Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy, September 6 2018
Philippine migrant workers overseas is a sizable exploited sector of
our Society popularly known as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Despite of the
differences on their personal opinions on what drove them to go abroad, they
are joined by one reason: poverty and the lack of jobs with enough salary to
support decent life for their family.
Two years ago, Pres. Duterte made a promise that under his
presidency, there will no mre need for workers to leave the country and will
return OFWs back home to work in their native land.
But that promise remained nothing but just another one of his
forgotten promises. No jobs were created for them to return to, no improvement
on the livng conditions in the country. On the contrary, jobs became precarious
due to contractualizations, prices has risen uncontrollably to impossible levels
creating more poor families, food has to be imported, human rights violation
became commonplace, even OFWs and/or their families falling victims to extra-judicial
killings and other heartaches befalling to all except to those close to the ruling
party.
OFWs are still in foreign lands facing unmentionable hardships, more
exploitation, dangers in war-torn countries in Middle East, unexplained deaths
and cruelties and even death in the hands of the foreign employers, imprisonment
for various reason and death sentences, government neglect in foreign lands.
And the end to this situation is nowhere in sight. The situation
remains unabated and even worsening with the deteriorating political situation in
the country.
The migrant workers’ dream of a society where families are not
separated by the urgent need to live is still a dream for the millions of OFWs.
