Ople: overseas gov’t personnel, included in subject to anti-sexual harassment law

PHILIPPINES – Department of Migrant Workers or DMW Secretary Susan Ople called on legislators to expand the scope of the anti-sexual harassment law to include all overseas government personnel. The Secretary announced it at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers Affairs on August 31, 2022.

Sec. Ople shared a variety of cases he handled as a migrant workers’ advocate involving diplomatic officials and other foreign government employees who exploited domestic workers who helped the embassies.

“There have been reports that we have heard that overseas personnel are taking the ward to date so the DMW is tightening our policy against sexual harassment,” Sec. Ople said in a statement.

According to the DMW, the Secretary is investigating the case of an ambassador who was charged with sexual harassment by a domestic worker ten years ago. Such a case was only resolved last month in which the involved ambassador was fined one of the retired.

“It was only the second year high school that the domestic worker was hired and took him to the shelter to become an ambassador so he was very vulnerable,” the Secretary said.

The vulnerable status of Filipino workers outside the country is what the DMW wants to protect.

“I hope to expand coverage of the anti-sexual harassment law to include all government employees assigned to different countries from ambassadors to drivers and local hires,” Sec. Ople added.

Source: Overseas gov’t personnel, pinapasakop sa anti-sexual harassment law  | ABS-CBN News