More on Sex for fly scandal

In the news: OFW to labor exec: Remember me?                                                                                                                       http://globalnation.inquirer.net/83451/ofw-to-labor-exec- 
                      remember-me

                     Official in ‘sex for fly’ scheme claims it was just a      

                     joke                                                                                                                                                                            http://bulatlat.com/main/2013/08/17/official-in-sex-for-fly-scheme- claims-it-was-just-a-                          joke/

A Philippine overseas labor official who is being linked to the “sex for fly scheme” said the allegations were merely a result of “light moment jokes.” But senators, during a hearing on Aug. 15, found it hard to believe

Asst Labor Attachè Antonio Villafuerte 

“I am not inclined to believe Labor attache Adam Musa and even Assistant labor attache Antonio Villafuerte. I would rather believe the statements of the victims. It is very clear to me that we need to replace the officials deployed there,” Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, chair of the Blue Ribbon Committe in an interview with the media.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III

Antonio Villafuerte, the assistant labor attaché to Saudi Arabia, has been implicated in the sex for fly scandal after three stranded overseas Filipino workers Angel, Annaliza and Michelle, not their real names, exposed before the media that Villafuerte made verbal sexual advances and offered “part-time work” so they could earn money for their tickets to go back to Manila

“At this point, it’s clear that there was abuse of authority, there is abuse of women. Whatever you may call it, it definitely requires strong measures and strong disciplinary action and a revamp of the system of treating OFWs abroad,” Guingona said.

During the hearing, Michelle also showed the senators a text message from Villafuerte that read, “andyan na yung salungki at salungsu mo.” (Your panty and bra is there.) Salungki and salungsu are not commonly used by Filipinos in referring to underwear of women. The suffix “ki” supposedly refers to vagina while “su” refers to breast. These terms are considered vulgar

Antonio Villafuerte, the assistant labor attaché in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was told off by “Michelle,” who dramatically removed the shawl covering her face and accused Villafuerte of attempting to rape her and of sending her lewd text messages.

“Now, Mr. Villauerte, do you remember me? Do you remember what you did to me?” a crying Michelle asked Villafuerte.

Aside from Michelle, Angel, another victim, also recounted her experience with Villafuerte. Angel was raped by her employer and sought the refuge of government officials. She recounted during the senate hearing that when she first visited the POLO office, Villafuerte introduced her aloud as a rape victim, which elicited laughter from the staff.

“They may not be satisfied because like I said, with so many problems in Riyadh, there are a lot of people who come to me and there are certain things that are beyond my control,” Villafuerte said.

But Enrile said, “Do you think that’s her motivation? A woman with her demeanor, the way she is talking here before this audience and before the Filipino public, would expose herself to this kind of shame and abuse, exposing what was done to her honor as a woman?”

When Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile asked him to justify the use of obscene terms, he said he finished accounting and law. Villafuerte also said that he heard and used these terms during light moments and wanted to impress OFWs that he is fluent in Tagalog but had no ill intentions.

“As a lawyer, you know what an underwear means right? Can’t you use that term to denote things in proper description? You’re a different kind of lawyer, you do not think that you are talking to a woman,” Enrile said.

“At this point, it’s clear that there was abuse of authority, there is abuse of women. Whatever you may call it, it definitely requires strong measures and strong disciplinary action and a revamp of the system of treating OFWs abroad,” Guingona said.

In a separate interview, Connie Bragas-Regalado, of Migrante International, expressed her satisfaction with the investigation of the seanate and the seeming symphathy of the seanators to the OFW victims. She also forwarded her recommendations to have Ambassador Ezzedin Tago as all these things happened under his watch.

Connie Bragas Regalado, Migrante Partylist Chairperson

Regalado said the senate has yet to tackle why Filipinos abroad are vulnerable to these kinds of abuses, adding that they have long raised similar cases before government offices but were ignored.

“The stranded OFWs in Saudi Arabia are very vulnerable to these abuses because of the Saudization policy by the KSA. The said policy has led to crackdowns and many undocumented Filipinos, mostly victims of abuses from their employers want to be repatriated as soon as possible.