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THE OVERSEAS CLASS-FILIPINOS

April 27, 2006

Subject: Fw: FILIPINO WORKERS ABROAD-L.A.TIMES
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:40:49 +0800

OVERSEAS CONTRACT WORKERS ( a.k.a.  OCW)
OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS ( a.k.a.  OFW)
                     FILIPINO WORKERS ABROAD.
Scroll down - very interesting and inspiring article re: our modern PINOY HEROES.

The Overseas Class

Millions working abroad help their nation get by, but not prosper. It’s a life of lonely, risky sacrifice.
By Richard C. Paddock, Times staff writer
April 20, 2006

They nurse the sick in California, drive fuel trucks in Iraq, sail cargo ships through the Panama Canal and cruise ships through the Gulf of Alaska. They pour sake for Japanese salarymen and raise the children of Saudi businessmen.

They are the Philippines’ most successful export: its workers.

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Three decades ago, seeking sources of hard currency and an outlet for a fast-growing population, then-President Ferdinand Marcos encouraged Filipinos to find jobs in other countries. Over time, the overseas worker has become a pillar of the economy. Nine million Filipinos, more than one out of every 10, are working abroad. Every day, more than 3,100 leave the country.

Philippine workers sent home more than $10.7 billion last year, equal to about 12% of the gross domestic product.

The current president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, calls them "the backbone of the new global workforce" and "our greatest export."

Worldwide, these workers have earned a reputation for enterprise and hard work. They include some of the Philippines’ most talented people, well educated and multilingual.

But as a third generation leaves to work abroad, it is clear the system has not led to prosperity. Policymakers have focused on easing the flow of workers rather than harnessing their earnings for economic development.

Dependence on the export of people has become a formula for stagnation. Once one of the strongest in Asia, the Philippine economy now ranks near the bottom. The government invests little money in manufacturing, education or healthcare. The economy can’t create even the 1.5 million jobs a year needed to keep up with population growth.

"We have a middle class, but they don’t live in the Philippines," said Doris Magsaysay Ho, head of a company that dispatches 18,000 workers a year to serve on ships around the world.

Filipinos work in every country except North Korea, said Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas, whose brother is a doctor in Orange County. More than 2.5 million work in the United States and nearly a million in Saudi Arabia.

The money they earn trickles into towns and villages, helping build houses, open restaurants and send children to school. But the absence of so many industrious and skilled people — mothers and fathers, engineers and entrepreneurs — exacts a heavy toll.

Across the Philippines, children are being raised by their grandparents. "Now children can buy a lot of computer games, but they don’t have a mother or father, or both," Santo Tomas said.

For the sake of supporting their families, the overseas workers endure years of loneliness. Some, especially maids in the Middle East, suffer beatings and sexual abuse. In countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, they are jailed for running away. Yet the Philippines has grown so dependent on remittances that the thought of doing without them is frightening.

"Money from abroad is the only thing that keeps the economy in motion," said Ding Lichauco, former head of the country’s economic planning office. "If you don’t encourage the employees to go overseas, you will have revolution."

Providing sailors, maids, entertainers and other workers for a growing world market is a big business.

In this competitive arena, the Philippines has an advantage. Many Filipinos speak English. They are generally better educated than workers from countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Indonesia. And they have a reputation for being good-natured.

An entire bureaucracy has been created around them. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration helps find jobs in other countries, encourages workers to go abroad and processes some job applications.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Agency offers free training in welding, driving heavy trucks and other skills. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration stations diplomats around the world to look after the Philippines’ foreign workers.

Those who bring or send their earnings home pay no income taxes. And the government offers returning workers low-cost equipment and tools to help them start small businesses.

With that level of encouragement, an industry has developed to match workers and jobs.

There are more than 1,500 licensed recruiting agencies. Some provide training — six months for dancers, four months for seafarers, two weeks for housekeepers — in return for a cut of the worker’s earnings.

A cook on a cargo ship can make more than Arroyo’s official salary of $1,000 a month. A bar singer in Japan can earn more than a Philippine senator. But the fees can run into the thousands of dollars; the better the job, the greater the cost.

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Dozens of agencies in Manila’s Ermita district attract job seekers from all over the country. Applicants line up on the streets, luggage in hand, ready to go anywhere.

Notaries sit at small wooden desks on the sidewalk. Using manual typewriters, they help workers fill out the 14 documents they are required to submit. Large copy machines on the sidewalk crank out duplicates.

