3 Filipinas step up in embassy sex scandal

Manila: Three Filipinos who claim they were subjected to sexual exploitation by staff at certain embassies in the Middle East said they are willing to testify against their tormentors if the government can ensure their security.

“Today, an OFW [overseas Filipino worker] victim along with two others conveyed to us that they will issue an affidavit and will file a complaint if Philippine authorities could assure their safety and provide security upon return to the country,” John Leonard Monterona, Middle East and North Africa vice-chair of the migrant workers’ group Migrante said.

Earlier, Walden Bello, chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs, exposed the alleged practice of some embassy staff and labour representatives of asking for sexual favours from distressed Filipino women in exchange for repatriation and provision for sustenance while at embassy-run shelters. Bello referred to the practice as “flight-for-sex” transactions.

In light of this, Monterona called on the government to provide assistance to the victims and assure their safety from possible retribution by officials.

According to Monterona, the penchant of certain embassy and labour officials to demand sexual favours from distressed OFWs staying in the half-way homes run by the government overseas was “common knowledge” within the Filipino community.

“It’s a disgrace,” Monterona said, referring to the heads of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Labour and Employment.

Three Filipino embassy staff and labour representatives in three Middle Eastern countries are being investigated on the basis of complaints made by Bello. Aside from these three, Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario had ordered eight more Philippine envoys to the Middle East to return to the country and give their accounts on the issue.

Foreign affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez, in a press briefing, said Philippine envoys in the Middle Eastern countries would be summoned with regards to the sex-for-repatriation racket.

The presidential office has said it will take come down hard on people found to be involved if the practice is proven to be true.

Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said the presidential palace is leaving it to foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario to tackle the issue.

“Let’s allow the DFA establish the facts first and, if these reports are true, then, certainly, we will not tolerate that,” Carandang said.

Reports about the alleged scam surfaced after an unidentified female OFW, who was part of a group of 46 housemaids deported from the Kuwaiti Deportation Centre, complained about sexual demands of an “embassy official” in exchange for her repatriation.