It seems that things in the Philippine Embassy in Amman, Jordan are getting worse for abused Filipina overseas workers seeking assistance for their immediate repatriation.

"Some of the 50 abused OFWs have been repatriated to the Philippines after their plight had been exposed to the public last February 2005. But reports from those who have since returned that embassy officials are harassing those who are still in the embassy, including the confiscation of personal cellular phones, the withholding of food and amenities of some and the threats to those who would want to speak up against the actions and inactions in evading their responsibilities towards Filipinos in distress," MIGRANTE Sectoral Party Chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado said.

Migrante and Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran are pushing for an investigation and suspension of Philippine Ambassador to Jordan Ruperto Dizon, Consul Aric Arevalo, embassy administrative officer Edmundo Venturanza and welfare officer Evelyn Laranang for pressuring the distressed OFWs -- who had fled from their employers due to abuse -- to return to their recruitment agencies in Jordan if they could not pay their deployment and repatriation expenses.

"Welfare Officer Laranang also acts as the collector of the deployment expenses from the absued OFWs and their families for the Jordanian recruitment agencies. This is the height of dereliction of duty!" Bragas-Regalado said.

"Instead of doing their duty to attend to all the cases of the distressed Filipinas, these embassy officials are defending the abusive employers and recruitment agencies that victimized our compatriots to the point of curtailing their right to free speech, free expression and to seek redress of their grievances. These officials continue to violate the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995 that mandates the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration personnel on the ground, in coordination with the DFA, should repatriate workers who are 'in need and without means,'" Bragas-Regalado added.

MIGRANTE has also asserted that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) "is apparently pampering negligent officials of the Philippine embassy with regard to their negligence and abusive practices on the plight of runaway overseas Filipinos in Jordan, including the practice of pressuring the OFWs' families to raise funds for the deployment and repatriation expenses of their kin."

The DFA is in charge of repatriation and has a P100 million repatriation fund.

"It should also be noted that the continued rise of abused OFW cases in Jordan happened despite the 15-year deployment ban of domestic and unskilled worker to Jordan that was recently lifted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE)," Bragas-Regalado said.

"Despite the ban that started in 1990, the DOLE still deployed at least 3,600 Filipinos in the following years. To date majority (about 7,000) of the 12,343 Filipinos in Jordan are either irregular or undocumented domestic workers, according to DFA stock data on OFWs. These include the runaway domestic workers in the embassy in Jordan. The lifting of the ban will only worsen the situation as the Philippine embassy officials in Jordan are generally negligent