A total of 158 distressed overseas Filipino workers, mostly victims of illegal recruitment, were repatriated from the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday.
Seventy-four of those repatriated were from Abu Dhabi and 84 from Dubai.
Philippine Consul General to Dubai Paul Raymund Cortes said the repatriated workers were found to have left the country using short-term visit visas and were promised to be issued with work visa by illegal recruiters.
“Many of them were overworked, suffered maltreatment, and experienced contract violations by their employer,” Cortes said.
In view of the latest repatriation, the DFA reiterated its warning to Filipinos seeking employment abroad against the use of tourist or visit visas to secure overseas jobs.
It said that OFWs without the proper employment documents are more prone to abuses and exploitation by their employers.
“The Department has been receiving reports about illegal recruiters using a third or fourth country, usually where visa is not required for Filipinos and some countries in the Middle East, as jump-off points to send Filipino workers to banned destinations,” the DFA said.
Since January 2019, more than 4,800 overseas Filipinos have been repatriated to the country from the UAE, costing the government over P135.34 million. (Roy Mabasa)
