Repatriation Stepped Up Exit Requirements For Filipino Workers In Syria Waived

MANILA, Philippines --- SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad has ordered that the exit visa requirements for all the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) taking shelter at the Philippine Embassy in Damascus be waived immediately and without preconditions, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported on Wednesday.
Al-Assad’s directive was relayed to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario by Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous.
Del Rosario flew to the Syrian capital last Tuesday to step up the Philippine government’s efforts to bring home the Filipinos fleeing the civil war.
Del Rosario met with Syrian leaders including Arnous, the DFA said.
He first met with Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, Presidential Adviser for Political and Media Affairs, whom he thanked for her help in repatriating some 200 Filipino workers last month.
The 200 OFWs were flown to the Philippines without paying exit visa fees and penalties at the Syrian Immigration and Passport Directorate.
Del Rosario explained to Shaaban that he is once again in Syria to request that exit visa requirements be waived for the 250 OFWs under the embassy’s care.
He also asked Shaaban’s assistance in facilitating the repatriation of another 1,300 OFWs who want to go home, and the 2,400 others who are in Syria but have not manifested their intention to return to the Philippines.
Del Rosario explained that while the workers are staying in Syria legally, most of them were illegally recruited from the Philippines and may be victims of human trafficking.
Shaaban promised to do her best and assured del Rosario she will call Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem for him to accommodate the requests of the Philippine delegation.
The DFA said del Rosario handed over the lists of the OFWs in Syria, based on the combined database of the embassy, the Immigration Directorate and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
Later, del Rosario met with Foreign Minister al-Moallem, who was joined by Arnous and the Chief of Asia Department, Ambassador Suleiman Saraa.
Al-Moallem supposedly left an important Cabinet meeting to be able to meet with the Philippine delegation.
Del Rosario explained the difficulties the Philippine government faces in bringing home its nationals, particularly the exit visa fees and documents needed before they are allowed to leave Syria.
But according to Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, despite the Syrian government’s decision to waive the exit requirements, the problem of the Filipinos’ employers demanding expensive refund from the Philippine government remains.
Binay, who is Presidential Adviser on OFWs’ Concerns, said that despite the resistance of employers, repatriation efforts are continuing.
“Sometimes we manage to send home 20 OFWs, sometimes 30. Our problem really is the employers are resistant,” Binay said in a television interview.
He said an OFW needs his or her employer’s permission to be granted an exit permit. “That’s why we have to negotiate with the employer,” he said.
Some Syrian employers however had taken advantage of the mandatory repatriation of OFWs by demanding from $8,000 to $10,000 as a refund before they sign the exit permits.
The amount is relatively huge compared to the $2,000 a Syrian employer shells out in order to hire an OFW.
“It’s a good thing that the Syrian government has decided to wave some taxes. So the problem lies on the employers who demand refunds,” Binay said.
The Philippine government has spent a total of $3 million to bring home OFWs from war-torn Syria.
It declared mandatory repatriation and a deployment ban when the Crisis Alert for Syria was raised to Level 4 last December.