(Left photo) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo, together with Philippine Embassy in Thailand Vice Consul and Staff-in-Charge of Assistance to Filipino National Jim Minglana, paid a visit to the 24 Filipino women detained at the Bangkok Women’s Correctional in Thailand during her trip to the country last week to attend a conference. (Right photo) The Secretary also shared that a Filipina who was arrested by the Thai government on January 10 ​ ​for working without work permit can now return home. Sec. Taguiwalo discussed with the representative of International Organization for Migration (IOM) on how the woman can be assisted. Subsequently, DSWD and IOM provided the woman’s airfare back to the Philippines.

Last Friday, March 31, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo visited the Bangkok Women’s Correctional and personally met with 24 Filipinas currently imprisoned on different cases.

Sentences have already been declared on the cases of all but two; and 19 of the cases are drug-related. The youngest of the Filipinas is 28 years old, while the oldest is 62.  The visit was facilitated by the Philippine embassy in Thailand which is headed by Ambassador Mary Jo A. Bernardo-Aragon.

“I was accompanied by Philippine Embassy in Thailand Vice Consul Jim Minglana and Neil Amurao of the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) and an interpreter. We were allowed to meet with the Filipinas and to have a dialogue with them, but we were not allowed to take pictures. The Filipinas asked for assistance for their immediate medical and dental needs. They also asked for news from back home and about show business. Musta na si Angel Locsin? Nanganak ba Pauleen Luna? On my part, I shared with them information about the campaign against drugs and corruption by President Rodrigo R. Duterte,” she said.

According to Sec. Taguiwalo, many of the Filipinas imprisoned in Thailand are looking forward to receiving amnesty from the Thai King and Queen. On their respective birthdays, the King and Queen usually grant amnesty to chosen prisoners. The Thai monarchy is currently headed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn; his mother, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara is the Queen Dowager of Thailand.

“DSWD will assist those who will go back to the Philippines once they have served their sentence.  In our discussions with embassy officials and with the members of migrant groups in Thailand, we explained what assistance the DSWD can provide to our kababayanswho may encounter difficulties overseas when they return home,” she said.

Sec. Taguiwalo also lauded the efforts of the Filipino migrant community to help Filipinos in crisis situations in Thailand. She said that among those who give immediate assistance are teachers who help document the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) arrested or imprisoned.

Among the two cases that have been addressed by members of the Filipino community in Thailand are those of Jane Marie Q. Belmonte, 29 years old and Lilia Bercasio Mabansay, 45. They were apprehended by the Thailand Immigration Police on January 10, 2017 and served short sentences on the charges of working without labor permits and for overstaying.

Case Background

Both Belmonte and Mabansay were working in a restaurant owned by an Emirati national when the immigration police raided it in the evening of January 10. They were told to pay 100,000 baht each. The next day, their employer and a lawyer from the Emirates embassy arrived, but they were unable to help the two Filipinas.

On January 12, the two women were taken to court to hear the charges against them and to set the bail which was reduced to 50,000 baht each.  Belmonte was able to post bail with the help of her friends and was released on January 17. She was supposed to go straight to the airport for deportation, but was unable to pay for an airfare. Because of this, the authorities withheld her passport.  During the hearing on March 1, she paid 5,000 baht as fine.

Mabansay has since returned to the Philippines last March 28 with the help of various Filipino migrant communities in Thailand who raised funds for her ticket and that of Belmonte. The DSWD, through its Social Welfare Attache Office (SWATO), has provided Mabansay with psycho-social counselling and given her transportation assistance, including funds for incidental expenses, when she returned to her family in Iriga City.

Meanwhile, the DSWD has referred the case of Belmonte to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). She was assisted by the IOM Bangkok through the Assisted Voluntary Return for Bali Process Member-States program.

Belmonte is set to arrive in the Philippines on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. The IOM has also coordinated with a temporary shelter near the airport where Belmonte can remain until her onward flight to Cagayan de Oro the following day.

“We are grateful to the IOM for their assistance to Ms. Belmonte, and we hope that the DSWD and our SWATO can work together on more efforts to assist Filipino nationals in Thailand when they need help,” said Sec. Taguiwalo.

Support for Filipinos in Thailand

In the meantime, Sec. Taguiwalo said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine government’s embassy in Thailand need all the assistance they can get so they can adequately address the emergency needs of Filipinos who encountered legal difficulties in their stay in the said country either as tourists or as migrant workers.

There are currently 16,000 documented Filipinos living and working in Thailand, but the Philippine embassy only has 26 staff. There is no Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) either.

“The embassy does not have legal counselors to advice or assist Filipinos in distress. It would be a very valuable assistance to our kababayans overseas if our embassies and consulates have the means to provide legal help to them when they need it. Our embassy in Thailand is very understaffed. For instance, aside from the regular consular services and assistance to visiting Filipino officials, the embassy also has to assist Filipino businesses in Thailand and the members of the Thai business community who want to invest in the Philippines.  Given their already heavy workload, the embassy cannot extend assistance to all the OFWs in Thailand when they need help on employment-related concerns or when there are Filipinos victimized by trafficking syndicates. The embassy does not have a ‘quick response’ fund that can be immediately tapped when there are Filipinos who need to be immediately deported but have no money for airfare,” she said.###