By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.
Manila Bulletin
The provincial government of Cebu has offered to shoulder the travel expenses of the 23 detained Cebuano overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Trinidad-Tobago so they can immediately return and reunite with their families.
Although three of the detained OFWs are residents of Cebu City, a chartered city that is not under the provincial government, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said the offer for help applies to everybody.
"We need to ensure their safety because they are Cebuanos, whether they lived in the city or in the province," Garcia said.
During the meeting between Governor Garcia and the families of the OFWs, they called Labor Attache Florinda Herrera to inform her that the families decided on the immediate return of their loved ones.
Earlier, Garcia informed Herrera of the provincial government’s offer to shoulder the airfare but the official informed the governor that the OFWs wanted to iron things out so they can continue working abroad.
Herrera informed Garcia that the offer of the provincial government is no longer necessary because the secretary of labor already informed her that they have the funds for it, a statement which allegedly drew the ire of the families.
The 23 Cebuano OFWs were brought to a prison facility in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago following their arrest by immigration authorities for working without the necessary permits.
They had stopped working for the company that had originally hired them in the Caribbean state, and were accepting another job offers after they felt shortchanged in their original one-year contract.
Earlier, worried family members in Cebu have asked the help of government officials, including Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna and Senate President Manuel Villar, to help the workers return to the Philippines.
The family of 37-year-old Jacqueline Ann Fortuna, a civil engineer, was particularly worried because she is the only female in the group.
"We just want her and her companions home safe. It is torture for the family to know that they are in prison. We don’t know what to do," Fortuna’s sister Marisol said.
It was gathered that the group was hired last June by South America-based Multitask General Maintenance Co. Limited through the Be Glad Worldwide Placement Agency, a Cebu City-based recruitment firm that is accredited with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
They were supposed to work as construction workers at Bacolet, Scarborough in Tobago Island.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=15431.0