May 28, 2008

Con Gen. in Dubai Benito Valeriano Should be Honest with Himself

Philippine Consul-General in Dubai Benito Valeriano's proposal for requiring psychological tests for Filipino domestic workers before their deployment to the UAE to reduce welfare cases of POLO-OWWA is absurd and self-serving. It also indicates the post's indirect admittance that they are overwhelmed by the large number of welfare cases and lacks the capability to take care of the psychological and other needs of domestic workers in distress.

Con-Gen. Valeriano stated that the workers' complaints include overworking, physical and sexual abuse, unpaid salaries and no days off. No amount of psychological tests before departure can prepare domestic workers to these kinds of violations on their rights. What the POLO-OWWA should do also is to address the cases of the domestic workers in a proper and swift way that should be favorable to them.

The shelter of POLO-OWWA in UAE averages 50 a month. This increases to 90 or more during Ramadan and Christmas seasons. These do not include those who sought shelter with their friends and chose to remain in UAE as undocumented workers.

It would not do well for Con-Gen. Valeriano to blame the psychological deficiencies of our domestic workers to the large amount of abuses they face. He should instead look into how he and POLO-OWWA handles cases that are not new to a country like the UAE and why this has been the situation ever since. In other words, he should be honest with himself.