Laboratories conduct blood, tuberculosis and drug tests to certify the workers’ health. Nearby are cellphone shops, money changers, cheap hotels and restaurants.

Many Arab countries, with their vast oil wealth and relatively small populations, are hungry for workers.

The CDK International Manpower Services posted notices in its window seeking domestic workers and midwives in the Middle East, a gift wrapper in Dubai and a "magician balloon decorator" elsewhere in the United Arab Emirates. The agency was also recruiting workers for Burger King and Starbucks outlets in the Middle East. ("Must have fashion for coffee," the ad for Starbucks said.)

Another company operating in the Middle East wanted diesel mechanics, flower arrangers, structural engineers, wedding card designers, massage therapists, website designers, accountants and nannies.

In another neighborhood, three blocks from the U.S. Embassy, a crowded sidewalk serves as an informal hiring hall for sailors. The Philippines produces nearly 25% of the world’s seafaring workers, more than any other nation.

Hundreds of would-be sailors were hanging around in the shade of the leafy narra trees as agents wandered by, holding up signs offering jobs on ships sailing from Germany, Argentina, Los Angeles or Greece. Some sought engineers and first mates for cargo ships. Others needed chefs and waiters for cruises.

A salesman offered small vials of python oil, guaranteed to cure back pain, heart disease, joint dislocation, rheumatism, cough, arthritis and skin disease.

Merchants offered CDs providing instruction on how to moor a ship, plan a voyage, speak "maritime English" and handle hazardous materials.

Freddie Vicedo spent three decades at sea, earning enough to build a house 20 miles south of Manila and send his children to school. Now past the mandatory retirement age of 50, he was seeking one last job.

"It’s OK to be away if it provides you with a home and a future," he said. "It’s better than living all together in poverty."

The teeming neighborhood of Antipolo in central Manila is one of the city’s poorest. Thousands of families live along the railroad tracks in shanties of scrap wood and metal built one on top of the other, three stories high. Families sleep seven or eight to a room and cook over open fires between the tracks. Every month or so, someone is hit by a train.

Children play in garbage. Old women play mah-jongg on a rickety table. A woman patiently picks lice from a girl’s hair.

It is not uncommon for families to hold a wake in the middle of the sweltering streets, as Danilo Paredes did for his 18-year-old daughter, Raquel. Lying in an open coffin placed on a table, she looked small for her age, but at peace amid the chaos. Paredes said he didn’t know what killed her, only that he didn’t have the $25 for the medicine the doctor prescribed.

Residents look for any way out.

"I hate this place," said Mary Grace Libao, 13. She and her friend, Clarivel de los Santos, also 13, said they wanted to be singers in Japan.

"In Japan I will make enough money to buy a house for my family," Clarivel said.

Thousands of Philippine musicians and singers perform at resorts and hotels from Bali, Indonesia; to Phuket, Thailand; to Tokyo. Many young women who go abroad as entertainers end up working in the sex trade.

All over Japan, salarymen come to Philippine pubs to escape the tedium and stress of their jobs. They drink sake and sing karaoke with "japayuki," beautiful, scantily clad young women.

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In Osaka, the Philippine clubs are concentrated in the crowded Dotonburi district. Many are controlled by Japanese organized crime. Customers spend as much as $500 an evening in one of the better establishments.

Large clubs typically stage a brief show in which the women sing a few songs and dance. The rest of the time, they flirt with the customers, pouring sake, feeding them and lighting their cigarettes. They can make more in tips in an evening than they could working for a month as a salesclerk back home. They can make even more if they agree to have sex.

"The customers make offers," said Estrella Pumar, 31, who was heading from Manila to Osaka for her second tour. "It’s up to the girls to decide what kind of life to live."

The women live six or seven to a room provided by their employers. If they are lucky, they get a day off every two weeks. Many aspire to marry a Japanese man and secure a residency permit. Having a child in Japan ensures residency status after a divorce, which is how 80% of these marriages end.

Wendy, 37, followed her mother to Japan in the 1990s. A brother and sister moved to Los Angeles. She spent 10 years working in pubs before marrying a Japanese man, having a son and opening her own club in Osaka, the Twin Angels.

"It’s better to be here than in the Philippines," said Wendy, who declined to give her full name. But someday she’d like to return home and perhaps open a McDonald’s. In the meantime, she said, "we have to survive."

The wards are overflowing at Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital, and dozens of patients lie on cots in the corridors. Some have just given birth. Others have just had surgery. Some will die in the hallway.

