Would ‘Sex-for-fly’ hurt P-Noy’s reforms?

PERRYSCOPE

Perry Diaz

Government officials call them “heroes.”  They are the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who have remitted more than $20 billion last year, twice their remittances 10 years ago. And their remittances have kept the economy afloat during bad economic times. 

Indeed, more than 40% of the people back home benefited from the OFW remittances, directly or indirectly.  And the government doesn’t even have to do anything!  But at least the government should demonstrate its gratitude to these “heroes” by providing consular assistance when they need it. And in times of turmoil in the countries – like in Syria and Libya -- where they work, the government should be able to evacuate them to safety or fly them home.  But instead of helping them, the Philippines left them to fend for themselves.   

Take the case of the undocumented OFWs in Saudi Arabia.  Stranded in a foreign land and nowhere to go, these distressed OFWs camped out in squalid makeshift tents set up near the Philippine embassy in Riyadh and the consular office in Jeddah since April 8.

According to Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares, around 6,000 undocumented OFWs – mostly women and children – have set up “tent cities” in Riyadh, Jeddah, and other places.  This came about when the Saudi government ordered a three-month “grace period” for these undocumented – or “illegal” – workers to clarify their status.  On July 3, the Saudi government would resume the crackdown on undocumented workers, saying that these “illegal” workers are in breach of the labor and residency regulations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

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With the July 3 deadline fast approaching, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the Philippine embassy and the consulate would not likely finish processing the “amnesty applications” of the undocumented OFWs in time.  And this is when certain labor officials at the embassy and consulate morphed into sexual “predators.”  

According to Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, these labor officials allegedly promised despondent OFWs that their repatriation would be “prioritized” in exchange for sexual favors.  This scheme came to be known as “sex-for-fly.”

            

In a press release issued by MIGRANTE, a Filipino migrants rights group, the Philippine government got a commitment from DFA last April 30 to repatriate the “200 plus stranded women OFWs and their children, old and sick will be repatriated first, and that they will be relocated to the shelter facilities offered by the PH consulate with continuous supply of food, water, sanitation, and other necessities.”\

But the embassy and consulate never gave a date – not even a tentative date – for their repatriation.  However, MIGRANTE insisted that this group of “women and children, old and sick” be repatriated by May 15.  To date, not one undocumented OFW has been repatriated!

            

According to MIGRANTE party-list vice chairperson, John Leonard Monterona, who is also the regional coordinator of Migrante-Middle East (M-ME), the DFA told MIGRANTE that there are 5,000 air tickets being readied by the Philippine Consulate.  However, only 50 would be allotted to the stranded women OFWs and their children.  But Monterona said that his group has counted more than 50 women with children.

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Meanwhile, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz reportedly ordered an all-woman, all-lawyer investigation team to “get to the bottom” of the “sex-for-fly” schemes.  But would an “all-woman” investigation team “get to the bottom” or would it only serve as window dressing to this scandal?  First of all, this “all-woman” team is a joint investigation to be conducted by DOLE and DFA.  

Does anyone really expect them to be objective and impartial in their investigation?  That would be like appointing mobsters to investigate organized crime.  Perhaps, Ms. Baldoz should hand over the investigation to the Department of Justice (DOJ) where it belongs.  

            

With all the hullabaloo on the “sex-for-fly” scandal, the buck would ultimately stop at President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III’s desk.  Garry Martinez, Chairman of Migrante International, said that the Aquino administration should look at the bigger picture behind the issue of the “sex-for-fly” cases. “The bottom line here is that the abusive embassy and consulate officials are taking advantage of the desperation of OFWs. The further exploitation of the exploited. This is not an isolated matter that has nothing to do with the overall condition of stranded OFWs seeking immediate repatriation from the Philippine government in light of the crackdowns,” Martinez said. 

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And this smacks right into P-Noy’s reforms.  Are his reforms deep and wide or are they superficially shallow and narrow?   It appears that P-Noy is not going after the “big kahuna” but just the small fries that don't really have an impact on the fight against corruption. 

            

The “sex-for-fly” schemes, which some people say have been around for years, are just the tip of the iceberg.  The perpetrators are mid-level labor officials who are victimizing distressed women OFWs for their sexual gratification.  But there is a more sinister crime that is being committed; and that is, human trafficking. 

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Have you wondered how many women are trafficked to work in other countries without being processed by DOLE?  Every day, there is an average of 3,500 men and women who leave the country.  The National Statistics Office estimates that 47.8% are women, out of the 2.2 million OFWs “whose departure occurred within the last five years and who are working or had worked abroad during the past six months.” (Source: Philippine Commission on Women)

            

But this estimate was based on those who were processed by DOLE.  How about the undocumented OFWs – mostly women -- who left the country as “tourists”?  They’re not counted as OFWs but some say they account for at least 80% of those leaving the country on a one-way ticket to any of the more than 120 destination countries for OFWs.  And who are their “travel agents”?  Or, to be candid about it, who are the traffickers that recruit and place them as “domestics” in foreign countries? 

            

With the crackdown on undocumented OFWs in the Middle East, the Philippine government is heavily burdened with their repatriation.  And when there is inaction, that’s when the “predators” lurking in embassies and consulates come into the act. To preclude -- or prevent -- them from preying on distressed women OFWs who are waiting helplessly for repatriation, the Aquino administration should – nay, must! -- develop and implement an efficient system to deal with such situations.   

            

The question is: Would the “sex-for-fly” scandal hurt P-Noy’s reforms?  Yes, absolutely! And without a shadow of a doubt, his failure to act would cause a setback to his reform agenda.  In essence, reforming the system goes hand in hand in fighting corruption.  One doesn’t work without the other. 

            

It is then imperative that P-Noy must act fast – and decisively – to ferret out these “predators” operating in the guise of diplomats.  Embassy and consulate officials, particularly in the Middle East, should develop protocols to prevent “sex-for-fly” and other nefarious activities from happening again in the future. 

            

At the end of the day, it can be said that embassies and consulates are our country’s showcases in the world.  Let’s keep them in order for we are what others see through them. (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)