On top of the daily sacrifices borne by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), some are less fortunate than others, and find themselves thrust into crises in a foreign land. Some are caught in the crossfires of war, like workers residing in Lebanon or Israel. Others fall victim to recruitment scams and are trafficked, as in the case of Mary Jane Veloso. Still others are bracing for the impact of policies looming possibly closer than anticipated: some immigrants in the United States are holding their breath in dread of President-elect Donald Trump’s harsh deportation plans.
Below are some glimpses—numbers, figures and stories—which have defined 2024 for the Filipino worker abroad.
Leaving war
The Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA) assured that it dedicates its efforts to aiding OFWs facing crises abroad.
In an interview with DZRH, OWWA Repatriation and Assistance Division Head Director Atty. Falconi Millar said that over 9,000 OFWs have already made their way home from Kuwait after availing of the agency’s repatriation program.
From Lebanon, where the escalating Israeli-Hamas conflict can be felt, 1,257 Filipino workers have been brought home since October 2023; Filipinos who have returned from Israel now number to 1,133, Millar stated.
The OWWA official said the agency was working hand-in-hand with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in supporting workers who have come back. Both separately grant OFWs ₱75,000 as initial financial assistance.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have also aligned their efforts with OWWA and the DMW.
“Kayo po ay makakaasa ng full support ng gobyerno, ng DMW at ng OWWA. Hindi po natatapos ang pagtulong sa inyo ng DMW, OWWA, sa pag-uwi dito. Kayo po ay aasikasuhin namin sa pag-uwi dito, magkakaroon po kayo ng panimulang special financial assistance,” Millar promised.
(You can count on the government’s full support, from the DMW and OWWA. The DMW and OWWA’s aid does not end at the arrival here. We will attend to you when you come home, you will have a starting special financial assistance.)
Some Filipinos had taken Kuwaiti, Lebanese, and Israeli spouses, and were thus hard to persuade into voluntary repatriation. However, the danger posed by tensions between Israel and Hamas compelled them into leaving for the Philippines.
The United Arab Emirates are also offering overstaying Filipinos an amnesty program.
Leaving a death sentence
Mary Jane Veloso is a single mother of two and was grappling to make ends meet when she turned to work abroad to support her family’s needs. She initially took up work as a domestic helper in Dubai in 2009, but flew back home after her contract was terminated due to an attempt to sexually exploit her.
In April 2010, she was recruited by Cristina Sergio, a neighbor, who promised her a job as a domestic worker in Malaysia. Sergio said Veloso’s ticket was to be paid for, in exchange for two months’ salary. For a financially-struggling mother, this news could be considered a blessing.
Veloso had only been in Malaysia for three days, but already couldn’t fit all her belongings in the backpack she carried. Sergio had been buying her clothes and food, and once again offered to give her a new bag. Upon accepting the bag, Veloso noticed it was heavy, although empty. She paid it no mind.
She was also handed a brown envelope with $500 and a ticket to Indonesia. The job in Malaysia had already been given to someone else, but there was a vacancy in Indonesia.
On April 25, 2010, Veloso arrived in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and apprehended by authorities after her luggage set off an alarm and 2.6 kg of heroin was discovered sewn into the lining of her bag. She was given the death penalty on October 11th.
The Philippines pleaded her case before the Indonesian Supreme Court, but all petitions for clemency for death row detainees were junked by former Indonesian President Joko Widodo after four years.
Veloso was transferred to Besi Prison on Nusa Kambangan Island, joining nine other drug convicts, to be executed.
Just hours before her execution, Veloso was granted reprieve.
Then-President Benigno Aquino III had personally phoned Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to beg Veloso’s case, citing her usefulness in uncovering the drug syndicate that had used her as a mule. She testified, and her execution was put on hold indefinitely.
In 2016, however, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told the Indonesian government to “please go ahead” should it wish to move forward with Veloso’s execution.
Sergio and her live-in partner, Julius Lacanilao, was found guilty of large-scale illegal recruitment.
This November, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced that through over a decade of dialogue and diplomacy, Mary Jane Veloso was finally set to go home.
Her plane touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at around 5 AM on December 18. At last, nearly 15 years and three Philippine administrations later, she was home, and no longer subject to the death penalty.
Veloso, her family, and supporters are now clamoring for clemency. President Marcos however, has felt it too early for such a development and left the matter to the experts.
Uncertainty, apprehension
President Joe Biden’s elected successor, Donald Trump, has made his immigration plans for the United States of America crystal clear.
“I will launch the largest deportation program in American history,” he said during his campaign. “I will put these and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them the hell out of our country.”
With mass deportations to follow Trump’s return to the White House, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, has advised TNT immigrants, or “Tago ng Tago,” to leave the country.
“My advice to many of our fellow men who actually are still here, but cannot get any kind of status: is for them not to wait to be deported,” Romualdez said during a virtual briefing by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
He reasoned that the immigration policies to be instituted may prove strict, as his stance concerning the issue likely earned him his landslide triumph.
“That is the promise he made to the American public, and that’s probably the reason why he won, an issue that is very important for a large number of Americans,” he explained.
He warned that immigrants, once deported, may never return to the States.
“My advice to them is to immediately leave, voluntarily, because once you’re deported, you can never come back to the United States. At least if you leave, there's always an opportunity or a chance that you'd be able to file ... and just follow the rules and regulations of the country. That’s the only way,” he stated.
The number of undocumented Filipino immigrants, who face the risk of being blacklisted or deported, are estimated to be at around 250,000 - 350,000.
Romualdez emphasized however, that Filipino healthcare workers are esteemed members of the American workforce, and Filipino construction workers are in high demand.
