Newly-appointed ambassadors of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), led by its former Secretary Enrique Manalo, paid a courtesy visit to Committee on Migrant Workers Chairperson Senator Raffy Tulfo recently at the Senate.
The officials include Ambassador Pablito Mendoza (Denmark), Ambassador Gines Gallaga (Bahrain), Ambassador Marlowe Miranda (Lebanon), Ambassador Noel Novicio (Fiji), Ambassador Jaime Ascalon (Turkey), and DAS Dinno Oblena (Promotion to Chief of Mission, Class II). They are scheduled to undergo confirmation by the Commission on Appointments (CA) in the coming days.
They were also joined by several undersecretaries and assistant secretaries. Among them were Undersecretary for Administration Tess De Vega, Undersecretary for Migration Affairs Leo Herrera-Lim, and Assistant Secretary Patrick Hilado.
During the courtesy visit, Senator Tulfo raised the issue of the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and seafarers. In particular, he cited the recent incident in the United States where many Filipino seafarers were deported allegedly without due process. He claimed they were accused by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of accessing pornographic materials even when no evidence was found against them.
Senator Tulfo also urged the newly appointed officials to coordinate with their counterparts in the countries where they will be assigned to establish policies prohibiting employers confiscating passports of OFWs — an issue that is widespread in the Middle East.
In closing, they agreed to commence joint efforts in assisting and protecting the OFWs and seafarers, and ensure they are not exploited nor abused.
