OFW FORUM
Much to his credit, Saudi Arabia-based Eli Mua is unrelenting and tireless in his single-minded crusade for the proposed Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (DOFW) to be established before President Rodrigo Duterte bows out of office in June next year.
A Mindanaoan like Duterte, Mua firmly believes that the current chief executive and Davao’s most famous son will still deliver on one of his major 2016 presidential election promises – to give back to OFWs significant aid in gratitude for the latter’s vital contribution to the country, specifically their average annual $30 billion remittances back home.
In 2016-2017, Duterte told OFWs in different countries that they won’t need to work abroad in 10 years as his government would create decent-paying jobs. But the number of OFWs has risen further instead of declining as he approaches the end of his six-year term as president.
To Duterte’s credit, his administration has undertaken a series of high-profile projects for OFWs, including the OFW Bank launched in January 2018. An OFW Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga was supposed to be launched in October this year, but held back.
The Department of OFW may soon be launched when the Senate completes all deliberations on the enabling law. Closely supported by Senator Bong Go, Duterte’s closest political ally and confidante, there is little doubt that Duterte will soon sign a law for the DOFW’s creation.
At first glance, or on paper, the high-profile projects for OFWs should give the latter much reason to celebrate. But an incisive and critical analysis of each one based on published government information shows major flaws and deficiencies in each one. These are the following:
DOFW
What’s the most serious and immediate problem among OFWs in the Middle East? Answer: The continuing horrific physical abuses, including rapes, beatings and even homicides of Filipino women that stem from the decades-old Kafala system which originally started as a scheme to regulate movements of foreign workers but which later evolved into a de facto slavery system.
Will the DOFW’s creation resolve the continuing abuses of Filipino women there? No! So, why employ an inappropriate solution to the long-standing problem of abuses which is best addressed by using existing government mechanisms, i.e. DFA, DOLE and POEA to blunt or neutralize Kafala’s evils? Because of the need to find suitable officials, adequate funding and to sort out ultra thorny issues of which OFW agencies will be abolished and which ones will be retained, it will likely take several years for the DOFW to start its operations.
OFW Bank
Launched over three years ago in January 2018, the OFW Bank is largely a useless “white elephant” unused by most OFWs. Why so? Because its services are limited to simple savings account openings and money transfers. With just a few offices in the Philippines and almost nothing overseas, very few OFWs use its services. To those well-versed in finance, like this writer, the OFW Bank stands no chance of competing with universal banks, notably BDO, BPI and Metrobank, and should have not been set up in the first place.
OFW Hospital
Because of its location in San Fernando, Pampanga, this hospital is a prime candidate to become another “white elephant” with very low rate of utilization. OFW Hospital proponents aimed to hold a soft launch in October this year, presumably to add to the President’s support projects for OFWs. But unknown technical issues must have held back its launch. This project’s deficiencies are too glaring, rendering this venture silly and laughable.
Will OFWs from Mindanao, the Visayas and Bicol and upland north provinces travel all the way to Pampanga for medical services and even confinement? Why locate this hospital in Pampanga and not in Metro Manila or Cebu or Davao? Was the choice of Pampanga driven by political considerations more than legitimate OFW concerns, like a location where this medical facility can serve the largest number of OFWs? Since the government is always short of funds to deliver even the most essential services, why didn’t it come up instead with an alternative scheme of aiding OFWs in their medical needs without setting up OFW hospitals in various locations around the country?
Instead of a single OFW Hospital – which is presumably mainly for show to illustrate that things are being done for the benefit of OFWs – why didn’t the government devise a much simpler, practical and more economical solution? An easy and more functional and useful solution could have been an electronic system in which those who register as bona fide OFWs are to enjoy a range of significantly-discounted and even free medical services in major government and private hospitals in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. This scheme will certainly remove the huge hassle for the Mindanaoans, Visayans upland north Luzonians of traveling long distances to the lone OFW hospital.
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