Manila to help OFWs seeking UAE amnesty

The Philippines Department of Labour and Employment (Dole) yesterday said that it would extend all possible assistance to illegally staying overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who take advantage of an amnesty programme set up by the UAE government.

Labour Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas said that the assistance would include issuance of travel documents to those who have lost their passports and arrangements with airlines and travel agencies for a special rate for them to go back to the Philippines.

Santo Tomas quoted the Labour Attache to Abu Dhabi, Annabella Oliveros, as saying that the proposed amnesty would allow all illegal and overstaying immigrants in the UAE to leave the country without any hassle.

Oliveros reportedly said that during the last amnesty granted to illegal immigrants in the UAE in 1996, some 6,000 overstaying Filipinos left the Emirates without being penalised.

Santo Tomas also said that the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (Polo) in Abu Dhabi had discussed with Consul Renato Villa the form of assistance to extend to Filipino amnesty-seekers, especially those who have been detained or would need financial help for them to go home.

The Dole said that OFWs seeking amnesty would by interviewed to validate their identity and declaration to deter those who have bank loans or financial problems from leaving the UAE using travel documents under an assumed name.

The Philippine government estimates that there are more than 130,000 Filipinos in the UAE. About 9,000 of them are expected to take advantage of the amnesty.