Migrante Sectoral Partylist today said that the recently-released May 2012 Social Weather Survey on the public’s net satisfaction with the performance of the Aquino administration is “highly doubtful”.

 

In the survey, the Aquino government scored a “good” rating on six issues, among these the “promotion of the welfare of overseas Filipino workers” in the top rank, from last March’s +49 to +39 this May.

 

The survey was conducted from May 24 to 27 using 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao as respondents.

 

According to Migrante Sectoral Partylist President Connie Bragas-Regalado, the survey showed a big dip in the satisfaction ratings concerning OFWs’ welfare in a short span of time and has been “on a steady decline since last year”.

 

“This just shows the public’s continuing waning confidence in the Aquino administration in providing services and protection to our OFWs,” she said.

 

Bragas-Regalado also said that a random sampling on sector-specific issues may give a general overview of public perception but does not necessarily reflect the sentiments of the sector itself.

 

“For this survey, for instance, respondents were not OFWs. We are not even sure if they are families or relatives of OFWs. If the survey was conducted using OFWs and other direct stakeholders as respondents we highly doubt that they would get the same results.”

 

Bragas-Regalado said that in Aquino’s two years in office, there has been a steep rise in the number of OFWs in distress. She cited the latest report released by Migrante International stating a record-high increase in the number of cases it has handled in the past two years.

 

Migrante International reported that from 1,500 cases yearly before Aquino assumed office in 2010, the number of cases they have directly facilitated shot up to 4,500 by the end of 2011, not including cases handled independently by its chapters abroad. Migrante International has 130 member organizations and chapters in over 23 countries worldwide.

 

For the first half of 2012, the number of cases they have handled has reached an average of 35 to 40 a month, consisting of a broader scope of complaints ranging from overcharging, illegal recruitment, to wide-scale human trafficking and different facets of government neglect. More OFWs have also become victims of maltreatment, abuse, labor violations and foul play than in previous years, according to Bragas-Regalado.

 

Bragas-Regalado invited the SWS to conduct a survey in Filipino communities abroad and among families of OFWs here in the country “to set the record straight”. ###

Reference: Connie Bragas-Regalado, President, 0933-6503487