One hundred forty-three Filipinos convicted of various crimes in the United Arab Emirates were pardoned by United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through a phone call, thanked his counterpart for the gesture, saying that the act was generous and that it brought relief to many families.
Some 13.6 percent of the 2.16 million overseas Filipino workers listed in 2023 worked in the UAE, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Meanwhile, 4.2 percent of the $21.5 billion in OFW remittances registered in the first seven months of 2024 came from workers in the UAE, according to the Bangko Sentral.
The pardons come on the heels of the October 5 execution of a Filipino in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. No other details were provided on the execution except that the case arose from a financial dispute in 2022. The Filipino was supposedly involved in some business ventures in the KSA. The Philippine government exerted earnest efforts to save the life of the OFW, even offering compensation, but the execution proceeded, nonetheless.
We are also seeing the ongoing repatriation for workers caught in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
For decades now, OFWs have made up a significant portion of the population, with the resources they send serving as drivers of consumption and economic activity. For decades, too, the sacrifices that they make in leaving behind their loved ones and the familiarity of home have been extolled. Unfortunately, migrant workers have been painted as either victims of crimes in their places of destination – that is, if they themselves are not the perpetrators of these crimes, driven by a confluence of factors.
Worse, some of them are falsely accused of crimes, in which case they become victims all over again, of justice systems that provide greater voice to others than to some, and which sometimes assigns rights depending on gender, or economic class.
The tragedy of overseas workers finding a life abroad that is so far from what they had envisioned is a frequent story, and each retelling does not diminish how compelling each situation is. That we have established a separate government agency for migrant workers is a testament to the reality of the need to go abroad to earn a living.
There has also been great effort to arm departing workers with information regarding their own rights and the culture of the country in which they will work. Still, let us not lose sight of the ideal that leaving the Philippines to work elsewhere should be a deliberate choice, and no Filipino should feel compelled to take the risks at all costs.
