Philippines to host Global Forum on Migration next year
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MANILA — The Philippines is slated to host a global forum on migration next year in an effort to resolve the serious problems in the deployment of Filipino workers abroad.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Esteban Conejos revealed this today in the television program, “The Cabinet Speaks” hosted by Press Undersecretary Martin Crisostomo and GMA Channel 7 reporter Ralph Guzman, at the New Executive Building (NEB) of Malacanang.
Conejos said the DFA is scheduled to host the Global Forum on Migration and Development in the Philippines early next year to discuss the problem of migration experienced by the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
At least 500 delegates from 120 countries are expected to converge in Manila to discuss the problem of migration, he said.
The forum is considered timely considering the spate of events involving migrant workers in various parts of the world.
The country, in particular, was shocked over the death of a Filipino worker in the latest bombing attack in Iraq.
On the other hand, the Filipino nation rejoiced after Sarah Dematera, a domestic helper, was freed from a Saudi Arabian jail after 15 years in death row, even as eight OFWs, victims of kidnapping in Nigeria, arrived this morning.
Dematera was convicted and sentenced to death in 1992 for killing her employer. She was able to return home last Tuesday after she was forgiven by the Saudi Arabian king.
Conejos said Dematera got a royal pardon from The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz as a result of the successful state visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Saudi Arabia in May 2006.
Conejos reiterated that the government, through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), has existing integration program for repatriating OFWs.
Aside from that, he said, the concerned agencies will continue implementing its repatriation program especially in war-torn countries like Iraq, Lebanon, and Nigeria, among others. (OPS)
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