While Congress is in recess, Committee on Migrant Workers Chairperson Senator 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.
Tulfo was welcomed by Labor Attache Antonio Mutuc Jr. along with the entire MWO staff.
The legislator praised the organized and systematic setup of the office, just like the Grievance Processing Center.
However, the lawmaker still gave suggestions to further improve their service to OFWs who come to the office.
Mutuc, for his part, thanked Tulfo for the support he has given to the Department of Migrant Workers, saying their office continues to benefit from it.
He 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 the AKSYON fund, the defense of OFWs who have legal problems becomes easier, faster and more effective.”
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.
“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.”
“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,” Tulfo added.
Meanwhile, he 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, Tulfo 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.
Tulfo 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.
