The Philippine Embassy in Amman reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that there is no crackdown on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Jordan.
The Embassy issued the clarification due to the wrong information published in the papers that at least 28 Filipinos were arrested starting on September 26 in a government crackdown on illegal aliens in Jordan.
“Major Bakr Al Khatawneh of the Public Security Directorate denied allegations which appeared in news reports in the Philippines that there is an alleged on-going crackdown on illegally staying migrant workers in Jordan, as well as claims that at least 28 Filipino nationals were apprehended during the crackdown,” Ambassador Julius D. Torres said.
The Embassy underscored that as of October 3, there are only two Filipino nationals presently staying at the Nadara Immigration Retention Center while there are 11 Filipino nationals staying in Juawayda Women’s Correctional Facility.
The Embassy stated that if there is indeed a crackdown, it will compel illegally staying OFWs to legalize their stay in Jordan especially since the host government had announced in June 2011 a general amnesty for overstaying foreigners there.
“With the general amnesty, any illegally staying foreigner has the option to leave Jordan by only paying overstay fees accumulated since June 1, or look for a sponsor that would legally employ them,” Ambassador Torres said.
“Despite the general amnesty, still a number of illegally staying OFWs in Jordan refuse to take action to correct their residence and deliberately continue to violate Jordanian immigration laws,” he added.
The Department asks that parties and stakeholders concerned to provide concrete assistance to OFWs, and to avoid using OFW issues to advance their own interests.
Likewise, it requests that media verify with the Department similar reports in the future so they can report more accurate information to the public.
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