Where is the Consulate when caregivers need them? – Migrante-Ontario

Where is the Consulate when caregivers need them? – Migrante-Ontario

With recent developments on allegations that Federal MP Ruby Dhalla and her family abused their caregivers, the consulate that is supposed to be protecting the latter seems so eerily silent.

On the morning of May 5, the Filipino community woke up to the Toronto Star banner news about caregivers Magdalene Gordo and Richelyn Tongson charging MP Dhalla and her family of forcing them to do “non-nanny jobs such as washing cars, shining shoes and cleaning family-owned chiropractic clinics” including “scrubbing and cleaning floors” and “working very long hours.” Very serious and disturbing as they already are, these charges were further aggravated by the allegation that their passports were withheld by the MP herself.

Since then, another caregiver, Lyle Alvarez has come forward to tell her story of abuse by the same family. Still, neither the Philippine consulate nor the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Toronto has issued any statement.

It is the responsibility of the consular office to ensure the well being of its nationals abroad. Is it not the consulate’s task to look into claims that the caregivers’ passports, documents that belong to the Republic of the Philippines, were withheld?

“The Philippine consulate once again absconds from its responsibility,” said Jonathan Canchela, chairperson of FMWM, a member organization of Migrante. “When Jocelyn Dulnuan was killed two years ago, the Philippine Consulate said the community should raise money for her repatriation. Was it not their responsibility to look after the repatriation of this Filipina migrant’s remains to the home country?”
“The Philippine government collects millions of dollars in fees from migrants but it cannot be found when migrants need their help,” said Marco Luciano, Global Council Representative for Migrante International in Canada. “There are thousands of Filipino migrants around the world that need their help including Cecilia Alcaraz who was accused of murder and robbery in Taiwan and sentenced to die by firing squad. But they chose to be silent,” he added.

The community in Toronto is organizing to support these caregivers. They are also fighting for changes to the Live-in Caregiver program, a flawed immigration program that recruits nannies to Canada with promises of permanent residence, but puts them in very precarious and vulnerable conditions.

“Philippine consular and OWWA officials in Toronto must be ashamed of themselves for not responding to the needs of these migrants. They, along with the Arroyo government must extend all efforts to ensure the protection of all Filipino migrants,” Luciano concluded.

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