The hospital in Dumaguete, about 400 miles south of Manila, was built for 250 patients but usually has more than 350. Newborns stay in the same bed as their mothers; some have suffocated when their mothers rolled over in their sleep.

Patients who come here have no choice. It’s the only hospital in the region they can afford. But for the doctors there is a way out: Study nursing and leave for the United States or Europe, where qualified nurses are in short supply.

Medical regulations in the U.S. and European countries typically make it very difficult for foreign doctors to work there as physicians. But nurses are in such demand that some recruiters offer bonuses of $15,000, the equivalent of three years’ pay for a doctor in Dumaguete.

Of 207 doctors in Negros Oriental province, 79 have become nurses and more than 30 are in nursing school. This hospital is supposed to have 72 doctors, but only 43 remain. The Dumaguete district has closed two of its six rural hospitals and may soon have to close a third, said Dr. Ely Villapando, the province’s chief health officer.

"We are worried sick about medical doctors taking up nursing and leaving," said Villapando, 63, who also runs the hospital. "We are losing the most skilled doctors. This is a crisis in healthcare."

An aid agency gave the hospital new cardiology equipment, but it sits unused. The hospital’s only cardiologist left to become an emergency-room nurse in Chicago. What she earned in a month here, she can now make before lunch.

Here, patients are so poor that some pay in produce or livestock. X-rays cost a chicken. A bunch of bananas covers consultation. Delivering a baby costs one goat.

Villapando makes the equivalent of $437 a month. Two of his children have become nurses in the United States, one in Bakersfield and one in Texas. They send him money.

"My son already has a house of his own," he said. "He has two cars. My daughter is building a house and has two cars. They could not hope to achieve that here."

To become nurses, the doctors attend classes on weekends for a year and spend 2,200 hours as volunteer nurses at the hospital. Sometimes they do both jobs the same day.

"Some of the patients get confused," said Dr. Joyce Maningo, an internist studying to be a nurse. "They say, ‘Weren’t you a doctor this morning?’ "

An ophthalmologist with her own practice, Dr. Eileen Marie Macia is near the top of her profession. Her father was a surgeon and a congressman. He was instrumental in building a new wing of the Dumaguete hospital. But she, too, is giving up. She is in nursing school and weighing whether it would be better to live in Tennessee or Los Angeles.

"If I go to the States, I will have to forget I am a doctor," she said as she made her nursing rounds. "I love the Philippines, but it will always be a Third World country."

 

Runaway maids arrive at the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait desperate, bruised, hungry and penniless. They slip out of their employers’ homes in the dead of night through a window, over a wall or by walking out a door accidentally left unlocked.

They break the law simply by leaving without permission.

Some spend more than a year in the embassy compound, waiting for their passports, back pay or the resolution of their legal cases. If they step outside, they can be arrested.

At times, more than 500 women live at the offices of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration next to the embassy. The building gets so crowded that the women cannot all lie down to sleep at the same time.

"It’s like a prison," said Annabelle Abing, who lived there for three months.

More than 750,000 Philippine maids work in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries, where they often face legalized discrimination, beatings and sexual abuse.

The women frequently live in isolation, forbidden even to telephone their families. If they file a legal claim against their employer, they can be deported or imprisoned on trumped-up charges.

"They are treated like modern slaves," said Maita Santiago, secretary-general of Migrante International, a rights group for Philippine workers. "When workers are in distress, the government doesn’t stand up for their rights for fear of the markets of foreign countries closing to Filipino workers."

Perhaps the toughest country for domestic workers is Saudi Arabia.

Sheila Marie Macatiag, 28, was earning $12 a month at a car stereo factory in the Philippines when she decided to take a job in Saudi Arabia to support her parents and six younger siblings.

Macatiag said she was forced to work from 5 a.m. to midnight, verbally abused for the smallest mistake and never given enough to eat. During her first six months, her employers paid her a total of $200; she had paid $300 to an employment agency in the Philippines to get the job.

Fed up, she ran away to the employment agency’s local office. But by the time she got there, her employers had already complained that she had stolen money and watches from their vault. Police came and arrested her.

Despite the absence of evidence or witnesses, she spent 13 months in jail, Macatiag said.

"They told me they were going to cut off my hand or I would be sentenced to 108 years or I would die in prison," she said. "Even during trial they told me my hand would be cut off unless I admitted to the allegations."

