Press Release
April 10, 2007

Villar bats for deployment of more
counselors to aid distressed OFWs

Senate President Manny Villar, president of Nationalista Party and guest candidate of the Genuine Opposition, today called for the deployment of more social workers, who will provide counseling and other assistance to beleaguered overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This came after Villar visited Hong Kong over the weekend, where many OFWs consulted him about their plight.

Villar, President of the Nacionalista Party, renewed his call for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and other concerned line agencies to provide enhanced counseling services to our kababayans abroad, stressing that government action on this aspect remains wanting.

Villar, who was also chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had expressed grave concern over the deaths of OFWs all over the world, the most recent of which involved the case of a Filipina maid, who leapt to her death to escape her abusive employer.

He said the seeming lack of counseling services in Philippine embassies abroad, particularly in countries that host Filipino workers, is a reflection of the administrations lack of genuine concern for these modern day heroes.

Villar noted that the Labor department swings into action only when high profile cases of Filipinos getting in trouble abroad.

This should not be the case. The government is being reactive, when it should be proactive when it comes to implementing measures that would ensure the protection of our countrymen in foreign shores, Villar said.

He said part of the DOLEs and the Department of Social Welfare and Developments (DSWD) mandate is to deploy social workers to help distressed OFWs.

I call on these departments to consider deploying more social workers to provide counseling and other assistance to our OFWs. We should seriously consider the counseling needs of our OFWs particularly those who are undergoing emotional and mental anguish for various reasons, Villar said.

According to Villar, OFWs are confronted with various challenges, difficulties and hardships that cause mental or psychological anguish and other negative emotions. With sufficient and regular emotional and spiritual support from social workers and other experts, they can better cope with their situation, he said

In recent years, a number of OFWs in Asia, Europe and the Middle East have died for various reasons such as suicide and murder.

There were also cases of Filipinos getting jailed for having committed serious crimes such as murder and drug trafficking.

Among the other high-profile incidents in the last couple of years involving OFWs include Jane Lapuebla who was killed in Singapore by another Filipina, Guen Aguilar; a Filipino in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) reportedly killed by a Filipina; a Filipina in Singapore who died after falling off from the sixth floor window sill; Ivy Bautista who was reportedly killed in Santander, Spain.

These incidents should prompt our OFW welfare groups to actively provide psychological as well as spiritual counseling to OFWs whether they are mentally or psychologically fit to work and live far away from their loved ones. Not everyone is cut out for working away from home, Villar said.

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