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HEEDING
the appeals of the Philippine government, Malaysian
officials have agreed that the children of undocumented
Filipino workers facing deportation will not be arrested
while Kuala Lumpur implements a massive crackdown on
undocumented foreign workers, mostly in the disputed
Sabah.
The
agreement was reached following the two-day meeting of
the Fifth Philippine-Malaysia Working Group on Migrant
Workers concluded in Manila on Tuesday where officials
both arrived at what they described as “constructive,
operational solutions to issues concerning migrant
workers.”
In a
joint statement, the parties agreed in particular, “to
cooperate closely so that there would be minimal adverse
impact arising from the action to be undertaken by the
Malaysian government.”
A senior
Filipino diplomat said the current estimate of
undocumented Filipino migrant workers in Malaysia has
reached 400,000.
Both
governments agreed that “children unaccompanied by
parents will not be placed under arrest but turned over
to the care of appropriate authorities.”
Meanwhile, the parties also agreed “that only those
deportees who are medically fit would undertake the
travel” as Philippine authorities cited concerns that
the more than 30-hour boat ride from Sabah, to Zamboanga
City, poses health perils to deportees, especially women
and children.
Esteban
Conejos Jr., foreign affairs undersecretary for migrant
workers affairs, led the Philippine delegation, while
the Malaysians were led by Dato Raja Azahar bin Raja
Abdul Manap, Malaysia’s senior deputy secretary general
of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The
Malaysian authorities also agreed to step up efforts to
regularize the eligible migrants there, including
long-staying Filipinos and refugees.
Kuala
Lumpur has also agreed to step up measures to upgrade
the facilities for holding deportees, owing to
complaints of congestion and lack of enough food and
sanitary facilities in the detention areas.
On the
Philippine side, the authorities vowed to immediately
facilitate travel documentation of the deportees so they
could go back to Malaysia and work there legally.
“The
panels also agreed to redouble efforts for instituting
long-term solutions to the problems of crossborder
travel, work and migration, including a proposed
bilateral Border Pass Agreement and the possible
deployment of Malaysian immigration attachés at the
one-stop processing center in Zamboanga City,” the joint
statement said.
The
joint working group meeting was created in 2005,
following serious complaints of inhumane treatment and
other forms of abuses suffered by Filipino deportees
under the Malaysian police during the massive crackdown
on illegal migrants in 2003.
The
Philippines filed two diplomatic protests in 2003
against Malaysia following the deaths of two babies who
suffered starvation and sickness during deportation and
the rape of a 12-year-old Filipino girl by Malaysian
policemen in the detention center. |
