The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has sent a team to Kuwait to check on the living conditions of distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in a government-run shelter.
The move was an offshoot of the virtual inspection of DMW Secretary Susan Ople at the “Bahay Kalinga” shelter in Kuwait where 400 distressed OFWs are currently residing.
Ople met with the team led byUndersecretary for Foreign Employment and Welfare Services Hans Cacdac, before the departure on Friday. The team arrived in Kuwait on Saturday.
“First order of business is to visit the shelter and ensure that there are full time personnel that will take care of the needs of the OFWs there. A medical team should also be present to check on the health needs of our OFWs, including those suffering from depression," said Ople.
"We should also ensure a secure and habitable shelters, they should be humane, dignified, comfortable and safe shelters," said Ople.
Aside from Cacdac, the high-level team includes Administrator Arnell Ignacio of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and Social Welfare Attaché Bernard Bonino.
Ople said the DMW is tapping the Social Welfare Attaches of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) who are now part of the department for their expertise on how to upgrade the shelters overseas.
Shelters are currently being run by the Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs), formerly known as Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs).
Ople said the DMW intends to relocate its shelters to new and larger facilities that can provide a more comfortable and safe environment for its OFW residents.
