‘Stop arbitrary offloading of UAE-bound Pinoys’ – FilClub

FilClub, an umbrella group of some 80 major Filipino organizations across Dubai and the Northern Emirates, has called on Philippine Immigration to stop arbitrarily offloading those leaving the country for the UAE on visit visas to look for jobs.

In an interview with The Filipino Times, Engr. Maria Fe “Tata” Dayot, FilClub chair, stressed these people should be allowed to seek better opportunities abroad at their own risk. She noted that they would eventually provide revenues by way of remittances should they find jobs or go back home if they failed in their attempt.

Besides, Dayot added, offloading, or the practice of not allowing a passenger to board the aircraft, violates a person’s constitutional right to travel.      

“The Immigration should end offloading on grounds of using visit visas for job hunting abroad,” said Dayot. “Officials should consider the positive side of it, once these people get jobs, they start contributing to the country’s growth by way of revenues from remittances,” she added.

Dayot lamented that Filipinos would not have to take chances abroad if there had been opportunities back home.

Atty. Barney Almazar has echoed Dayot’s remarks, saying it doesn’t make sense when job seekers who leave the Philippines on visit visas and found jobs abroad are entered into the government’s database of documented overseas Filipino workers who, themselves are required to pay contributions to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an agency tasked to look after the state of OFWs abroad.

He also argued that the UAE government, by virtue of the visit visa issued, has allowed the bearer to enter the country. “So why stop him or her?” he said.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente has explained that Immigration officers offload visit visa holders tom protect them from falling prey to traffickers and unscrupulous employers.

Over 600 distressed Filipinos have been repatriated by the Philippine embassy and consulate general in the UAE in the first half of the year, according to officials, who added that most of those flown home entered the country on visit visas allegedly facilitated by human traffickers.