Trafficked OFWs file complaint against ex-PH envoy to Syria, four others
MANILA, Philippines — Overseas Filipino workers trafficked to Syria as domestic workers filed a complaint against former Charges d’Affaires Alex Lamadrid and four other staff who were posted at the embassy in Damascus over allegations of abuse and neglect.
The OFWs also complained about the treatment they received under Ramjy Abdullah, Jun Carillo, Kathleen Llarena, and Ramoncito “Chito” Mendoza while at the embassy.
Lamadrid has already denied the allegations and said he has yet to officially be informed of the case filed at the Office of the Ombudsman, according to a report by CNN Philippines.
Migrante Philippines said the complaint, filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, is “monumental” for the coalition as it is their first time to formally lodge a case against a government official “as high as an ambassador” since they previously relied on holding dialogues with the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies.
“What we want is for Ambassador Lamadrid and his staff to get administrative and criminal liability so that it will become an example because, in Migrante’s experience, we have been receiving a lot of complaints from OFWs in Syria and other countries on how neglectful our government officials are when posted overseas,” Arman Hernando, chairperson at Migrante Philippines, said in Filipino.
“We want the DFA to act swiftly on the matter since it has already been two years since the trafficking victims got back from Syria… but until now, they still have trouble recovering from what they went through that was aggravated by how they were treated at the embassy.”
READ: DFA investigates staff for possible abuse of trafficking victims staying at embassy in Syria
Recounting abuse, neglect
The “Syria Survivors”—or the 25 out of the 52 human trafficking victims repatriated from Syria from 2020 to 2021—detailed in a 15-page complaint their experiences at the embassy.
They told the Ombudsman that some of the embassy staff confiscated their cellphones, which cut off their contact with their families back home.
Lamadrid later said was the embassy’s standard procedure, but phones were eventually returned.
OFWs also complained of not having enough food to eat or being served food that led to food poisoning, and some of the embassy employees said crude or unwanted remarks laced with sexual undertones to the trafficked OFWs.
“I'm not aware of any instance of 'verbal sexual abuse' against any ward of the shelter when I was in Damascus PE,” Lamadrid told CNN Philippines.
Syria Survivors also reported that some of the staff working under the Assistance to Nationals Section of the embassy, Carillo and Abdullah, asked a then 16-year-old Lotlot in Filipino if she “knows what 69 is” as this is “what feels good in bed.”
Trafficked OFWs said they were also sold, with prices ranging at least $6,000 per OFW whenever they were sold to new employers.
They also said the embassy kept on delaying the processing of their repatriation back home. Lamadrid explained that the processing of exit permits was then affected by the lockdown implemented from March to September 2020 in Syria and denied that the Filipinos were neglected.
"While the shelter is indeed located in the basement of the embassy, the wards are not restricted in their movement—they were free to go around the embassy premises. In fact, they were given swimming lessons in the Embassy pool in the summer months," Lamadrid said.
"They also interacted with FilCom during meetings, commemorative events like Philippine holidays, as well as Christmas and other parties organized by Filcom with the Embassy."
Migrante Philippines then called on Lamadrid to be held accountable for his actions and to not play innocent.
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