OFWs in distress now home

The Department of Migrant Workers and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration welcomed the 50 distressed Filipinos on Monday as the government kicked off "Pamaskong Salubong para sa Bagong Bayani ng Bagong Pilipinas" at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.

Among the distressed OFWs who arrived was Lonelyn Santos Magana, 38 years old, a resident of Bicol, who worked for three years as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia. She shared her traumatic experience of being locked up by her boss in their house.

"We were locked up. Most OFWs were locked up by their employers in their rooms and we endure that. We're worse off than prisoners; we have to endure that because life is hard," Magana said.

Magana added that during her three years working as a domestic helper, they were overworked and had no days off.

"We didn't have any days off for three whole years. Because of our frustration, we had the courage to speak up to our employers. Sometimes, we just make up excuses for the employers to let us go home to our country," Magana added.

Meanwhile, Hosna Badron, a 51-year-old resident of Kumulurang, Zamboanga, who served as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia for 14 years, mentioned that her employer refused to return her passport. She was surprised to discover a pending case against her that she wasn't aware of.

"My employers are okay, but my problem is that they won't let me go back to my country. When I asked them my passport, they said they lost it. Then I was about to renew my passport, but they would not allow me. I sought help at the embassy, and I stayed there for three months because apparently, there was an immigration case against me that I was not aware of. They said I had a visa issue that was not resolved," Badron said adding that they were not physically harmed or starved.

The Department of Migrant Workers and OWWA distributed P55,000 to each OFWs who arrived from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and an additional P5,000 to those OFWs with children.

The Pamaskong Salubong is a yearly government program that serves as a gesture of gratitude for the valuable contributions of OFWs to the nation.