mary Jane Pangilinan, of Tondo, Manila, died of fracture of the vertebrae following her fall while Michelle Tomogan's heart and lungs stopped after she jumped.
The employer of Tomogan, 24, of Angono, Rizal, was a certain Joumana Saber while Pangilinan's boss was Richard Ziadeh El Hajj.
Conejos said in Tomogan's case, authorities found a bed sheet tied to her employer's balcony prompting them to believe that she was escaping.
Marianito Roque, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa), said they are now looking into the social status of the victims' families to determine if they are qualified for some compensation packages, including the "Tuloy-Aral" program wherein the schooling of their children would be sponsored by fellow OFWs. He said the victims both have children aged between two and eight years old.
Likewise, Roque said the families of the two OFWs will receive P200,000 life insurance and P20,000 burial benefits. He said the agency will also assist in the repatriation cost of the remains of Pangilinan and Tomogan back to the country.
A report showed that Pangilinan and Tomogan died last July 26 and July 28, respectively.
Ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara said they received the report on the deaths of the two OFWs only last July 29 due to "dilatory factors attending to the current crisis situation in Lebanon, including the closures of certain roads due to the Israel air strikes and the congestion of landlines and mobile networks."
He said the highly erratic schedule of local authorities also adds to the delay of the report. "The factors combined with the concentration of energy and time of embassy personnel to the continuous evacuation of OFWs on July 26, 27, 28, and 29 further caused the delay of the report," he said.
Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of Task Force Lebanon, directed those in the country affected by the armed conflict between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah militants to immediately aid OFWs who call the Philippine embassy to ask for assistance so they would not resort to rash actions.
Conejos, who just came from a teleconference at the Office of the Vice President, assured OFWs there are contingency plans in place to ensure that all Filipinos, including those who are being barred by their employers, would be taken out of Lebanon.
He said they are coordinating with Lebanese authorities led by their labor attaché and police in case some employers remain adamant against the release of OFWs. He said they will first try to negotiate first with the employers, and later raised the matter to an official level to bring in Lebanese officers.
The Owwa administrator said prior to the crisis, they had received complaints on the alleged strictness of some employers, who barred employees from leaving the houses. He said other problems are contract substitution, misinterpretation of contracts, and inability of workers to enjoy holidays, including their inability to get out of the houses.
Roque said a Philippine delegation, including Conejos, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Chief Rosalinda Baldos, and some immigration officers were supposed to leave for Beirut on July 28 but the war broke out on July 12.
President Arroyo called on Filipinos, especially those in Lebanon, to remain calm and cooperate with the crisis team. "We shall not take any chances with the lives of Filipinos in faces of danger but at the same time they must follow our bidding to leave while there is still a window of escape that is narrowing everyday," she said.
"I am personally watching the evacuation time line and our crisis team will go house to house if needed to account and verify the location of all our compatriots and inform them of the proper procedures to get out of harm's way. We have a blueprint of action and the resources needed for its implementation where everybody must cooperate and we must all act to get our acts together to make it work," she added.
Conejos said following the mass evacuation order of the President, the task force amended the contingency plan already in place to include the conduct of massive information campaign; to identify other possible relocation sites in case war escalates; and to explore other possible evacuation routes.
He said that as an internal target, they are now working on reaching at least 10,000 of the remaining OFWs in six to eight days. He said that aside from the embassy, his office and the Owwa are making calls to OFWs to get pertinent data and inform of them of the evacuation plans.
"And when I say reach, that means we have actually talked to them, told them that the President wants them (OFWs in Lebanon) home; asked them to proceed to a relocation site, if they say they don't want to go home, we tell them just in case you change your mind the relocation site is still open to them," he said.
The foreign affairs official revealed that despite the mandatory evacuation, there are still some OFWs who want to stay behind.
He said they are now trying to set up a "collection point" where Filipinos could go to be transported to a relocation site in preparation for their escape out of Lebanon. He said these collection points would be put up in Sidon for OFWs in Tyre and other parts of Southern Lebanon; in Zahle for OFWs in the eastern area, including the Bekaa Valley and the Baalbeck area; in Tripoli for those in the northern portion; and in Beirut.
He said from the collection areas they would be brought to the relocation site where they would stay until they are evacuated. He said the main route they are taking now is by traveling to the north by land to reach Syria.
Conejos said despite the Israelis bombing of the bridges in Jonüié and in Tripoli, they are not abandoning this route. He said Roy Cimatu, special envoy to the Middle East who is in Beirut, is assessing the damage in the area to determine if the route is still passable while Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, who is in Damascus, is checking the situation near the Lebanon-Syria border.
At least 450 Filipinos who were among the last batch staying in an evacuation center at the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal was scheduled to leave Beirut Friday afternoon using the route and they are not yet sure if they have already left at the time of the bombing or not.
Conjeos said they considered activating other alternative routes, including combined land and sea from Beirut to Syria, and mostly sea travel from Beirut either to Rhodes in Greece, Mersin in Turkey and Cyprus, which is the most likely route that they would take.
He said a fifth route being considered is by bringing a Philippine ship to Lebanon which would pass through the Malacca Strait, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal before reaching Beirut. The cruise, if traveling at 19 knots, is expected to reach Beirut in 14 days.
Conejos defended the last option, which he said is just an alternative and proof that "we are not discounting any options at this time, we are exploring them very, very closely."
"Unless you have other more imaginative ways of taking our people out of there. So all of these are on the table and we are actively working on it," he said.
He reiterated that the sea travel out of Beirut is possible particularly after the Greek Ship Owners' Association (GSOA) offered free transportation for OFWs to show their gratitude and appreciation to Filipino seafarers.
The Bahrain Government also offered free flight for OFWs from Damascus (Syria) to Manama (Bahrain) where the Philippine Government could pick them up for transport to Manila. This free flight is in addition to the three flights shouldered by the International Organization of Migration (IOM), which brought in at least 450 OFWs in each flight where the last is due to Manila on Saturday.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, in a press conference, announced that cash advances released by the Owwa to fund the evacuation of OFWs still stranded in Lebanon would be settled once the armed conflict in Lebanon ends.
Brion said majority of OFWs in Lebanon are undocumented and should not be entitled to the P8-billion Owwa fund "but in the meantime, we will have no quibbling as to the advancement of funds during this time of crisis."
He said that the important right now is for them to ensure the safety of all Filipinos in Lebanon and discuss later how they would recover the cash advances they released to the National Government. "It has been a very smooth operation from the evacuation point of view and there are some hinges in the funds but I hope this will not distract our goal," he also said.
Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson, head of the Owwa board, also said they will get back the cash advances once the crisis in Lebanon is over because they would be answerable to Owwa members.
"We will have to definitely reconcile the expenses for members and non-members of the agency," he said. (JMR/REC/MSN/Sunnex)
(August 5, 2006 issue)
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