She maintained that she was innocent, but a Saudi court convicted her and she received five lashes on the hand with a cane. She has returned to the Philippines but doesn’t expect to find a job.

"There are so many people here and so few jobs," Macatiag said. She is hoping to leave the country again: "Anywhere but the Middle East," she said.

Even if there is no abuse, the emotional toll of being away from home can be heavy.

In Hong Kong, Philippine maids gather by the thousands in the city center every Sunday to spend their day off together. They fill the parks and sidewalks and overflow into the streets. Sitting on cardboard or sheets of plastic, they hold prayer meetings, play cards and have picnics.

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GO TOTHEFILIPINO.COM

August 23, 2005

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Who’s who in the Community

Neal “TexaPino” McCoy

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PHILIPPINE MIGRANTS ACT AT IBA PANG PROBLEMA

August 9, 2005

 

join world Filipino alliance for overseas workers

ATEMENT
June 7, 2

join  WWW.MIGRANTE.ORG

MIGRANTS ACT, inutil sa mga kaso ng OFWs!

Palamuti lamang ang Migrants Act of 1995 o RA 8042 dahil wala itong naitulong sa mga OFWs at sa kanilang pamilya. Halatang-halata na kaya minadaling isinabatas ito ay upang mapigilan ang galit at pagkamuhi ng mamamayang Pilipino sa kainutilan ng gubyerno dahil sa pagkamatay ni Flor Contemplacion nuong Marso 17,1995.

Sa kasalukuyan lalong lumalala ang bilang ng mga OFWs na inabuso, illegally recruited at biktima ng sex trafficking, nadamay sa gera, nasa deathrow at kawalan ng aksyon at proteksyon mula sa mga embahada, konsulado’t ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Hindi naging solusyon ang Migrants Act para sa mga OFWs dahil hindi rin ito ipinatupad mismo ng gubyerno kundi ipinahamak pa ni Gloria ang mga kababayan nating naipit sa gerang agresyon ng imperyalistang US sa Afghanistan at sa Iraq dahil lamang sa pagkatuta nito kay US Pres. Bush.

Patunay ng kainutilan ng Migrants Act ang kasong hinaharap ngayon ni Rey Cortez sa Kaharian ng Saudi Arabia. Nahatulan siya ng kamatayan sa pagpatay ng isang Pakistani driver noong Mayo 2002 sa layuning ipagtanggol ang kaniyang sarili sa tangkang panghahalay sa kaniya.

Wala ni isang anino ng mga upisyal ng ating embahada sa Saudi Arabia ang naroroon sa mga krusyal na pagdinig sa kaniyang kaso. Karumaldumal ang ginawang pagpapabaya ng ating pamahalaan sa kaso ni Rey Cortez, na ngayon ay nakasalang nang bitayin sa Saudi Arabia.

Mas masahol pa, ayon na rin sa datos ng DFA, 2,856 ang ating mga kababayan ang kasalukuyang nakapiit sa 56 na mga kulungan sa ibat-ibang panig ng mundo kung saan at 1,115 ang nasa Saudi Arabia at 50 sa kanila ay mga menor de edad.

Sa kabilang banda, habang hindi maramdaman ang serbisyo ng pamahalaan sa mga OFW, garapal na nilulustay ang pondo na para sa kanilang kagalingan. Kinurakot pa ni Gen.Cimatu ang $ 293,500 dolyares para sa paglilikas ng 6,100 OFWs sa Iraq ngunit walang naganap na paglikas at wala ring malinaw kung saan napunta ang pondo. Pati ang DOLE ay kumuha ng $87,757 para daw sa medical assistance bukod pa sa P15 Milyon para sa Gulf War compensation ngunit nananatiling isyu pa rin ito.

Inutil ito sa kaso ni Sarah Balabagan, sa 2, 000 Stranded sa Saudi nuong 1999, sa 6-10 bangkay na umuuwi kada araw, mga mentally distress at ibang mga kaso. Patunay ang kaso nila ang Angelo dela Cruz at Roberto Tarongoy. Mananatiling palamuti itong Migrants Act hangga’t nananatiling bulok ang sistema at gubyerno.

Hindi nito prinoteksyunan ang mga OFWs laban sa pagbabansag ng Dep’t. of Justice na “terrorist contaminated” ang mga galing sa Middle East. Pati jueteng isyu ay ibinibintang sa OFWs. Anong klaseng hustiya at gubyernong ito, wala na ngang trabahong maibigay, pinagbibintangan pang masama. Ang nais lamang ay mabuhay at makakain ng tatlong 3-beses kahit na nasa masamang kalagayan at lugar.

