Maguindanao helps parents of beleaguered OFWs

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1009530
• Monday, September 18, 2017

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

BULUAN, Maguindanao -- The Maguindanao provincial government has extended livelihood assistance to two families whose breadwinners are awaiting execution in Saudi Arabia.

Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu told parents of Guiara Abdullah and Warda Mintang, both overseas Filipino workers, that the government is not abandoning them.

“This is the government’s assistance to you so that you will earn a living,” Mangudadatu told the beleaguered parents Wednesday after he handed over to them a pair of cattle for breeding and fattening projects.

Abdullah’s mother said her daughter was wrongly accused of killing another Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia while the parents of Mintang said she was convicted for killing her Saudi employer who tried to rape her.

Mangudadatu said his administration has a comprehensive anti-human trafficking initiative by providing alternate livelihood assistance to Maguindanaons who were victims of illegal recruitment.

Other victims and parents of “Trafficking in Person” (TIP) have been earning a decent living out of the livelihood assistance provided by the provincial government, Mangudadatu said.

Some of them are now producing the iconic “Inaul” cloth ready for sale not only in Maguindanao but in other areas, especially in Manila. Mangudadatu said orders for the famous Maguindanao cloth (Inaul) are pouring in to the benefit of Maguindanao women engaged in cloth production. During the program that included “Inaul” exhibit, Mangudadatu also handed over PHP50,000 worth of food cart for rescued TIP victims.

“This is your government working for you, you can put up a variety store so you have fixed income,” Mangudadatu told the beneficiaries.

The assistance program was in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DSWD-ARMM).