The Filipino government has been very vocal in the past few years on the rights and protections of Filipina migrant domestic workers. During Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, bans were sanctioned to protect Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), and receiving-state governments were called out for their lack of cooperation in ensuring the safety of OFWs. However, the Filipino government fails to protect their OFWs, particularly Filipina migrant domestic workers. I highlight this in my research, beginning with a literature review of Sarah Henderson’s (2020) article on state-sanctioned violence, the training programs available to OFWs and the Republic Act No. 11641.

State-sanctioned Structural Violence Enacted by Filipino Government

Henderson (2020) focuses on the failure of the government of the Philippines [and Sri Lanka] to protect women migrant domestic workers. She takes on a structural violence approach based on John Galtung's definition, where formal and informal institutions normalize economic, political, and cultural dynamics through policies and social practices that bring harm to vulnerable individuals.

Filipinas make up a large number of migrant domestic workers and are responsible for over a $2 million pay-off for the country's debt. The Philippines uses these women as commodities to receive remittances for their debt. According to the World Bank, these women wire transfer back more than $30 billion each year to support their families back home, which is roughly 8.8% of the Philippines’ total GDP (Redfern, 2021). However, when humans are seen as commodities, they are objectified and de-valued as human beings. Henderson (2020) states that the Philippines uses two different forms of state-sanctioned structural violence: commission and omission, which further drives these women into precarious situations that leave them susceptible to abuse and exploitation.

Henderson (2020) concludes three situations that the nation-state is responsible for enacting. First, the Philippines government puts restrictions on migration as an answer to protect women migrant domestic workers from employer violence. For instance, former President Duterte of the Philippines placed a ban on working in Kuwait after a Filipina migrant domestic worker was murdered by her employer. Months later, Duterte retracted the ban, as Kuwait promised to put more policies to protect these women. However, restricting migration is not only in violation of women's rights under the International Labor Organization (ILO), but it also does not address the main issue. These women are now left with no means to support their families financially. This forces women to seek employment abroad, leading them to further exploitation and precarious situations illegally.

Secondly, Henderson (2020) states that there is limited government assistance overseas. There is a lack of employees at embassies, with an even more deficient amount of resources and a lack of gender-based training. Therefore, they cannot physically reach and support women migrant domestic workers who are experiencing anti-human rights at the hands of their employers.

Finally, the pre-departure orientation programs that these women must attend do not educate or train them on their rights, situations of abuse, and where to seek help abroad (Henderson, 2020). Rather, these programs promote remittances and marketing by private banks. This leaves the women unprepared should they encounter violent circumstances while working.

Pre-departure Trainings

Two training programs are available to aspiring OFWs: the Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS) and the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS). Both are mandatory, with online modules that individuals must pass to gain a certificate. I was able to receive access to the PEOS module directed toward Household Service Workers. It is seven modules long, with slides of information, an accompanying video ─although the videos did not work for me─and a quiz. The Household Service Worker modules are in Tagalog and focus on topics such as: deciding to work abroad, the application process and the cost, deciphering illegal recruiters, standard employment contracts of OFWs, caring for yourself in another country, and the free legal services made available by the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Although the PEOS warns future OFWs of fake recruiters and money scams, as well as how an employment contract should look like, it does not go into any details on the possibility of encountering violent circumstances from employers. Additionally, the PEOS does not warn women working in the Middle East that certain countries allow employers to take the worker anywhere else for employment (Redfern, 2021). For instance, a legal contract can state the individual will work in Saudi Arabia, but the employer can take them to Qatar.

The PDOS training involves two separate programs: the Country-Specific Pre-Departure Orientation Program, which is known as PDOS, and the Comprehensive Pre-Departure Education Program for Household Service Workers (CPDEP for HSWs). Unlike the PEOS, Filipinos immigrating to another country must also take the PDOS. I attempted to contact OWWA in hopes of getting access to the CPDEP for HSWs modules. However, due to time constraints and schedule differences, I was unable to meet with my OWWA contact.

According to OWWA Member (2021), the CPDEP for HSWs is a four-to-six-day mandatory seminar that is run by government departments, NGOs, or private businesses. The modules include language and cultural training in Arabic, Cantonese, Hebrew, Italian, and Mandarin; cultural familiarization; and stress management and coping mechanisms. Below is a video of pre-departure orientation for the Middle East that I came across on the OWWA Member (2021) website. The video is sponsored by Globe, which is a large telecommunications corporation in the Philippines. Within the orientation video, there is a short commercial for a Globe sim card made especially for OFWs and a reminder about GCash remittances, which is also owned by Globe.

Pre-departure orientation video for the OFWs headed to the Middle East from OWWA Member (2021)

My experience with the PEOS modules and my research on the CPDEP HSWs modules are in line with Henderson’s (2020) conclusion with pre-departure training excluding information on labor rights, violent occurrences from employers, and resources for such encounters, while promoting remittances and corporations.

Republic Act No. 11641

Since Henderson (2020) wrote her piece, the Philippines has enacted Republic Act No. 11641 in December 2021, signed by former President Duterte. This came into effect in February 2022, when the DMW absolved seven agencies: the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA); the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs (OUMWA) of the DFA; the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) and all Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) under the Department of Labor and Employment; the National Maritime Polytechnic (NMP); the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRC) under the OWWA, and the Office of the Social Welfare Attaché (OSWA) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The Republic Act No. 11641 details how to carry out mandates with this new transition and includes protective measures and services the government is currently implementing to assist OFWs. The Republic Act No. 11641 also states that it “does not promote overseas employment as a means to economic growth and national development and shall continuously aim to make it a choice and not a necessity…institute measures that will strengthen the domestic labor market”. I find this statement contradictory as the nation benefits greatly from OFWs (Redfern, 2021), and continuously lacks to provide Filipinos with alternative choices through education, employment, or social services.

With the newly elected government in place, not much has been released on their plans to further improve the protective measures for OFWs, especially Filipina migrant domestic workers in the Middle East. However, we can do our part by spreading awareness of this issue, pushing the Filipino government and international organizations to do better to support these women, and by supporting NGOs that provide services to Filipina migrant domestic workers and their families.