KABAYAN Partylist Rep. Ron Salo expressed outrage over a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) report revealing that 27 deaths of overseas Filipino workers in the last 10 years were caused by foul play, even as he called for the government, through competent lawyers, to closely monitor the cases and ensure conviction.
The deaths included eight in Saudi Arabia, five in South Africa, four in Kuwait, and three in Cyprus.
Salo, chair of the House’s Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, lamented that “it has now become more evident that the cases of Jullebee Ranara, Joanna Demafelis, and Jeanelyn Villavende are not isolated, and this is unacceptable.”
“This matter should deeply concern us Filipinos because it tells of the extreme risk to life that our overseas workers find themselves in while trying to make a decent living for their families,” he sadly noted.
Salo cited the need for government to take a more proactive direction to ensure that justice is swiftly served to the perpetrators, proposing that “we must engage competent lawyers to handle these cases and consistently monitor the process to ensure a successful prosecution and conviction of the perpetrators,” Salo explained.
“I have said this time and again – convictions of these criminals will deter future aggressors against our Kabayans, for they will know that our government is there to protect them,” Salo emphasized.
The DFA currently provides assistance to the families of overseas Filipinos who died of foul play by providing legal assistance in the prosecution of the suspects, as well as providing financial assistance to the families.
Noting these interventions, Salo said that “in addition, their family members must be constantly updated of the progress of these cases in court if only to assure them that the government is very much behind them in their pursuit of justice.”
Salo also called on the public to report all incidents of possible abuse or exploitation of overseas Filipinos, including those that are sent in secret to relatives or friends. “We need everyone’s cooperation to put an end to these senseless deaths,” he said.
“An attack on our countrymen overseas is also an attack on our country; we need to do everything in our power to make sure that the perpetrators are punished accordingly,” Salo concluded.
