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| Protesters say Immigration officers in Manila do not honor the affidavit of support issued by the Consulate in Macau |
Migrant workers in Macau have stepped up a campaign against
the offloading of their family members leaving the Philippines by launching a petition
campaign against the practice on July 2.
Migrante Macau chair and protest organizer Emer de Lina said
the practice carried out by Bureau of Immigration officials in Manila is discriminatory and insulting.
“It is discriminatory because this only happens to OFWs’
relatives, as well as other ordinary Filipinos, not bigwig politicians or their…wives.
It is insulting, because the Bureau of Immigration officials in Manila assume that the
offloaded migrant Filipinos are illegally leaving the country, when they merely
want to visit us.” De Lina said in a press statement.
She complained that those who are prevented from taking
their flights to Macau are left with no
recourse because there is no complaint mechanism for those offloaded, much less
an investigation.
“If the passenger was treated wrongly, what can be done to
resolve the problem? How long will it take for it to be resolved? And what can
be done so that it will not happen again? Our relatives are guilty until proven
innocent,” she said.
The offloading has reportedly led to dire consequences for
the migrant workers, as they end up losing not just sleep over the failure of
visiting family members to board their flights, but also a substantial sum.
De Lina said the workers usually buy promotional air fares
which are non-refundable so if their relatives are turned away at the airports,
they end up buying tickets for them again.
Workers also pay for the authenticated affidavit of support
from the Consulate at more than MOP200 each, as the document purports to show
that they will be taking care of their relatives’ financial needs while in Macau .
“However, this is disregarded by BI officials. In addition,
there are allegations that these officials solicit bribes from our held-up
relatives so that they will be able to leave,” De Lina said.
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| Signature campaign is ongoing |
The protesters are urging an immediate end to the offloading
at all international airports in the Philippines , and for the Bureau of
Immigration to duly recognize the affidavits of support issued by the country’s
consulates and embassies abroad.
They are also calling for the said affidavit to be issued
free of charge as an “added recognition of the invaluable contribution made by
migrant Filipinos to our country.”
Further, they asked that the “corrupt officials” involved in
the offloading of passengers be investigated and prosecuted.
The protesters revived their longstanding campaign against
offloading after Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano promised at a community
dialogue in Hong Kong on July 2 that he would raise the issue with Justice
Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II upon his return to Manila . – www.sunwebhk.com
