Dispatch from Crame No. 808:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the Handling of the OFWs' Plight

5/30/20

Pinapaapura na ni Duterte ang pagpapauwi ng mahigit 24,000 OFWs sa kani-kanilang bahay. Ito ay matapos ang halos dalawang buwang pagkatengga nila sa mga quarantine facilities sa Metro Manila. Ito ay matapos maglabasan ang sanlaksang reklamo ukol sa napakatagal na paglabas ng resulta ng kanilang COVID-19 tests. Ito ay matapos ang maraming puna sa hindi maayos na kondisyon ng mga pasilidad na pinaglagyan sa kanila.

Napanis na ang laway ng ating mga stranded OFWs bago nagsalita at kumilos sa isyu si Duterte. Haay... ano nga bang bago?

In line with Duterte's directive, Spokesperson Harry Roque assured that "heads will roll" should labor officials fail to comply. Style nyo bulok! Kung ginagawa nyo ang trabaho nyo na may dedikasyon at malasakit ay hindi tayo aabot sa puntong ito. Let us not be fooled by this posturing.

The fact remains that the government still does not have any reliable testing program. The fact remains that the government is still utterly failing our people in providing very basic services to alleviate their fears and anxieties. There are even reports of pregnant OFWs where the government has not even lifted a finger to have them checked - some are about to give birth in a few days! Worse still, our stranded OFWs have been forced to eat into their hard-earned savings while waiting for the go-signal for their release.

Nawalan na nga ang napakaraming OFWs ng trabaho dahilan sa pandemyang ito, mawawalan pa sila ngayon ng ipon para sa kanilang pamilya at sarili. Kalunos-lunos!

Delays such as these are utterly unacceptable! OFWs should be treated as no less than heroes who have sacrificed so much for their families and done so much for our economy.

Mr. Duterte: you had weeks to act on this, but you opted to issue the ultimatum only now. Paghuhugas-kamay ba ito? Pagpasa na naman ng sisi? O senyales lang talaga ng nakagawiang mabagal na pagresponde? The same goes to the agencies tasked with the OFW repatriation program. Kinakailangan ninyo pa bang antayin ang utos ng amo niyo para ayusin ang trabaho? Wala ba kayong kusa o sadyang walang pakialam?

May Balik Probinsya program pa kayong nalalaman. Balik Common Sense muna.