DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) did not take part in the case of Joanna D. Demafelis, the Filipina domestic worker who was found dead in a freezer in Kuwait.

In a chance interview on the sidelines of a House inquiry into the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) last March 21, Mr. Bello said that the CHR seems too focused on the war on drugs. Mr. Bello also noted that the CHR did not make any correspondence with them while DoLE was drafting bilateral agreements on OFW rights.

“I suppose they are doing their part of the bargain. Ginagawa nila siguro, hindi lang sinasabi sa amin (They may be doing something, but they are just not telling us),” Mr. Bello said. In February, CHR Commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel Gana, in a statement, called for “stricter monitoring of overseas Filipino domestic workers” and expressed support to the government’s efforts “to promote stronger protection and enhanced welfare mechanisms” for OFWs. — Minde Nyl R. dela Cruz

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