A PDI article reads: "Malacanang cut more than the legal assistance fund of distressed overseas Filipino workers, it also slashed by almost half this year’s foreign affairs’ P200-million budget for overall assistance to OFWs down to P109.3 million next year."

Huwag, boss!

A further reading of Susan Ople's site states: The DFA budget has been cut by more than 40 percent. In 2010, its budget was P19 billion. Next year, the DFA and its foreign posts would have to make do with P10.98 billion.

Maybe there's a good reason why you cut the DFA's budget. Maybe you're putting the money elsewhere where it will benefit more Filipinos. But Boss, try to look at this photo.


Photo sourced from New York Times.

They're Pinays in Kuwait Embassy, packed like sardines, who ran away from their 'amo' due to abuse. Some have been repatriated to the Philippines last week; there are more still waiting to get home.

Can you ensure that the cut in DFA's budget will not affect them (and those others who fall prey to abusive employers abroad, and whose only chance of being saved is through the assistance of our government)? If you can (and I know you can), cut the huge salaries and unnecessary benefits of those working in Philippine embassies around the world (I heard they're mighty excessive).  Boss, huwag po yung para sa OFWs!

Below is the Official Statement of the Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards (PEBA) on the proposed cuts on DFA Legal Assistance Fund

"We stand as an alliance of Filipino Expats and OFWs whose primary advocacy is to promote the welfare and safeguard the rights of our fellow Filipino workers abroad through blogs. We would like to call for the President Benigno S Aquino and the members of the Philippine Congress to reconsider the proposed cut on the Legal Assistance Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ budget.

This act is dangerous to the already deplorable conditions of many OFWs who are incarcerated in various countries needing legal assistance. The legal complexities of those who have been abused, ill-treated and became victims of unfair labor practice are costly and (it is) a lengthy fight.

The proposed cut would undermine the ability of our Consulate Offices to file legal actions that would protect thousands of Filipinos abroad working for their families to survive the poverty-stricken living condition of our fellow “kababayans” in the Philippines.

How unfortunate that this is what we get for being the “modern day heroes.” No country would treat their heroes this way; it is insane to reduce legal assistance fund to a meager 27 million a year. The lack of funds as a reason for letting piteous Pinoy OFWs die in other countries brought by inability to legally defend their case would be tragic, senseless and an insensitive display of our government’s agenda on OFWs and other migrant workers.

Please, please! We seek for your forthright defense of our already underprivileged sector whose only intention is to let their families live a good life, send their children or siblings to school, save the Philippine economy and let our nation become great again. As Filipino Expatriates and OFWs, we provide our nation with new hope, we let the world see our eminence in various fields, we make each of us proud to become Filipino and yet, the government has been less and less appreciative of our contribution by decreasing our means to be protected from legal scuffles.

As united bloggers in different parts of the world, we will continue to knock, beat our drums and reach every home with Internet to let the world know that this is not fair, that this is an injustice to our welfare and would send our many fellow Filipinos working abroad into the mud of legal demise.

We hope that this plead will not fall on deaf ears, we are in a new era of governance, our new administration have relentlessly brandished renewal as their guiding thrust, prove to us that you care for the OFWs by scrapping the proposed cut from DFA’s Legal Assistance Fund.

Pinoy Expats OFW Blog Awards (PEBA)
PEBA-OFW Alliance Action Group
http://www.pinoyblogawards.com/

Kablogs (Gateway of OFW Bloggers)
http://www.ofwkablogs.com/