The Commission on Human Rights voiced concern over the government’s policy to ban the return of overseas Filipino workers.
“While we understand that the ban on the return of OFWs was meant to prevent the possible spread of the new COVID-19 strain in the Philippines, the government should reconsider its imposition and allow Filipinos to come home to their families, even if it meant imposing stricter quarantine procedures upon their arrival in the country,” CHR Focal Commissioner on Migrant Rights Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana.
Gana said that under Article 8.2 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, to which the Philippines is a state party, “migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right at any time to enter and remain in their state of origin.”
Similarly, she said Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides that “everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.”
Furthermore, under Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.”
“While Article 4 provides that upon the official proclamation of a public emergency which threatens the life and existence of a nation, countries such as the Philippines may take measures derogating from their obligations under the ICCPR to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, such measures must not be inconsistent with their other obligations under international law,” Gana said.
She stressed “restrictions must be neither discriminatory nor arbitrary in application, and must at all times be respectful of human dignity, human rights, and fundamental freedoms.”
She also said the CHR is one with Filipono migrant and overseas workers who are stranded far away from home and their families.
“We recognize the plight of our migrant workers, who may grapple with the loss of their income, may experience fear and suffering as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and may suffer from the emotional distress of not seeing their families.”