Cebuano workers safe; 3 more left for Taiwan

THE impact of the ongoing rift between the Philippines and Taiwan may not be all bad for Overseas Filipino Workers in the breakaway province of China.

Linelle Ann Lecena, 30, a native of Montaneza, Malabuyoc town in southern Cebu told Cebu Daily News she does not have problems with her employer, Microview Technologies in Hsinchu, Taiwan where she has been working for seven years.

“I already signed a renewal contract in our company but still there is no assurance that the Taiwanese government would allow OFWs to work there,” Lecena said.

A manpower firm however said that deployment of workers to Taiwan has not been stopped.

Rosemarie M. dela Pena, Cebu Branch manager of Topmost Manpower Specialist Corp told CDN, “We haven’t received instructions from the government to stop processing applications to Taiwan.”

Yesterday, the Topmost Manpower Specialist Corp deployed three Cebuanos to work as factory workers in Taiwan.

Lecena’s contract will end this August and she will be coming back in the Philippines for her to process her papers and visa in the agency where she applied before.

But even before the current rift erupted, Lecena said discrimination is a common experience among OFWs in Taiwan.

Lecena said that she has not experienced physical harassment, but had some misunderstandings with her Taiwanese co-workers.

She said that the house where the violence against Filipinos three days ago is within their neighborhood. At least two OFWs were injured when Taiwanese youth armed with baseball bats barged into their dormitory.

Lecena said there are 19 Filipinos in their dormitory, three of them Cebuanos. “But we are glad security here in our dorm is tighter compared to others,” Lecena added.

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Central Visayas vows to extend assistance in case there are OFWs from the region affected by the ongoing problem.

Maricel Regasajo, information officer of OWWA 7, said that they have yet to receive any call for assistance from any OFWs in Taiwan or from their relatives here.

There are 3,988 OFWs from Region 7 in Taiwan, of this, 2,852 are women.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that a cooperation agreement between the National Bureau of Investigation officials and Taiwanese prosecutors last Monday could ease tensions between the Philippines and Taiwan.

De Lima said the Philippines remained adamant about not agreeing to a joint investigation, which its one-China policy did not allow, and instead agreed to a cooperative investigation./With Jhunnex Napallacan and Inquirer