Despite counseling, advocacy, and other efforts conducted by the government to discourage Filipinos from going to Malaysia without proper documentation, the number of deportees continues to increase year after year. This was reported by Field Office IX of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Filipino deportees from Malaysia stated several reasons that compel them to return to Sabah, Malaysia despite the virtual ban that has been imposed by the Malaysian government.

“It is essential for us to understand the reason why the number of deportees continue to increase every year despite the many efforts of the government and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). If we don’t, we only diagnose the symptoms and end up implementing incorrect or even when they are correct, they are at best temporary solutions. We should not ignore the main reasons why Filipinos go to Sabah – they are mostly economic in nature. There are many undocumented Filipinos in Sabah because they think they are better off there than in the Philippines.  They believe that they have better livelihood opportunities in Sabah,” DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said.

For instance, many of the Filipinos who have been recently deported say that they have their families in Sabah, so they really make efforts to go back to be reunited with them.

Others, in the meantime, find it difficult to find employment opportunities in the Philippines because they lack employable skills and have low educational attainment.

Another factor is the inability of some local government units (LGUs) in their area to make community-based programs work for the deportees.

While difficulty to obtain a passport continues to be a hindrance for Filipinos when it comes to their need to be legally documented, the most needed documents such as birth certificates are not readily accessible. Most deportees, too, do not have the financial capacity to cover expenses to secure the documents they need to obtain a passport.

Through  DSWD- Field Office IX, the Processing Center for Displaced Persons (PCDP) has been responding to the needs of Filipino deportees since 1995.

The PCDP is a center created to primarily respond to the needs of repatriates from Sabah, as well as other locally-displaced persons such as victims of trafficking and illegal recruitment. It also helps individuals affected by incidents of armed conflict such as the Zamboanga Siege back in 2013. The PCDP has been consistently providing temporary shelter and emergency relief assistance to its clients and beneficiaries.

As of March 22, 2017, a total of 1,987 deportees have been served by the DSWD of whom 411 were served from January to February 15, and 430 from February up to March 1, and 1,146 from March 9-22.

The Department has extended assistance such as food (total costs amounting to P615,357.00 ), transportation (P918,880.00), personal effects (P1,640.00), and cash/ medical/ burial/ used clothes (amounting P6,120.00). The total amount of assistance provided by DSWD as of March 22 this year is P1,541,997.00.

Out of  1,987 total deportees that arrived at the PDCP, 1,706 already went back to their places of origin, while the remaining 281 are still housed in the Processing Center.

Upon boarding the ship, a brief orientation for the deportees is conducted by DSWD, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Likewise, upon admission to PCDP, hot meals and personal effects are immediately provided to the deported Filipinos.  The DOH, in the meantime, provides them with medical services – giving the deportees check-ups and when needed, treatment for illnesses.  An initial assessment and interview by social workers are conducted to help the Department give the necessary interventions to the deportees.

Interventions provided varies from transportation assistance, shelter, and psycho-social  such as counseling and trauma management.  Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) can be undertaken depending on the social workers assessment of the client needs.  Legal, medical services and livelihood skills training can also be provided. A referral to the LGU is also furnished by the Department for other support services that may be available through the province/city/municipal social welfare and development offices (P/C/MSWDO).

“The DSWD through the PCDP has already established a support system for deportees and internally displaced persons for years now. Still,  it is not designed and equipped to address this sudden increase of the number of deportees the current situation is asking for,” Sec. Taguiwalo said. ###