VP NOLI APPEALS TO UNDOCUMENTED OFWS IN KUWAIT TO AVAIL OF 45-DAY AMNESTY
September 15, 2008

Vice President Noli 'Kabayan' De Castro appealed to undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Kuwait to avail of the 45-day amnesty being offered to all illegal expatriates.

De Castro, also Presidential Adviser on OFWs, said the amnesty decreed by Kuwaiti Emir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is a big opportunity which undocumented OFWs and the governrment should grab.

"Filipinos working illegally in Kuwait should immediately avail of this rare chance to go home. On our part in the goverment, we should exhaust all means to shoulder the cost of transportation for those who decide to avail of the amnesty," De Castro said.

The Vice President noted that despite its effectivity last September 1, the amnesty has attractred only 115 out of the 20,000 undocumented OFWs in Kuwait. The offer is only good until October 15, he added.

"If they let go of this opportunity, they cannot leave Kuwait anymore without getting penalized and fined. Of course, that means trouble for them and for the governmment," De Castro explained.

As this developed, De Castro is calling for an intensified information campaign regarding the amnesty as he believes that many of the undocumented OFWs are still not aware of it based on the low turn out of applicants.

A reliable partner for the campaign, he said, are the relatives of the OFWs concerned since they are the ones that have direct contact with their kins in Kuwait.

"So I'm really urging relatives of the concerned OFWs to inform their kins in Kuwait regarding the amnesty and convince them to avail of it," he said.

In its report to De Castro, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the first 25 beneficiaries of the amnesty is scheduled to arrive in Manila on September 16.

The DFA said it has already disbursed the repariation cost of 46 undocumented OFWs while mobilizing all personnel in Kuwait in pursuit of the amnesty.

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