OWWA Omnibus Policies dagdag pahirap sa OFWs!
Walang takot at sabwatang ipinasa nuong Sept. 9, 2003 ng DOLE, OWWA at mga alipores nito ang OWWA Omnibus Policy. Kinitil nito ang karapatan at ipinagkait ang buong serbisyo’t benepisyong dapat tamasahin ng lahat ng OFWs at kaniyang pamilya. Hindi nakuntento pati ang P530 Miyong pondo ng Medicare ay maniobrang inilipat sa PhilHealth kaya’t suspindido ang serbisyo dahil sa anomalya.

Ayon sa Memo ng dating OWWA Admin Virgilio Angelo Jr. na malaki ang kinalaman sa pagkapanalo ni Golria ang pagkakapasa ng Omnibus Policy. Halatang pinag-interesan ang P8 Bilyong pondo at direktang pera ng mga OFWs. Wala ni singkong inilagay ang gubyerno rito ngunit sila ang nagpapasya anuman at saan nila gustong dalhin at waldasin ang pera ng OFWs.

Malaki ang naitulong ng US$21 Bilyong remittances nuong nakaraang taon sa Fiscal Crisis ng ating bansa dahil sa pagkasaid ng kaban ng bayan bunga ng talamak na kurapsyon at katiwalian sa militar, GSIS, PhilHealth, at iba pang ahensya na kinasasangkutan ng mga pinakamatataas na upisyales at pamilyang Arroyo.

Sa panahon ng krisis, mas lalong dagdag na pahirap ang OWWA Omnibus Policies dahil hindi na lahat ay maaaring makakuha ng medical at burial assistance, loans at scholarship benefits at iba pang mga serbisyo. Halos wala na ngang serbisyo, nagtangka pang-gawing P1,100 ang pasaporte at hingan ng dagdag padalang $20 at pagtitipid sa kanilang pamilya. Puro pagtitipid ang panawagan pero ang gubyerno mismo ay buong nagpapasasa at puros korapsyon ang ginagawa. Pinababayaan ang pagkaganid ng kartel ng langis, kuryente, tubig at mataas na bilihin. Walang inatupag kundi isabatas ang VAT, National ID System, Anti-Terrorism Bill upang pagkwartahan at patahimikin ang mga lumalaban sa bulok na sistema ng pamahalaan.

Ang dapat ay dagdag sahod, rolbak ng langis, pagbasura sa Oil Deragulation Law at pagpaparusa sa mga korap at tiwaling upisyales.

Bulok na bulok ang gubyernong Arroyo. Lantad at talamak ang korapsyon. Nagkakanlong pa ng pinaka-pasista at tiwaling heneral. Sapat na batayang patalsikin ang rehimeng Arroyo. Kapitbisig na labanan ang kahirapan, itakwil ang bulok na sistema at patalsikin si Gloria!

News Release
May 25, 2005
For reference: Maita Santiago, Secretary-General

As one OFW is killed daily:
Migrante leads rallies at DOLE to oust Labor Chief Sto. Tomas.

Philippine government data for this year’s first quarter paints a brutally bleak picture of OFWs. Statistics say that daily, one OFW is killed at work while 21 return to the country in various forms of distress. To protest the worsening human rights situation of OFWs, returned migrants and their families today went straight to the doorstep of Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas – with a rally this morning in front of the Department of Labor and Employment in Intramuros.

“Sec. Sto. Tomas is directly responsible for the poor working conditions and low wages many OFWs suffer. She’s at the helm of President Gloria’s frenzied pitch to export Filipino workers overseas at whatever price and whatever cost – to our families, our genuine well-being and our dignity,” says Maita Santiago, Migrante International Secretary-General.

“Already this first quarter, OFWs are killed at the rate of one per day while scores come home bruised, broke and battered,” said Santiago.

According to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s Allan Ignacio, head of OWWA’s repatriation team, there were 127 OFWs killed at work between January to March of this year. As well, they documented 1,886 OFWs that returned to the Philippines in various forms of distress that include non-payment of wages, emotional and physical abuse. In the same period, there were also 42 that came back mentally distressed.

The data further indicates that many of the victims are women and OWWA Welfare Officer Vivian Velez remarked that not a single day passes that they do not have a case from Kuwait.

