By Apipa P. Bagumbaran
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is eyeing to hire in-house secular lawyers to provide legal assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in need, particularly those who have been abused.
DMW-10 Regional Director Atty. Fidel Macauyag announced the initiative during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, saying the move aligns with the department’s secretary’s directive to establish in-house legal teams in certain Migrant Worker’s Offices (MWOs).
“These secular lawyers, who are locals licensed to practice law in their respective host countries, will be hired to effectively provide legal services to our OFWs needing legal assistance, particularly the abused ones,” he said.
Macauyag emphasized that having in-house secular lawyers will ensure effective prosecution of cases against abusive employers. He lamented the lack of prosecutions in the past, which has led to a culture of impunity among employers.
“We have not prosecuted abusive employer kaya pinagtatawanan nila tayo, kaya nagkakaroon ng culture of impunity. Isipin nila, pwede tayong mang-rape, pwede tayong mang-abuso kasi wala namang napaparusahan,” he added.
Macauyag stressed that hiring in-house secular lawyers can vigorously pursue cases against abusive employers and ensure that justice is served for OFWs.
The DMW official also shared that they have been directed to expedite filling vacant positions to address the personnel shortage.
As a relatively new department, the DMW has been working to fully staff its local offices to make services more accessible to OFWs and their families.
“We expect to see more appointments for DMW-10 by the end of this year. This will result in the subsequent establishment of DMW provincial and city offices in certain areas of the region. Consequently, OFWs and their families shall have easy access to the DMW services in their respective provinces,” Macauyag said. (APB/PIA-10)
