Senators back DFA move to save distressed overseas Filipino workers

April 26, 2018

Senator Loren Legarda, the chairperson of the committee on foreign relations, said the expulsion of Villa was unfortunate since there had been talks to move the Philippines-Kuwait bilateral relations forward.

“It is also important to underscore that the protection of overseas Filipinos constitutes one of the pillars of our foreign policy. We cannot just play lip service in catering to the needs of our overseas Filipinos. In saying this, it is important that channels of dialogue are kept open,” she said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said the DFA could have kept its rescue missions of overseas Filipino workers a secret.

In a Tweet posted Thursday, Lacson said there were “many unsung stories to rescue distressed OFW’s were pulled off by Filipino unsung heroes while posted abroad.”

“Their brave feats are unchronicled. To remain effective in their mission, they choose to remain unsung. I happen to know some of them,” Lacson said.

“I recall that they were very emphatic in saying that the success of their countless missions was attributed to secrecy. The least of their concerns was recognition,” Lacson said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the situation in Kuwait, including the apology issued by the Philippine government to its Kuwait counterpart and the expulsion of Villa reveals the Duterte administration’s “haphazard and amateurish” approach to foreign policy.

“Rescuing our abused OFWs is correct. What is patently wrong is to exploit the rescue of our distressed kababayan to score propaganda points even if it means trampling on the sovereignty of a nation-state and straining long-nurtured bilateral relations,” Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros said the administration should take steps to repair the strained relationship between the Philippines and Kuwait.

Senator Joel Villanueva said it was unfortunate Villa was told to leave Kuwait because of the rescue mission he and his staff conducted.

“I still support our PH embassy’s decision to rescue our kababayans. We need the best effort of the government to manage this problem as this will affect a number of OFWs working in Kuwait,” Villanueva said. DMS