Government asked to stop requiring waivers from OFWs returning to Bahrain

MANILA, Philippines - Ambassador to Bahrain Ma. Corazon Yap-Bahjin was asked yesterday to stop requiring returning Filipino workers from signing an affidavit that they know the risk of going back to that troubled country.

In a letter, John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said the requirement is the same as abandoning the overseas Filipino workers.

“This in effect will absolve the government from its accountability to OFWs who insist on returning to Bahrain,” he said.

Monterona said they could not think any other purpose for imposing the requirement.

“We believe the government can’t relinquish its primary responsibility of protecting its Filipino workers abroad,” he said.

The government had imposed a deployment on new hires due to the political unrest in Bahrain.

Migrante has launched an online petition to demand the lifting of the partial deployment ban for new hires to Bahrain.

The petition letter can be accessed at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/liftpartialbanofofwstobahrain/

It will be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

“Filipino groups including Migrante-Middle East are calling for a new assessment on the peace and order situation in Bahrain and ask the Philippine embassy to issue a corresponding travel advisory such that to allow our fellow OFWs, returning and new hires, to enter Bahrain without requiring them to issue a waiver and on the basis that the peace and order in Bahrain had calmed down,” Monterona said.