31 March 2005 – Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Ruperto M. Dizon, in a report to Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo, reiterates that the Philippine Embassy in Amman remains steadfast in its efforts to provide all possible assistance to OFWs in Jordan.  As a case in point, Ambassador Dizon says that in March 2005 the Embassy assisted 15 OFWs with labor disputes against their employers in their repatriation to the Philippines.

Ambassador Dizon stresses that, contrary to media reports regarding the treatment of OFWs in Jordan, “Embassy gives priority and full attention to the problems of OFWs and utilizes to the fullest the DFA’s assistance-to-nationals (ATN) funds in facilitating the repatriation of OFWs following the relevant DFA regulations.”

Responding to allegations by an NGO on the treatment of OFWs, Ambassador Dizon declares that “no officer or staff of the Philippine Embassy in Amman compels any OFW to return to an abusive employer.”  Ambassador Dizon explains that runaway OFWs are “encouraged to continue their employment with another employer through their agent so as not to unnecessarily incur overstay penalties, as provided in the immigration regulations of Jordan, or lose leverage over their claims against their previous employer.”

The Ambassador says that there are presently 32 OFWs under the care of the Philippine Embassy, and not 50 as cited in some press reports.   Ambassador Dizon clarifies that the individual cases of these OFWs involve “complex problems brought about by their running away from their employers or not completing their contracts within the agreed period.”    “These cases,”
according to  Ambassador Dizon, “are  being thoroughly addressed by the Embassy’s ATN Section and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office by coordinating and making representations with the pertinent host government authorities before the Filipinos could be finally repatriated.”

In an earlier statement, Ambassador Dizon points out that the Philippine Embassy is providing the needed support for the OFWs staying in the Embassy’s facilities by giving them three meals a day, personal hygiene supplies and appropriate medical care as Embassy officers continue to work for the resolution of each individual labor-related case (for details please see DFA official press release no. SFA-AGR-132-05 dated 07 March 2005).  END
 

/jay