By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed displeasure over the rude behavior of a staff member of the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Bahrain toward overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Malacañang said Monday (Manila time).
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos has directed Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac to investigate and take action on the incident.
Castro said Marcos would not let the incident involving MWO Bahrain employee Anthony Allermo slide, especially after the video of the encounter went viral on social media.
“Hindi po ito ikinatuwa ng Pangulo. Nagalit siya para sa ating mga OFWs dahil sa pagmamaltrato ng ilang public servant,” she said.
“Ang utos ng Pangulo, tulungan lahat ang ating mga kababayan, mga OFWs, lalong-lalo na ‘yung mga naiipit ngayon sa nangyayari sa Middle East (The President’s order is to help all our countrymen, especially OFWs who are currently caught in the situation in the Middle East),” Castro added.
Castro said Marcos was displeased after seeing the viral video showing Allermo’s alleged mistreatment of OFWs.
She stressed that a public servant should never abuse authority or treat fellow Filipinos with arrogance, adding that those who lack compassion have no place in the administration.
“Ang taong walang puso sa pagsisilbi ay walang puwang sa administrasyon ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (A person who has no heart for public service has no place in the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.),” she said.
“Kung hindi po niyo nais na magsilbi sa ating mga kababayan ng buong puso, kayo na po ang boluntaryong bumitaw sa inyong posisyon (If you do not wish to serve our countrymen wholeheartedly, you should voluntarily step down from your position).”
Cacdac has already ordered Allermo’s recall.
In the viral clip, Allermo was heard telling OFWs who came to seek cash assistance to leave, saying the distribution had already ended and that there were no more available funds.
Some OFWs in the video lamented that they had traveled from distant areas to receive the aid and said the MWO should have issued an earlier notice that the distribution had already concluded. (PNA)
