Gov’t after OFWs protection, says POEA chief over Saudi row

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino government is after the protection of Filipinos working overseas, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Carlos Cao Jr. told Radyo Inquirer Tuesday, a day after it was reported that Saudi Arabia stopped the processing of employment contracts for Filipinos household service workers (HSWs).

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs relayed this information in a note verbale to the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh on March 12 in what officials said was connected to the new Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act which requires prior to deployment a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) certification that the rights of domestic helpers would be adequately protected.

Cao said the certification was part of the Household Service Reform Program that sought to ensure the OFWs welfare.

Cao reiterated that the agencies concerned were trying to come up with a unified response to the Saudi note verbale. (report from Inquirer.net/DZIQ-Radyo Inquirer)