Dubai - With almost 700,000 Filipinos expats in UAE, the perennial complaint is that lawyers are not easily at hand whenever a Filipino is caught in a legal bind.
Published: Sun 8 Jan 2017, 7:36 AM
Last updated: Sun 8 Jan 2017, 9:43 AM
According to Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes, there are around 420 Filipino expats jailed in the prisons of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Of these 250 are in the Dubai Central Jail and 100 are in the Sharjah Central Jail.
Almost 65 per cent of them were charged with petty crimes and sentenced to imprisonment for five years and below. These figures do not include those at deportations centres, jailed because of immigration cases, such as overstaying and absconding.
Cortes said:
"For those 'illegals' without passport, without visa and/or necessary papers, we give them advice and assistance on how they can retrieve their passport; how can they voluntarily surrender to Immigration, how to apply for an outpass and how to file a case or complaint against their companies and employers.
"Most of them request for financial assistance for their ticket, outpass or travel document. We forward these requests to our home office. There are also individual donors from the Filipino community," Cortes added.
But Cortes noted that because of the policy allowing tourist visa holders to freely enter the country and modify it to a working visa, more and more Filipinos invite their families, relatives and friends to visit the UAE. "We discourage them (Filipinos) from doing the same to avoid illegal recruitment and human trafficking issues and other Immigration related problems."
"The consulate fully uses the media - be it social media, website, newspaper, radio and the like - to inform the public about the common issues affecting the life of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the UAE," he said.
He said the consulate and lawyers/law firms regularly visit Filipinos in jail every week on Thursdays. "Every jail has their own sets of rules that we must follow," he said.
A major problem with the Philippine Consulate is limited funds for legal assistance to its nationals. With almost 700,000 Filipinos expats in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the perennial complaint is that lawyers are not easily at hand whenever a Filipino is caught in a legal bind.
angel@khaleejtimes.com
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