In a privilege speech, Trade Union Congress Party Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza also urged the House of Representatives to investigate the death of Romelyn Eroy Ibañez, 22, who was found almost lifeless in her employer's kitchen last September 10 by the Saudi police.
Ibañez, who was hired as a nursing aide for a medical polyclinic but ended up as a household worker in Saudi Arabia, later died after she was allegedly forced to drink sulfuric acid. She also bore knife wounds in her neck, abdomen and wrists.
Mendoza asked why Ibañez was deployed although she was only 22 when Philippine laws require a minimum age of 23 for overseas domestic work.
Mendoza called for the creation of a team composed of the DOLE Undersecretary and trade union and civil society representatives to look into the POEA's rules and regulations.
Mendoza likewise stressed the need to bolster the legalization of undocumented Filipino workers and for a more intensive crackdown on illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
"There is a darker side to overseas employment, where job applicants are recruited with false promises, made to sign contracts and become the subjects of abuse, exploitation and even cold-blood killings," Mendoza said.
Meanwhile, Mendoza said he will oppose any move to slash the budget of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), branding the cost-cutting at the expense of OFWs as "bad policy... inhumane, unjust, untimely and even anti-Filipino."
The DFA had P12.69 billion budget in 2010 but the budget was reduced to P10.98 billion for 2011. The legal assistance fund used to hire lawyers has gone down from the legally-mandated P100 million to P27.3 million.
"There are about 10 million OFWs worldwide, who remitted more than $17 billion in 2009, which is expected to hit $18 billion this year. Is this how we treat our OFWs, the saviors of our economy?" Mendoza asked.
Citing the DFA Semi-Annual Report from July to December 2009, Mendoza said there are about 6,956 Filipinos detained, under house arrest or with pending cases in court, with more than 200 Filipinos on death row worldwide.
He called on the DOLE and POEA to review their decisions on their budget and said the government should be more aggressive in forging bilateral agreements based on international labor standards.
Mendoza said it is high time that the government create more decent opportunities at home, especially for the poor and underprivileged.
He urged his fellow House Members to look deeper into the real problems of unemployment and underemployment and spearhead a no-holds barred forum with labor and trade experts to identify, once and for all, the reasons for joblessness in the country. - Melissa M. Reyes, MRS-PRIB
