"Topping the list of countries where the most number of Filipinos were detained was Malaysia, whose jails, mostly in Sabah, harbored 1,200 Filipinos last year," said Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya, citing a 430-page report from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The "2004 Global Situationer on OFWs," according to Andaya, detailed the "triumphs and travails" of some 5.7 million OFWs worldwide.
War-torn Israel came in second. The Philippine embassy in Tel Aviv reported that 1,028 Filipino workers were detained in Ramallah, Hadera, Nazareth, Beersheva and Holon.
Japan was ranked third, with 314 Filipino detainees; followed by Saudi Arabia with 213; Singapore, 192; Hong Kong, 77; and Kuwait, 47.
"Work-related and immigration concerns were the oft-cited reasons for the incarceration of Filipinos," Andaya said.
He said that "in appreciation of the robust dollar remittances of OFWs," the House of Representatives appropriations committee, which he chairs, is eyeing an increase in the percentage foreign missions can retain from the income generated by consular services so that OFWs "in distress" can be assisted.
Andaya said the DFA’s proposed budget for 2006 has allowed foreign posts to retain 50 percent of their income from consular services, such as visa and passport issuance, as their working fund.
"The number of Filipino detainees abroad is a matter of concern. Each one must be helped because we have always been guided by the policy that one Filipino in jail abroad is one too many," Andaya said, noting that of the 4,775 OFWs jailed in 2004, 1,103 are women.
He also said that of the 82 Philippine missions, only 12 reported not having aided a citizen in detention, "which means in every continent except Antarctica, in every climatic zone, you can find a Filipino in jail."
Andaya said that as of December 2004, 5,883 Filipinos sought help from Philippine embassies for a variety of reasons and 12,613 had to be sent back to the Philippines with government help.
He cited that of the 5,883 OFWs in distress, almost 40 percent or 2,122 of them ran for help at the Philippine embassy in Kuwait.
"All of those who have sought refuge in the Philippine embassy there were Filipinas, runaways who fled from (their) workplace due to maltreatment and oppression, ranging from sexual molestation, physical abuse and non-payment of salaries," Andaya said in a statement.
Second to Kuwait was the United Arab Emirates, where 797 Filipinos were reported to be in distress, followed by Singapore where 448 cases were recorded by the Philippine embassy there.
DFA statistics also showed Malaysia had deported the most number of Filipinos in 2004. "Of the recorded 12,613 deportations and repatriations, about one-third or 4,476 were courtesy of Malaysia after it cracked down on undocumented guest workers last year," Andaya said.
Following Malaysia is Saudi Arabia with 1,094 deportations, while Kuwait is a close third with 1,043.