Press Release
February 6, 2009

Gordon: Prepare contingency plan for OFWs from Madagascar

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today called on the Arroyo administration to prepare for a possible repatriation of the more 500 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) stranded in Madagascar should the political unrest escalates in the island-state.

Gordon said the government should prepare a contingency plan, including repatriation, to assist the OFWs who have been calling for help in vain after a violent civil unrest, where about 100 people have already been killed, broke out in the island in the Indian Ocean.

"The Filipino community in Madagascar who were trapped in the midst of the political crisis in Madagascar had been sending distress signals. With the airport closed temporarily, they are afraid of being caught in the midst of the violence without an alternative means of getting out of there if worse comes to worst," he said.

"I am calling on the government to be prepared to repatriate our distressed Filipino workers in Madagascar. The government should answer their call for help," he added.

The Filipinos in Madagascar had been calling for help from the Philippine Embassy in Kenya which has jurisdiction in the area as well as from other government officials whom they hope can get them out of the island for fear of a possible escalation of violence.

Gordon has been swamped with emails coming from some members of the Filipino community in Madgascar, pleading for help from the national government, notably from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration.

A violent unrest erupted in the former French colony after Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana accused his main rival Andry Rajoelina of stoking political unrest. Rajoelina is the mayor of Antananarivo, the island-state's capital.

Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island with a population of 20 million. The island has opened a new market for OFWs when its government decided to develop its rich mineral resources.

There are more than 500 Filipinos working in Madagascar spread out in different business establishments like textiles, mineral exploration, food industry, and agri business, among others.

Gordon is also mulling on tapping the Philippine National Red Cross' (PNRC) counterparts near Madgascar in the event that the political unrest escalates and may necessitate the immediate repatriation of the trapped OFWs in the island.

News Latest News Feed