By Marita Moaje
MANILA – Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac has ordered the recall of a staff member of the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Bahrain after a viral video showed the staff behaving disrespectfully toward overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“I have issued the order recalling that MWO Bahrain employee being highly disrespectful to OFWs in a viral video,” Cacdac said in a social media post Monday.
In the viral clip, the MWO staff tells the OFWs who came to ask for cash aid to leave, adding that the distribution has already ended and that there’s no more available funds.
The OFWs were also heard lamenting that they came from far areas for the cash aid and that the MWO should have issued a notice ahead of time that the distribution had already ended.
The MWO staff was also heard telling the OFWs that they could go and file their complaints with anyone.
“Tapos na po ha, hindi na kayo mae-entertain. Tapos na po ang ayuda. Magsumbong na kayo sa mga gusto ninyong pagsumbungan. Ang Manila ho ang nagsasabi walang pondo. Sige i-record n’yo, kahit magsumbong pa kayo sa Pilipinas (It’s over, you won’t be entertained anymore. The assistance has ended. You can report to whoever you want to report to. Manila is the one saying there is no budget. Go ahead, record it, you can even report it to the Philippines),” the employee said in the video.
Meanwhile, DMW Undersecretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay clarified the financial assistance provided to OFWs, adding that cash aid refers to specific types of support.
This, after several OFWs complained that they only received 20 Bahraini dollars (PHP3148.41) for cash aid.
Rubia-Tutay explained that the USD20 to USD50 assistance is intended to help cover immediate needs such as food, clothing, and medicines.
“200 dollars is given to OFWs who are about to leave the airport na (who are) homebound. Financial assistance is given upon arrival in Manila, which OFWs can use for their personal needs,” she said.
“For instance, yung isang OFW na kausap ko, wala sya kapera-pera dala kasi di pa naka sweldo ng umuwi sya, nanghiram lang sya ng PHP2,000 sa kasamahan nya dahil wala maibigay sa pamilya, kaya masaya sya na meron siyang financial assistance pag dating sa Manila (the OFW I talked to didn’t have any money because she was not able to get her salary when she went home, shoe only borrowed PHP2,000 from a colleague because he couldn’t give anything to her family, so she was happy to have financial assistance when she arrived in Manila),” she said.
Meanwhile, financial assistance is also provided to affected OFWs upon their arrival in Manila, aside from other kinds of government aid.
Other government agencies, including the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), also provide various assistance under a whole-of-government approach.
“I assure our dear OFWs that we shall continue to serve with humility, respect, and hard work,” Cacdac said. (PNA)
