27 years since Flor Contemplacion, OFWs still at risk of abuse and maltreatment

Groups mark the death of Flor Contemplacion, an Overseas Filipino Worker executed in Singapore in 1995, with a march on March 17, 2022.

Philstar.com / Kaycee Valmonte

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly three decades after migrant worker Flor Contemplacion was executed in 1995, groups said overseas Filipino workers are still treated as commodities and do not get enough protection or assistance from the government.

Contemplacion, executed in Singapore on a murder conviction, drew attention to the plight of OFWs and groups who marked her death said the Migrant Workers Act was passed "as an attempt to appease the people’s widespread anger" over her death.

The law regulates overseas employment and penalizes illegal recruitment and also commits the state to deploying Filipinos "only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected" through existing labor laws and international agreements and conventions that protect migrant workers. 

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/03/18/2168201/27-years-flor-contemplacion-ofws-still-risk-abuse-and-maltreatment