TIM eMagazine Vol.1 Issue 5
The monetary award as a result of the settlement ranges between P4,666
to P85,000 per OFW.
“All of these services were rendered to the distressed
OFWs in the convenience of the one-stop shop of Assist
W.E.L.L.,” said Baldoz.
Deputy Administrator Amuerfina Reyes of the
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
reported to the Secretary that the monetary claims of
the eight OFWs were for underpaid wages, refund of
placement fees, and refund of medical expenses.
“The monetary award as a result of the settlement
ranges between P4,666 to P85,000 per OFW,” Reyes
said.
POEA, which heads the Assist Well Management
Committee Secretariat, said that of the eight OFWs,
three worked in Taiwan; two worked in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia; one each came from Qatar, Kuwait, and
Ghana.
The three workers from Taiwan are factory workers.
The workers from KSA were a truck driver and one was
a household service worker. The three others were a
general cleaning worker, a waiter, and a fisherman.
According to Deputy Administrator Reyes, the eight
cases involved seven recruitment agencies, namely,
Al Rafedain, Fil-Sino Manpower, Connor & Wyson,
Rotana International, Quintinians, Gets International
and Seahouse Fishery.
The OFW-claimants were Beejay O. Aguirre,
a truck driver, with a claim of P30,000 in unpaid
wages from Al Rafedain Manpower; Edgar A. Babon,
factory worker, with a claim of P5,000 in refund of
medical expenses from Fil-Sino Manpower Services,
Inc.; William D. Calitis, operator in Taiwan, with a
refund of P85,000 in placement fees from Connor &
Wyson Overseas Employment Corporation; Rofel L.
Dumlao, a factory worker in Taiwan, with a claim of
P70,000 in refunds of placement fee from Connor &
Wyson Overseas Employment Corporation; Aileen P.
Raga, HSW in Saudi Arabia, with a claim for the return
of her travel documents from Rotana International
Manpower Inc; Tommy H. Sapalon, general cleaning
worker in Qatar, with a claim of some expenses and
the return of his travel documents from Quintinians
Placement Agency Inc.; Mike Joseph B. Sinocruz, a
waiter in Kuwait, with a claim of P12,000 in unpaid
salary and refund of placement fee from Gets Intl.
Development Manpower Services Inc.; and Rommel
A. Valdez, a fisherman who worked in Ghana, and who
had a claim of pay-on-board, unpaid salary and savings,
and unexpired portion of the contract from Seahouse
Fishery and Aquatic Resources Inc.
Baldoz said the string of recent global developments
which poses political, health, and economic security
threats and emergencies that could impact on the
employment of OFWs has impelled the DOLE to
establish the Assist W.E.L.L. Program and the one-stop
shop Assist W.E.L.L. Processing Centers.
“We envision the Assist W.E.L.L. Program as a longterm strategy to address the reintegration challenge,” she
said, adding:
“The Assist W.E.L.L. Program is tailored-fit for
the bad times and good times, for the return of our
OFWs whatever the reason, be it on account of their
retirement from their overseas venture, short vacation,
or emergency or crisis. We see this as our contribution to
reverse migration.”
We envision the Assist W.E.L.L. Program as a long-term strategy to address
the reintegration challenge.
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