A coalition of migrant rights organizations and a prominent Philippine Catholic church has formed a task force to assist overseas Filipino workers stranded in the Middle East amid the escalating US-Israel-Iran conflict.
Migrante Philippines, together with Migrante International, Baclaran Church, and several allied groups, announced the formation of Task Force Migrante on Thursday, with the formal launch held during a gathering in Manila.
Criselda Pacis Fiel, Chairperson of Migrante Philippines, said the coalition has been collecting the names and accounts of affected OFWs and their families through a group chat, where members are being personally interviewed to document their situations.
The task force has also announced plans to appeal directly to the US Embassy for assistance for Filipinos trapped in conflict zones, while calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order the immediate repatriation of distressed workers. Fiel noted that only the president holds the authority to authorize repatriation.
Beyond the immediate crisis, the group is pushing for a halt to new deployments to the Middle East, citing not only the ongoing war but also the persistent abuse suffered by Filipino workers in the region. The coalition also urged the government to negotiate with host countries to suspend the kafala system — a legal framework that ties migrant workers’ residency and employment status to their employer — to allow OFWs to exit more quickly.
The coalition expressed frustration over what it described as the government’s slow response to the crisis, which has left more than two million OFWs in precarious conditions across the Gulf and wider Middle East region.
