Filipina Sentenced to Life in Bali

MANILA, Philippines – The lower court of Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia has sentenced a Filipina traveler to life imprisonment for drug trafficking, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Citing a report of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta, the DFA said the court handed down its decision on January 6.

The DFA did not identify the Filipina, but said she was found carrying 2.4 kilos of heroin on July 12 by the authorities at the Ngurap Rai International Airport in Bali. The suspected drug mule was one of the passengers of an Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur.

Citing the Filipina’s case, the DFA on Wednesday reminded Filipino travelers, including migrant workers, about “stiff penalties imposed by other countries on anyone caught carrying illegal drugs.” When traveling overseas, Filipinos are also advised not to accept packages from strangers because they may contain illegal drugs. – Philippine Daily Inquirer

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Floods Affect OFWs Under Jeddah Bridge

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Undocumented Filipinos temporarily living under a bridge in Jeddah were affected by flood water due to non-stop rain for several days.

The flood reportedly affected the small tents of more than 60 Filipinos living under the Kandara Bridge.

There are also 15 Pinoy children, including a 3-month-old baby, seeking refuge under the bridge.

Several Filipinos who learned about the situation of OFWs under the bridge immediately extended help.

Bailyn Sumail is just one the distressed workers living under the bridge. Sumail said she went to Saudi Arabia to give a better future to her family in Cotabato. Now, Sumail wants to just go home to the Philippines Kailfoe being unemployed, homeless and no food to eat. Like her, other distressed Pinoys hope that the government will soon find a solution to bring them all back home. ABS-CBN

 

NY Atty. General to help abused Filipina

NEW YORK CITY, USA – A Filipina babysitter who was allegedly turned into a modern-day slave by her Filipino employers in the United States has found an ally in the New York state’s attorney general.

After 10 years of suffering in the hands of alleged human traffickers, Leticia Moratal is now smiling after meeting with the New York attorney general’s labor office.

Civil rights lawyer Felix Vinluan said the attorney general’s office has vowed to assess if the government can file a criminal case against Moratal’s former employers, the Nolasco family, who allegedly enslaved and abused her for 10 years.

Moratal claimed that employers Elsa and Augusto Nolasco and their daughters confiscated her passport, isolated her, and subjected her to years of “backbreaking labor and psychological abuse,” without being paid since 2001.Moratal also claimed that she was threatened with deportation if she did not follow their demands.

As a victim of human trafficking, Moratal can secure a visa to stay and work in the US.

Filipino-American nonprofit groups National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines are standing behind the pursuit of justice for labor trafficking victims like Moratal. ABS-CBN