Can Aquino gov’t help OFWs in Taiwan?

KAKAMPI MO ANG BATAS

Atty. Batas Mauricio 

Life’s Inspirations: “… Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock…” (Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, in Matthew 7:24-25, the Holy Bible).

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Can the Aquino government help OFWs in Taiwan? Critics are raising a howl over the announcement of Press Undersecretary Abigail Valte that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan should “limit their activities and stay in the homes of their employers to avoid attacks by Taiwanese citizens”, saying something more concrete should be done by the Aquino government to protect the lives of OFWs, instead of merely asking them to stay indoors.

But then, is there really something we can do about this? The clear answer is, no, we cannot really do anything about this kind of a fate among our countrymen, who are being called as the new heroes of the Republic because without their dollars our economy would have already sunk deeper, simply because we have no control over the places abroad where they are working.

If the truth be told, the only concrete action that we can do is to pray to God for their safety, and trust that our prayers will be acceptable and favorably acted upon by God. But, really now, can our prayers be effective and powerful enough to compel the hand of God to protect our OFWs in Taiwan and, for that matter, everywhere else in the world where turmoil reigns and instability is the rule of the game?

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OFWs left to themselves in times of trouble: In addressing this question, it is important that we realize right away that for many OFWs, working in foreign soils is the only option for them, if they wish to make both ends for their families and to enable their spouses and their children to live more decent lives. Consequently, being an OFW, and going abroad, are both givens that we cannot just wish away.

           

We must also realize that, when OFWs go abroad, our government loses control over what happens to them, especially in their work places, simply because OFWs become subject to the rules and regulations---no matter how primitive or barbaric these rules and regulations may appear to be---of the countries where their work places are located.

Significantly, too, in responding to emergencies confronting OFWs, the capacity to help of our country and our government is very limited by many considerations, leaving many of our countrymen to the mercy alone of God in trying times, and in highly dangerous situations.

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 Prayers for OFWs in Taiwan and elsewhere: Consequently, it is only through God’s deliverance that OFWs can be saved. But, as we have already raised here, how can we make our prayers truly effective and powerful for distressed OFWs? Perhaps, it would help to remember that sending our sons and daughters abroad where they are bound to suffer is one of the curses which the Bible lists as being given by God to a people who no longer listen to Him, and who no longer obey Him (see Deuteronomy 28:15, 32).

If sending OFWs abroad is a curse of God for those who no longer listen to Him and who no longer obey Him, then, their families and relatives, and the OFWs themselves, should aspire to remove that curse, according to what the Bible prescribes. What is the Bible’s direction for removing this curse?

It is clear and simple: we should listen to Him (which means, we should read His Bible), and obey Him (which means we should obey His commands in the Bible). If we do these two things---listen to and obey God---the curse will be removed, and God’s blessings, guidance and protection will come upon us and our families. Want to try it? It works.

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