Libya repatriation: Gov’t action ‘too little, too late’

[chua_riwap]

Sabi nga ng isang OFW na nag-walkout sa OWWA:

"Ang kumpanya namin ang nagbayad sa tiket namin, at hindi ang OWWA. Bakit parang lumalabas na sila ang tumulong sa amin?"

"Pag lapag namin sa NAIA, all that OWWA can give us is a ball cap"





http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquire...ittle-too-late

MANILA, Philippines—The government may have acted “too little, too late” in evacuating thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) out of troubled Libya, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said Sunday.

Zubiri observed that while its Asian neighbors had pulled out their nationals in the past two weeks, the Philippines had yet to organize a concrete, singular plan of action for the evacuation of thousands of Filipinos.

“It’s still chaotic for our OFWs. They have no clue where they’re supposed to go,” he said in an interview. “If we judge the response of our nation, compared with its Southeast Asian neighbors, we’re too little too late.”

Citing media reports, Zubiri said it was pitiful that the only assistance that government could give to distressed Filipinos were bus tickets to a nearby country in the early weeks of the unrest.

The first batch of displaced OFWs flew home on Saturday through the efforts of their employers, apprehensive about the fate of the thousands of their compatriots still in Libya that is wracked by protests against leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Zubiri wondered if the government had drawn up a concrete “plan of action” to repatriate the rest of the Filipinos, and if it had, who was the official in charge of this.

“What’s taking them too long to send a crisis team in the Middle East, and release more funds for the repatriation of the OFWs? OFWs are coming in in trickles. About time we try to sit down to draft a plan of action if the fighting escalates in Libya,” he said.

Who’s in charge?

By this time, the government should have designated an official in charge of the evacuation plan in the Middle East, instead of embassy officials implementing “small plans of action on the ground,” the senator said.

“We’re at a loss. Is it (Undersecretary) Esteban Conejos? Is it Secretary Albert del Rosario? Is it Vice President Jejomar Binay? Who’s the go-to guy in charge of the plan of action if trouble escalates in the Middle East? There’s no man in charge, and the plans of action are disparate,” he said.

Del Rosario quietly flew Friday night for Tunisia, joining Conejos, purportedly to oversee the repatriation of Filipino workers from Libya.

Stranded Filipinos

In Baguio City, Grail Tayab said her husband Dexter, a surveyor for an oil company in Libya, had called from an unspecified place at the border with Egypt after he was rescued by a diplomatic mission, along with 91 other Filipinos, at the Az-Zuwaytinah Terminal Tank Farm.

“He and his fellow workers were let off at the arrival area near the Egyptian border and discovered there were already 300 Filipinos stranded there. Many complained about being robbed,” she said.

Tayab said only one Philippine government representative was processing travel documents that could delay onward travel to Cairo to await a flight to Manila. “The process could take even longer,” she said.

She said her husband told her that the Filipinos were told it was uncertain if a bus would be available to bring them to Cairo.

“Their Thai colleagues were able to take the bus to Cairo already but the Filipinos are still stuck there. They were left there,” Tayab said in Filipino.

Food, blankets needed

“They have requested us, their families back home, to let the government know that if they need to stay there for a few more days, they should be supplied with food and blankets. The nights there are freezing and many of them are old. Only a few have the means to take care of themselves and they have no place to go to buy supplies,” Tayab said.

Even so, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III did not think that the government had been sluggish in moving Filipinos out of Libya.

“I don’t find it slow. I can understand the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and the executive department. They have to do a tough balancing act in order to make sure that they preserve the safety of Filipinos without necessarily hurting international ties with any of the other countries that are in turmoil,” he said in an interview.

Emergency powers

Sen. Ralph Recto, for his part, ruled out granting President Benigno Aquino III emergency powers to deal with the repatriation of Filipinos and oil price increases in the light of the crisis in the Middle East.

He said Mr. Aquino has ample resources and power to deal with the situation.

Recto said savings from interest payments on debt after the peso appreciated to P43 to a dollar, up from the P46-P48 assumed rate when the 2011 national budget was passed, among others, could be used to finance the repatriation of Filipinos.

“Resources are adequate. There’s no need for emergency powers,” he said.

He added that the government was not helpless against oil price increases. He said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas could raise interest rates to curb inflation and strengthen the peso.

Recto also said that the Department of Energy should also keep in check the “greed” of oil companies and ensure that oil products are based on 30-

[Monseratto]

Imagine a headless chicken running around in circles. That's how PNoy's DFA seems to be doing...

[oliver1013]

Last week kasi sabi sa news i eevacuate na dapat, tapos andaming nagreklamo kesyo ayaw daw umuwi kasi pag umuwi daw sila, wala daw mapapala dito.

Another case of Sala sa init sala sa lamig

[ab_initio]

^^ it seems that mas traumatic umuwi dito and out of job kesa manatili dun.

pero, i don't get the rationale of OWWA distributing caps. why?

[chua_riwap]

^^ it seems that mas traumatic umuwi dito and out of job kesa manatili dun.

pero, i don't get the rationale of OWWA distributing caps. why?

Yun lang kaya nilang ibigay.....

Kaming mga OFWs are paying around P1,700+ for a 2 yr membership sa POEA. Tapos ganyan ang treatment ang nakukuha ng mga OFWs? Bagal nila kumilos!

[hondaboot]

what does the cap say

[chua_riwap]

what does the cap say

OWWA....like this.

[cast_no_shadow]

The cap? pa-pogi ng owwa isama mo pa yung bus nila..

My dad is an OFW sa mga ganyang issues kaya ang laki ng galit nila sa OWWA mga inutil nga daw, andami nangangailangan ng tulong sa ibang bansa pero parang petiks lang daw sila. Lalo sa nangyayari sa Libya effortless talaga, siguro it shows how poor our country is.. Yung ibang bansa kanya kanyang padala ng eroplano at barko mailikas lang mga kababayan nila..

Ang gobyerno naten? stay where you are, dun muna kayo sa employer niyo hanggat wala pang final na plano.. Brilliant!

[uls]

check this out

Migrante: OWWA collecting airfare from stranded OFWS for repatriation
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...CategoryId=200

MANILA, Philippines – Officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) have been collecting money from Filipino workers who are stranded in deportation centers in Jeddah waiting for their repatriation, a migrant workers rights group claimed.

"We have been receiving complaints from distressed and stranded OFWs who are now at the deportation center... that OWWA officials are asking them to pay for their airfare tickets, so that they could be repatriated,” said Marlon Gatdula, Migrante-Saudi Arabia deputy secretary-general.

Gatdula said Filipinos at cell numbers 14 and 16 have been calling him since last week and claimed that OWWA employees Anthony Basil and Mashur Konting allegedly asked from them 1,200 to 2,000 Saudi riyals for their airfare tickets.

“Looking forward to be repatriated, some of the distress and stranded will try their best to get an amount for their airfare by asking help from their relatives in the Philippines, but what is confusing us is that there is a P100 million OWWA repatriation fund intended for that purpose,” Gatdula added.

amazing

[lancy09]

Nagbabayad ba ng Income Tax ang mga OFW? Curious lang. Mas may karapatan silang i-repatriate kung ganoon.