Binay urges OFWs to follow Phl, China laws

MANILA, Philippines –  Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday advised Filipino migrant workers in China to abide by the laws there to avoid complications.

“I’m asking you to follow all the regulations of China. I am seeking your support and cooperation to remind all our countrymen in China to do the same to avoid any problems,” Binay said in a speech before the Filipino community in Guangzhou, China.

Binay, presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ concerns, noted OFWs in China usually face issues of overstaying, illegal recruitment and drug trafficking.

Consul General Joselito Jimeno told Binay that the issue of overstaying nationals is connected to illegal recruitment.

Jimeno said victims of illegal recruitment, who discover too late that their visas were not processed and therefore have illegal status, would prefer to stay and find employment to compensate for their financial loss.

Binay also stressed that Filipino workers should not risk their future in China to earn money.

He reminded the Filipino community that smuggling 50 grams of heroin is punishable by death in China.

“Drug mules often play willing victims of smuggling illegal substances out of desperation to earn money,” he said.

Binay noted two Filipinos are currently facing the death penalty for drug trafficking in China.

Binay assured the OFWs that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are working on a comprehensive response to address their concerns.

He said President Aquino has approved a P1-billion loan fund for OFWs to give them employment and business opportunities when they return home.

“The objective of the present administration is to look for solutions to poverty by providing jobs and enough income for Filipinos so that going abroad will just be an alternative,” Binay said.

Binay went to Guangzhou to attend the opening of the 2010 Asian Para Games upon the invitation of the Chinese government.