Migrant Filipinos and other overseas Filipino nationals who are in crisis situation and in need of special protection (such as but not limited to victims of trafficking, deportees, and repatriates who were abused and exploited) are encouraged to seek assistance in the Philippine Embassies in their countries of destination.
In response to the rising incidence of distressed Overseas Filipino Workers abroad, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has institutionalized a system of providing social welfare services to Filipinos abroad to promote their best interest and general welfare pursuant to Republic Act 8042 or the “Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995” and the mandate of the Department to protect disadvantaged individuals and groups.
In coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to E.O. 287, “Directing the Deployment/Posting of Social Welfare Attaches in Selected Diplomatic Posts” for the protection of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families, which was signed on February 24, 2004. The deployment of social workers abroad hopes to achieve the following objectives:
General:
Institutionalize a system of providing social welfare services to Filipinos in a foreign country to promote their best interest and general welfare pursuant to RA 8042 and the mandate of the DSWD to provide protection to vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and groups.
Specific:
1. Implement comprehensive and appropriate social welfare services to overseas Filipinos and their families.
2. Establish a network among welfare agencies and service providers of overseas Filipino workers.
3. Strengthen partnership and coordinative work with government agencies i.e. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in addressing the issues of migrant workers
4. Provide technical assistance along social welfare to Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and other Government Organizations (GOs) concerned with the welfare of OFWs.
5. Provide case work/group work services and other social work interventions for the restoration of the OFWs’ impaired social functioning.
Core Social Welfare Services of ISWSFN:
Based on the assessment of the concerned social worker, the following can be accessed by the migrant workers in Malaysia and Middle East Countries:
a. Counseling Services – are provided to individuals, groups or families in crisis to enable them to cope with homesickness and other related problems. Intensive therapeutic counseling to victims of abuse/ maltreatment, particularly of women and children, shall likewise be provided, as necessary and in coordination with specialists.
b. Critical Incident Stress Debriefing – is the conduct of individual or group sessions to those who have experienced traumatic events to relieve their stress.
c. Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation – is the provision of limited financial and material assistance to meet a crisis situation.
d. Referral – refers to facilitating access to services of other concerned GOs and NGOs to meet the needs of OFWs, either in the host country or in the Philippines.
e. Repatriation Assistance – refers to assistance provided to OFWs or other Filipino nationals to facilitate their safe return to the Philippines.
f. Child Placement (for ISS Japan only) – is the provision of foster care or other alternative family care to abused, neglected and/or abandoned children of Filipino nationals in preparation for their return to their biological families in the Philippines or to a permanent placement such as adoption.
TABLE 1: NUMBER OF CLIENTS SERVED BY ISWSFN (2002-2008)
SCHEME OF DEPLOYMENT CLIENTS
Attaches 61,886
TALABATT 25,353
ISS 3,174
TOTAL 90,413
From 2002-2008, there were 90,413 OFWs in crisis situations who were provided with social welfare services by social workers posted in the different countries covered by the ISWSFN. The social workers are members of the Philippine Team at the Consular Office to strengthen the one-country team approach in Foreign Service except those deployed in the International Non-Government Organizations.
To step up its efforts along the protection and welfare of overseas Filipino nationals, the DSWD has also arranged for the deployment of Social Welfare Attachés to Philippine Embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Amman, Jordan. Likewise, the DSWD has proposed for and is awaiting approval on the creation of additional six (6) Social Welfare Attaché positions to be posted in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Lebanon, Jeddah, Kuwait, and Korea.
