The sufferings of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is mostly rooted in gender, not in labor.

AGIMAT Party-list Rep. Bryan Revilla, chairman of the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (OWA) shared this realization in a recent privilege speech at the House of Representatives as he sought to spread awareness about the migrant workers' plight.

"The other side of the story does not tell of prosperity… but of pain. In 2020, data from the OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) showed that 75 percent of the nearly 24,000 abuse cases involving workers in the Gulf region alone involved women," Revilla said.

"That is almost the same as the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) recorded 21,366 gender-based violence cases nationwide in 2019. Ang ibig sabihin po: ang kalbaryo ng ating mga kababaihan ay hindi natatapos sa loob ng bansa (This means that the plight of our women does not end within the country)," he said.

"And if we are to deliver justice for them, then we must accept this truth: the issue of migrant workers is not just a labor issue. It is a gender issue. And unless we confront it as such, with a holistic, gender-based approach--then we will continue to fail them," the ranking solon said.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures, Revilla said that 64 percent of female OFWs--some 1.2 million--were engaged in “elementary occupations”: low-skilled, low-valued work.

"And because of this, they are too often treated as second-class citizens. Not just because they are women, but because the world has chosen to devalue the work they do," he said.

"Sila ang tagapangalaga ng mga tahanan, sila ang nagpapalaki sa mga kabataan, at nag-aaruga sa mga nakakatanda (They are the caretakers of their homes, guardians of their children, and nurses of their elders)…And yet, their labor, their dignity, are considered replaceable," he noted.

Revilla said a good number of female OFWs endure contract violations, mistreatment, health neglect, document-related problems, contract substitution, "and the most painful of all… sexual abuse, harassment, and even rape".

"These are not rare incidents. These are systemic, gendered injustices," he said as he hammered home his point.

"That is why, as chairperson of the Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, I pledge to continue strengthening safeguards for our migrant workers," Revilla said.

He said this involves a review and overhaul of recruitment practices "that betray their (OFWs) trust".

The panel chairman says he also want to "ensure that there are swift repatriation mechanisms when danger strikes", and to "champion legislation that dismantles abusive systems and restores dignity to every Filipino abroad".

"Mr. Speaker, dear colleagues… This is not charity. This is justice. Justice long denied to too many women, too many families. And justice can only be achieved if we, men and women legislators alike, take up this fight together," Revilla said, as he rallied the House plenary to his cause.