Angara calls for deployment of social welfare envoys in PH embassies

(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)

Senator Sonny Angara has proposed the dispatch of more social welfare attachés (SWA) who could extend “psychosocial care” to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in countries swamped with cases of abuse.

Angara said that the designation of what he called “a lead malasakit officer” in Philippine embassies could provide special care to distressed OFWs.

“Kahit meron tayong magagaling na abogado sa mga embahada at batikang eksperto sa lokal na regulasyon, ang isang kakulangan ay ‘yung magbibigay ng psychosocial care doon sa mga biktima ng trafficking or violence,” Angara said in a statement on Friday.

“Traumatized Filipinos require the services of a trained professional. In short, ‘a lead malasakit officer’,” he also said.

Angara’s statement came amid the rising number of physically abused OFWs, particularly in the Middle East.

On Friday, the body of Joanna Daniela Demafelis arrived in Manila after being found inside a freezer in Kuwait. Demafelis was reportedly kept in an abandoned apartment in the Gulf state for more than a year.

Currently, according to Angara, there are only four social welfare officers deployed by the government to different countries.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has two SWAs posted in Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and one each in Kuwait and Malaysia.

The government is planning to send three more SWAs to Dubai, Qatar, and Hong Kong.

“Kung ang isang OFW ay biktima ng sexual abuse, ‘yung pagtulong sa kanila ay nangangailangan ng isang specialist and this is the kind of skill-set that might not be found in the organizational setup of an embassy,” Angara said.

The presence of SWAs, Angara added, is a welcome addition to an embassy, and they should be integrated and made permanent fixture of the country’s foreign service.     /kga