DFA: Sex-for-flight scheme not validated

MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said it failed to validate allegations of a "sex-for-flight" scheme where distressed Filipina workers are supposedly pimped out by embassy officials in exchange for return tickets to the Philippines. DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said no complainant called the DFA hotline to provide more details on the alleged exploitation. But del Rosario said there are 13 embassy officials involved in various infractions, three of them from the DFA. He said all three have been slapped with disciplinary actions. Meanwhile, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said her department is closely working with the DFA to improve operations in Philippine Overseas Labor Offices, particularly in the Middle East. Baldoz added that she has deployed 13 female and one male personnel to augment the staff of offices in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait. ANC Dateline Philippines, August 8, 2013