The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Overseas Filipino Workers in Japan and Bahrain should shoulder their fare to come back in the Philippines.

The said decision of DFA was due to the level of crisis currently happening in Japan. This is applicable not only to the OFWs but also to the non-essential embassy personnel and dependents.

The said crisis level was determine to be in level two. According to DFA, as of now, they should pay their own fare. But if the crisis level goes up to number three, that is the time for the Department to pay for them in order to go home.

It was assured by DFA that the funds of the government were enough in case the need for repatriation occurs which will mean an upgrade to the level of crisis.

Nevertheless, the safety of the Filipinos abroad will be ensured by the Department.

The deportation and volunteer repatriation of the Overseas Filipino Workers in tsunami-hit Japan and strongly agitated countries in the Middle East like Libya and Bahrain would result to the increase of unemployment in our country.

In the midst of the tragedies in Asia, Representatives Teodoro Casino of Bayan Muna Partylist and Emmaline Aglipay of DIWA Partylist urged the government to fund the deported Overseas Filipino Workers from Japan and other Middle East countries by giving them local jobs.

The former stated that we should seek opportunities to the crisis. Instead of deploying the OFWs in other countries, he said that the government should fund local business for them in the form of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that would also boost the entrepreneurial industry of our country.

The latter, on the other hand, finds that a “concrete” contingency plan must be given to the repatriated OFWs in the form of local jobs. She also mentioned that it should be a warning for the government to take care of the OFWs condition abroad.

These answers given by these lawmakers were still on the hand of the government: to decide whether to act or not on the mentioned contingencies.

After almost a month, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao confirmed that the verdict to the 3 Filipino drug mules was still death penalty and that verdict was final. The thing there is that the execution was just delayed but we weren’t able to change the decision of Chinese Supreme Court.
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10 of our Overseas Filipino Workers was confirmed to be among the 16 passengers of the Afghanistan plane crash at the NATO airbase in Southern Afghanistan last Sunday. Carmelita Dimzon of OWWA received the verified information regarding the incident. She also added that they will be working with the DFA for the repatriation of the bodies once these have been recovered. Meanwhile, five others wounded were treated at the NATO military facility. The workers on board the helicopter were supposed to be brought to Spin Buldak, a border city between Afghanistan and Pakistan when it burst into flames near the runway.

A Pinay OFW faces death row as she was arrested for killing her friend for 20 years. The report was confirmed by DFA as Alkhobar Police discovered the victim’s body on her apartment last week. According to investigators, the two had a hot confrontation that leads to the stabbing of the suspect to the victim, leaving it lifeless. A manhunt operation was held and they arrested the Pinay Suspect that immediately admits her participation in the crime.