MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and South Korea have called “isolated” an incident involving two Filipino caregivers who reportedly ran away from their work and were arrested in Busan, the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said.
In a press briefing on Monday, October 7, DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac addressed reports of two Filipinas who were part of the pilot batch of caregivers deployed to South Korea, but were arrested after abandoning their work, thus violating their contracts and Korean immigration laws.
The first batch of 100 Filipino caregivers was deployed under a government-to-government agreement in August. After a month of training, they began working on September 3. Korean media reported that the two caregivers left their quarters on September 15, the second day of the five-day Chuseok holiday, and were supposed to return to work on September 18 but didn’t.
They were arrested last Friday, October 4, in Busan, where they are currently being investigated.
“I had a conversation with the Korean ambassador the other day and we both agreed that this matter [involves] two isolated cases that will not affect the overall program and what it takes is to address the concerns and problems that have been brought about by these situations and carefully address them,” Cacdac said.
Cacdac refrained from giving details about why the two caregivers did not return to their employment, pending Korean authorities’ investigation. But South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that there were speculations they left because of low wages from short working hours, and fears of being laid off.
Still, Cacdac assured the public that the Philippine government was providing legal assistance to the caregivers.
The DMW chief also said that challenges are to be expected during the pilot run.
“We will make the corresponding adjustments to perhaps better inform our workers prior to departure about the implications of skirting or violating Korean immigration laws and also to make sure that they are adequately prepared prior to departure,” he said.
The DMW earlier said the caregivers were directly employed with agencies accredited by the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor, and are entitled to “equal treatment and benefits enjoyed by Korean workers.”
Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also conducted his first state visit to the Philippines on Monday. The two countries signed an agreement to elevate bilateral ties. – Rappler.com
