MANILA, 9 May — Wilhelm Soriano, chief of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), yesterday said the reported plan to streamline his agency was not a reason he was pushing for its transfer to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In an interview with Arab News, he maintained that it was the “clamor” of migrant workers that motivated him to propose the transfer.
Word has it that Soriano merely wanted to take the OWWA out of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) because he did not like plans to merge it with the department’s Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO).
He said yesterday he had not heard at all about any “streamlining” plan but admitted that there was, indeed, “an instruction for the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) and the OWWA to institute a merger among its personnel abroad.”
He said any plan “to strengthen the services to the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)” was acceptable to him.
Soriano’s announcement raised a lot of questions among OFWs, particularly in the Middle East, who wondered what “clamor” he was talking about.
“Pardon my ignorance but this is the first time that I’ve heard of this clamor by ‘millions’ of OFWs!,” wrote Alfredo J. Ganapin, a veterinary doctor in Riyadh and a leader of the e-Lagda advocacy group, in seeking clarification about Soriano’s announcement.
“If Admin. Soriano is sure with his statistics, then he should at least name the NGOs or organizations that are clamoring for this change,” he added.
Rashid Fabricante, another e-Lagda leader, wondered: “Will this supposed transfer of OWWA create a bigger bureaucracy within the DFA, more red tape or more streamline services among distressed workers?”
“Or this is just a cover to retain juicy positions within OWWA or probability of impending investigation due to alleged anomalies of the OWWA fund?” he added
Those who ‘clamored’
Soriano said the petition to move OWWA out of the Labor Department was submitted by the Global Alliance of OFWs, the OFW-Unifil and some militant non-government organizations (NGOs) like Migrante International.
He also mentioned the petition in his May 4 speech when he announced the proposed transfer during the OWWA’s 20th Anniversary Celebration.
Sources within the community of NGOs working for migrant Filipinos and their families, however, said the petition Soriano refered to in his speech was actually in support of the Absentee Voting Bill.
The petition was signed during a seminar conducted by the Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-Anak ng Migranteng Pilipino (Kakampi) a few months ago.
The same source further said Soriano was informed of this fact but he disregarded it.
“I told Soriano but he told me to keep quiet,” the source told Arab News.
Kakampi, a known fighter of OFW concerns, has so far been silent on the transfer issue, prompting some to wonder why.
At least one participant in the Internet forum [email protected], however, agreed with Soriano’s plan.
Yuko Takei, a half-Filipino based in Japan, wrote: “I cannot agree more. The truth is many years ago, when the Philippine government did not have the business of deploying Filipino workers abroad, all disputes between Overseas Filipino Workers such as the musicians and the seamen, and their employers were handled by the legal adviser of the Philippine diplomatic missions.”
“The truth is the Labor Department cannot make any demands on any host country without going through the protocol especially in countries where they are very strict in following rules such as Japan,” she said.
She also added: “If the burden on the workers will be lessened, why not just get rid of the OWWA? Anyway, with or without it, Filipinos have the right to demand protection especially from a government that benefits from their sweat and blood! It is not a privilege, it is their right to be protected and patronized!”
But Ganapin asserted that before government officials talk about the benefits of putting OWWA under the wings of the DFA, a full assessment of the functions and history of the different agencies that are involved with OFW concerns — such as the DOLE, POEA, OWWA, OLAMWA, POLO, DFA — should be made first.
“Any dirt that will be found should not be conveniently swept under the rug of another agency,” he said.
POEA told to shape up
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas reminded POEA employees to lessen the inconveniences on OFWs.
“Don’t shout at them and don’t ask them to keep on coming back,” she said, apparently referring to unending complaints about rude POEA personnel.
While lauding the agency for its “crucial role” in ensuring that Filipino workers worldwide maintain their edge over workers of other nationalities, she said “they must ensure that the POEA does not slide back on its gains.”
Sto. Tomas, the first administrator of the POEA, explained that improved systems and courtesy would ensure that OFWs are not rudely treated nor given the run-around.
“We owe it to them to do them right and serve them well,” she said. She added that OFWs were the reason the POEA first came into being back in 1982.
