An overseas Filipina worker (OFW) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia blamed poverty for her inability to speak and understand English, which later caused her job.
OFW Joan (not her real name) said she was sent home by her employer, only weeks into her job, for her lack of understanding of the English language.
“Hindi po ako marunong ni isa po, pag sinasabihan ako ng how are you hindi ko rin po masagot. Yuko na lang po ako,” Joan told GMA News.
Joan attributed her lack of education to poverty, which was the same reason that pushed her to work overseas.
The OFW detailed that her recruiters helped her get a job abroad despite her lack of education. She added that she was only asked to sign several papers.
Labor Attaché Nasser Mustafa reminded recruitment agencies to conduct background checks on OFWs before sending them overseas.
“Dapat suriing mabuti ng mga recruitment agencies ang mga recommended ng kanilang mga agent,” Mustafa said.
“Kailangan on top of the situation sila sa pagre-recruit nila dahil kapag nagkaroon ng problema ay hindi naman ang agent nila ang mananagot dito kundi ang recruitment agency nila.”
Mustafa cited other problems in recruitment, including deployment of minors and inexperienced OFWs.
