OFWs OVERSTAY IN SAUDI ARABIA JAILS / 400,000 SEAFARERS DEPLOYED WORLDWIDE
MANILA, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 (TIMES) Written by : FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO CORRESPONDENT - ABOUT 20 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) asked the government for help over the weekend as they continue to languish in a jail in Saudi Arabia after their supposed prison terms have lapsed.
The group coursed their plea for assistance to Migrante-Middle East (M-ME), a migrants' rights group.
M-ME regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said he received a call from Regoberto Gaspar, an inmate at the Al-Ha'er jail in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, who related that he and several other Filipino inmates are being kept in the jail even after their prison terms had lapsed.
The said group were previously charged for petty crimes by Saudi courts.
"Sir, naka-schedule ako ng uwi on October 24 pero kinuha ako ng pulis on October 26 papunta ng airport. Since lapsed na ang airplane ticket ko di ako naka-uwi [Sir, I was scheduled to leave on October 24 but the police fetched me on October 26 going to the airport. Since the airplane ticket had already lapsed, I could not go home]," Gaspar told Monterona over a cell phone.
Monterona reported that Gaspar repeatedly tried to call the Philippine Embassy's Assistance to the National Staff (ANS) to no avail.
"OFW Gaspar lamented that he is overstaying in jail for eight months now though he had only five months sentence for possession of liquor. He assailed the lack of assistance from the Philippine embassy to follow closely his and fellow OFW inmates' cases as they wish to be home by Christmas and to be reunited their respective families in the Philippines," Monterona cited.
Besides Gaspar, among the allegedly "overstaying" Filipino inmates at the said jail are Senen Reyes, Cristobal Argel, Nordin Sibayan, Francis Esquebel, Danilo Daliposa and Darius Ferrer.
There are about 77 OFW inmates incarcerated in Al-Ha'er jail in Riyadh, Saudi's capital according to the information received by M-ME.
Monterona said that he still getting the names of other inmates who claimed they have already completed their jail term so that he could officially endorse the list to the Philippine embassy.
He said that he aims to urge the ANS to attend to the deportation of the overstaying inmates without further delay.
Monterona also revealed that there are OFWs decrying their continued imprisonment after the lapse of their jail terms in Malaz Central Jail.
"There are 120-plus OFW inmates in different cells in Malaz jail. About 40 of them claimed they've already done their respective clearances and are awaiting their release and deportation," Monterona said.
"We are also receiving reports that there are undisclosed numbers of women OFWs locked up in Al-Nisa jail, also in Riyadh, for various offenses. I have asked the PH embassy regarding this; though embassy officials confirmed the report, they however refused to divulge additional information," he added.
Monterona urged the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs to look into the cases of overstaying OFW inmates, especially women OFW inmates in Saudi Arabia.
"If Nepal, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Indian governments were able to promptly follow the cases of their jailed nationals and sent them home after completion of their jail terms without delay, why the PH govt. could not do the same?" Monterona asked.
400,000 seafarers plied to rake in $4B Friday, November 18, 2011 00:00 Written by : Darwin G. Amojelar MANILA TIMES
The Philippines manning industry on Thursday said it is projecting to deploy a record 400,000 seafarers worldwide by the end of this year despite the crisis in Europe.
In a statement, Eduardo Manese, Joint Manning Group (JMG) chairman said the projected seafarers deployment would have an expected foreign currency remittance of about $4 billion to the Philippine economy.
JMG, which is the umbrella organization of the country's crew management and overseas shipping industry, has vowed to strongly support and work together with the Department of Labor Employment (DOLE) and its line agencies in preserving the sector's achievement as the top supplier of seafarers to the world's merchant marine fleet.
"DOLE has been working closely with us to address pressing issues concerning the ratification of the Maritime Labor Convention and the Seafarers' Identification Document, and the anti-piracy program to help our seafarers combat piracy in the high seas," Manese said.
Manese said that despite the financial crisis affecting European economies, demand for Filipino seafarers to operate commercial ships of various flags has hardly diminished.
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