Press Release March 1, 2025 Sen. Raffy visits MWO, embassy shelter in Riyadh Amid the Senate recess, Senate Committee on Migrant Workers Chairperson Sen. Raffy Tulfo conducted an ocular inspection at the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) office and embassy shelter known as "Bahay Kalinga 2" in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was welcomed by Labor Attache Antonio Mutuc Jr. along with the entire MWO staff. Sen. Idol praised the organized and systematic setup of the office, just like the Grievance Processing Center. However, he still gave suggestions to further improve their service to OFWs who come to the office. Mutuc, for his part, thanked Sen. Raffy for the support he has given to the Department of Migrant Workers, saying their office continues to benefit from it. Mutuc cited how Tulfo earlier proposed to hire local Arab lawyers for the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN), budget of which came from the AKSYON fund which the Senator supported during the Senate budget deliberations. Because of this, Tulfo said the defense of OFWs who have legal problems becomes easier, faster and more effective. Tulfo was also happy to learn from Mutuc that recently, an OFW on death row was acquitted because an Arab lawyer handled the person's case. The OFW was found to be innocent and was merely setup. "Bagamat mayroon pang 23 Pilipino na may iba't-ibang kaso na kasalukuyang nasa piitan sa Riyadh, umaasa ako na kalaunan ay makakalaya at mapapauwi na sila," he said. "Ilan sa 23 ay may kasong theft. At gaya ng aking duda noon pa man, marami sa kanila ay mga domestic helpers na tumatakas dahil hindi na nila makayanan ang hindi magandang trato ng kanilang mga amo kaya sila ay binabalikan at ginagawan ng kwento," he added. Meanwhile, Tulfo also praised the management of Bahay Kalinga, a refuge for OFWs who are victims of abuse by their employers and those who have pending cases in Saudi courts, such as pregnancy outside of marriage. Tulfo noticed that the shelter has complete facilities to cater to OFWs - it has rooms, a kitchen, and a food pantry that Social Welfare Attache Rosemarie Fabros Alvez said was restocked once a week. It also had a supply of diapers and milk for the children. However, Sen. Idol noticed that the shelter's pantry was mostly stocked with sardines, so he immediately obliged Mutuc to add other canned goods even though these were only for emergency food when they ran out of fresh meat. Idol Raffy also noticed some old air condition units in the shelter's rooms, prompting him to tell Mutuc that they should be replaced with new units because it could really be hard for OFWs especially during the summer, which the Labor Attache immediately agreed to do. Lastly, Tulfo thanked the Saudi government for the ongoing mutual cooperation between Saudi and the Philippines on the matters concerning OFWs. Sen. Raffy, binista ang MWO office at embassy shelter sa Riyadh Ngayon na naka-recess ang Senado, nagsagawa ng ocular inspection si Senate Committee on Migrant Workers Chairperson Sen. Idol Raffy Tulfo sa Migrant Workers Office (MWO) at embassy shelter na kilala bilang "Bahay Kalinga 2" sa Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sinalubong siya ni Labor Attache Antonio Mutuc Jr. kasama ang buong staff ng MWO. Natuwa naman si Sen. Idol dahil organisado at systematic ang setup ng opisina ng MWO, gaya na lamang sa Grievance Processing Center nila. Gayunpaman, mayroon pa siyang mga suwestiyon para mas lalong mapaganda pa ang kanilang serbisyo sa mga dumudulog na OFWs. Sa kabilang banda, nagpasalamat naman si Mutuc kay Sen. Raffy dahil sa mga suportang ibinibigay niya sa Department of Migrant Worksrs at aniya, isa sila sa mga nakikinabang nito ngayon, tulad na lamang ng kanyang iminungkahi noon na maghire ng mga arabong lawyers para sa mga Assistance-to-Nationals, na ang pondo ay nagmula sa Aksyon Fund na kanyang sinuportahan sa mga nakaraang Senate budget deliberations. Dahil dito sinabi ni Idol na mas napapadali, napapabilis at mas nagiging epektibo ang pagdedepensa sa OFWs natin na nagkakaroon ng legal problems. Kanyang labis na ikinatuwa rin nang malaman mula kay Mutuc na kamakailan lamang ay isang OFW na nasa death row ang na-acquit dahil sa pagkakaroon ng abogadong arabo na humawak ng kaniyang kaso. Lumitaw na ang na-acquit ay inosente at na-setup lamang. Umaasa si Sen. Idol na bagamat mayroon pang 23 Pilipino na may iba't-ibang kaso na kasalukuyang nasa piitan sa Riyadh, kalaunan ay makakalaya at mapapauwi na rin sila. "Bagamat mayroon pang 23 Pilipino na may iba't-ibang kaso na kasalukuyang nasa piitan sa Riyadh, umaasa ako na kalaunan ay makakalaya at mapapauwi na sila," saad niya. Sinabi rin niya na ilan sa 23 ay may kasong theft. "At gaya ng kanyang duda noon pa man, marami sa kanila ay mga domestic helpers na tumatakas dahil hindi na nila makayanan ang hindi magandang trato ng kanilang mga amo, kaya sila ay binabalikan at ginagawan ng kwento." Sa kabilang banda, pinuri ni Sen. Tulfo ang maayos na pamamalakad sa Bahay Kalinga na takbuhan ng mga OFWs na biktima ng pang-aabuso ng kanilang employers at ng mga may pending cases pa sa Saudi court, tulad ng pregnancy outside of marriage. Napansin ni Idol na kumpleto ang pasilidad ng shelter - may mga kwarto, kitchen, at food pantry ito na ayon kay Social Welfare Attache Rosemarie Fabros Alvez ay nire-restock isang beses sa isang linggo. Mayroon din itong supply ng mga diaper at gatas para sa mga bata. Pero napuna ni Sen. Idol na ang mga naka-stock sa pantry ng shelter ay halos puro sardinas lamang, kaya agad niyang inobliga si Mutuc na dagdagan ang canned goods ng corned beef o luncheon meat tulad ng Spam kahit pa ang mga ito ay pang-emergency food lamang kapag naubusan ng fresh meat na ihahain sa mesa. Sinita rin ni Idol Raffy ang ilang air condition units sa mga kwarto sa shelter dahil luma at nabubulok na ang mga ito. Sinabihan ni Sen. Idol si Mutuc na dapat ay palitan na ang mga ito ng bagong units dahil kawawa ang mga kababayan natin lalo na kapag summer, na agad namang sinang-ayunan ng Labor Attache. Nagpapasalamat si Sen. Tulfo sa Saudi government dahil sa nagaganap na mutual cooperation sa pagitan ng Saudi at Pilipinas sa usaping OFWs. |
Thursday, July 17
|