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Filipina suicide prompts fresh warning
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Embassy renews call to heed ban on Lebanon deployment
BEIRUT
Philippine officials in Lebanon warned Filipinos to respect a deployment ban to
the country one day after a Filipina committed suicide.
“There has been a total deployment ban since 2007, and we hope that
nationals would heed our government’s advice,” ambassador Gilberto Asuque
said.
rights abuses to migrant workers. Other countries, such as Nepal, Ethiopia
and Sri Lanka, also have similar bans in place, though such prohibitions have
not prevented migrants from entering Lebanon illegally.
Although there are more than 200,000 migrant workers in Lebanon, they do not
enjoy protection under the country’s labors laws.
Records show that Seda arrived in Beirut in defiance of the ban in November,
Asuque said. Her husband and family have been informed of her suicide.
“Responsibility will have to be borne by those who brought her here,” Asuque
said, mentioning the Lebanese agency that recruited Seda.
Despite the perils of working abroad, the Philippines is heavily reliant on
foreign remittances sent back from its 8.7 million emigrants. The Philippines
government has estimated 30-31,000 of its citizens reside in Lebanon,
including a sizable number who entered illegally.
In late December, Asuque returned to Manila with 104 workers repatriated from
Lebanon to file cases against their recruiters for sending them to Lebanon in
violation of the deployment ban.
In an effort to improve the lives of Filipino migrants, Manila has held regular
meeting with Lebanese Labor Ministry officials to discuss a protocol on the
rights of Filipinos working in the country.
The protocol, part of the larger memorandum, would include measures to
ensure the welfare of Filipino domestic workers in Lebanon. The first
negotiations over the memorandum were held in Beirut in May 2009.
BEIRUT
Philippine officials in Lebanon warned Filipinos to respect a deployment ban to
the country one day after a Filipina committed suicide.
“There has been a total deployment ban since 2007, and we hope that
nationals would heed our government’s advice,” ambassador Gilberto Asuque
said.
- The warning followed the death of
28-year-old Theresa Otera Sero,
who slashed her wrists before
apparently throwing herself from
the seventh floor apartment of her
employer in Beirut. Police
investigations are under way.
- Manila first introduced its work ban
on Lebanon in July 2006 following
the outbreak of war with Israel, and
rights abuses to migrant workers. Other countries, such as Nepal, Ethiopia
and Sri Lanka, also have similar bans in place, though such prohibitions have
not prevented migrants from entering Lebanon illegally.
Although there are more than 200,000 migrant workers in Lebanon, they do not
enjoy protection under the country’s labors laws.
Records show that Seda arrived in Beirut in defiance of the ban in November,
Asuque said. Her husband and family have been informed of her suicide.
“Responsibility will have to be borne by those who brought her here,” Asuque
said, mentioning the Lebanese agency that recruited Seda.
Despite the perils of working abroad, the Philippines is heavily reliant on
foreign remittances sent back from its 8.7 million emigrants. The Philippines
government has estimated 30-31,000 of its citizens reside in Lebanon,
including a sizable number who entered illegally.
In late December, Asuque returned to Manila with 104 workers repatriated from
Lebanon to file cases against their recruiters for sending them to Lebanon in
violation of the deployment ban.
In an effort to improve the lives of Filipino migrants, Manila has held regular
meeting with Lebanese Labor Ministry officials to discuss a protocol on the
rights of Filipinos working in the country.
The protocol, part of the larger memorandum, would include measures to
ensure the welfare of Filipino domestic workers in Lebanon. The first
negotiations over the memorandum were held in Beirut in May 2009.
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