October 22, 2008

23 CEBUANO OFWs SET TO ARRIVE FROM TRINIDAD

The 23 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were detained in Trinidad and Tobago are expected to arrive today in Manila.

The OFWs left their employer in Tobago due to breach of contract and tried to transfer to another employer in Trinidad but upon arrival they were detained by immigration authorities for allegedly holding fake documents reported by their first employer.

Their families led by Marisol Fortuna earlier asked the help of Senate President Manny Villar who facilitated their prompt repatriation in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs. Villar shall likewise extend seed livelihood assistance to the returning workers. Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia shouldered their plane tickets.

In a letter dated Oct. 16 to Villar, Foreign Affairs Usec. For Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. informed the Senate President of the arrival of the 23 OFWs today via QR646, 4:05PM

The Office of Villar formally wrote the DFA on Oct. 2 to seek immediate assistance on behalf of the OFWs and called up Philippine Honorary Consul in Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Marie Magno-Advani.

Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American state of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It consists of two main islands, Trinidad which is the larger and more populous, and Tobago, which comprises six percent of the total area and four percent of the population.