Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva questioned a report of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that there is zero acquittal of hundreds Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) facing charges in different countries.
During a Senate committee on migrant workers public hearing, Villanueva cited a DFA report that from 2022, there were 5,141 cases involving Filipinos, 1,278 were concluded or there were decisions and 3,863 here marked ‘’pending.’’
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the ‘’zero acquittal’’ in the report meant that all those facing charges were not meted the maximum penalty or were settled.
De Vega said that he was not the DFA Undersecretary at that time but admitted that there were few who had been charged were acquitted.
Villanueva said there is a need for an assessment by the DFA of lawyers it had hired as he questioned the need for the services of these lawyers if they lose the cases of Filipinos anyway.
Senator Raffy Tulfo said the lawyers hired by DFA could be underperforming because it is not acceptable that not a dozen Filipinos indicted were not acquitted.
The bottom line, according to De Vega, is that there was legal representation for OFWs rather than without representation.
This did not sit well with Villanueva.
He, nevertheless, thanked the Senate committee for including in its agenda in today’s hearing Senate Bill 1448, which seeks to expand the use of the Legal Assistance Fund.
‘’Thus, in line with the state’s policy to afford full protection to labor, both local and overseas, we are seeking, with the help of the committee and all persons present today, to expand the coverage of the Legal Assistance Fund to include all stages of case proceedings, from the time of commencement of the complaint, until promulgation and execution of judgment, and all appeal levels,’’ he said.
‘’To note, we sponsored this bill in the 18th Congress and was approved on 3rd reading with the support of our colleagues, but unfortunately did not make it due to lack of time. That is why we are here again to advocate for the swift passage of this bill, as we believe that we need to further expand and extend our help to our fellow citizens across the globe,’’ he added.
Senator Robinhood Padilla expressed his full support for various bills that would promote the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Padilla hailed the OFWs as heroes for bringing a sense of economic security and well-being to the country.
“If not for our migrant workers, our economy will not be as resilient. They will always be a source of pride for our country,” Padilla said in Filipino.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Undersecretary Bernard Olalia, during the hybrid hearing on three bills concerning Filipino migrant workers, said he supports the measures specifically Senate Bill (SB) 969, or the Filipino Migrant Workers, which would strengthen the protection of migrant workers in cases when their employment is prematurely terminated without just cause.
Olalia said the department likewise supports SB1175, or Encouraging New Lawyer-Scholars to Provide Free Legal Services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and SB 1448, or Expanding the Use of the Legal Assistance Fund.
He said the passage of the bills would give legal support to migrant workers and enjoin all stakeholders to provide legal services to OFWs.