"For still relentlessly pursuing the aggressive export of OFWs in light of such abuses underlines Sec. Sto. Tomas’ deafness to the cries of migrant workers. Thus, for OFWs, she is second only to President Gloria in terms of government officials that should be soundly ousted from their posts. This is a terrible twosome that’s responsible for a host of anti-migrant statements, policies and deals,” she added.

According to Migrante International, among Sec. Sto. Tomas anti-migrant moves as Labor Secretary and OWWA Chairperson are:

The transfer of P530 million pesos from OWWA to PhilHealth and P6 billion from the OWWA fund to the Land Bank and Asia Development Bank;

The passage of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s Omnibus Policies – that legitimized the collection of the forced US$25 “membership” fee from OFWs instead of employers, diminished benefits and disenfranchised countless OFWs from accessing services.
The “sell-out” of OFW and overseas performing artists’ interests in the face of Japan’s recent crackdown on undocumented workers and tighter policies for prospective entertainers;
Her deafening silence over Saudi Arabia’s current raids and crackdown on undocumented workers;
and signing the 2002 Unified Contract with the Saudi Arabian government and the Saudi National Recruitment Company. This Unified Contract meant the wages of unskilled Filipino workers were slashed to US$150 from $200 and it virtually validated “contract substitution” practices already rampant in the Kingdom.
“As the tenth year anniversary of the 1995 Migrant Workers Act fast approaches this June 7, it’s inutility regarding the rights and welfare of OFWs is glaring. It is also a tool for the deregulation of the export industry in the sense that its sections 29 and 30 will offload onto private recruiters government’s responsibility of aiding migrants in distress,” said Santiago.

Santiago concluded that Migrante International’s rally today kicks off a series of activities and protest actions that will culminate with a major rally on June 7, the anniversary of the Migrant Workers Act’s passage and the Philippine government Migrants Day.

“But since we have nothing to celebrate, we will use the day to highlight the worsening plight of migrants and their families under the Sec. Sto. Tomas and President Gloria,” concluded Santiago. #

——————————————————————————–

News Release
May 20, 2005
For reference: Maita Santiago, Secretary-General

Migrante warns against RP “exporting” nurses, caregivers to Japan as trainees

An alliance of overseas Filipino groups today raised the alarm over the POEA’s Deputy Administrator Carmelita Dizon’s announcement that Japan is set to hire 200 Filipino nurses because it appears the nurses and eventually caregivers will be brought in as “trainees”.

“If the Arroyo administration pushes through with this plan, it means that Filipino nurses and caregivers sent to Japan will receive far lower wages than their Japanese counterparts. After their three year ‘training’ stint, it’s likely that many will simply be deported out of Japan given the extremely difficult Japanese language test the nurses and caregivers must take before ‘qualifying’ to work as regular nurses and caregivers,” says Maita Santiago, Migrante International Secretary-General.

According to a bill filed in the Japanese diet (Parliament) by Congressman Hirohiko Nakamura, who led a delegation to Manila early May, the Filipino nurses or caregivers will be accepted for training as they prepare to take the national examinations, which includes a Japanese language test.

“The Japanese language is extremely difficult by many accounts. Instead of agreeing to send nurses and caregivers to Japan as trainees, Labor Sec. Sto. Tomas and the Arroyo administration should insist they enter as Registered Nurses given that the likelihood they’ll be performing the same tasks as local nurses,” said Santiago.

“Besides, who’s kidding who? Japan’s trainee system is a big joke on migrant workers. It’s a scheme used by the Japanese government to justify paying migrant workers ‘allowances’ instead of salaries on par with their local counterparts – even if they do the same work,” said Santiago, adding that as trainees, the migrants are also not entitled to benefits due regular workers.

Already, Japan uses migrant trainees as construction factory workers. In some cases, trainee construction workers receive only 100,000 yen per month while a Japanese co-worker, doing the same work, receives 260,000 yen, according to a paper by Rev. Toshifumi Aso of the National Council of Churches in Japan.

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Statement
June 7, 2005
For reference: Maita Santiago, Secretary-General
MIGRANTS ACT, inutil sa mga kaso ng OFWs!

MIGRANTS ACT, inutil sa mga kaso ng OFWs!

Palamuti lamang ang Migrants Act of 1995 o RA 8042 dahil wala itong naitulong
sa mga OFWs at sa kanilang pamilya. Halatang-halata na kaya minadaling
isinabatas ito ay upang mapigilan ang galit at pagkamuhi ng mamamayang Pilipino sa kainutilan ng gubyerno dahil sa pagkamatay ni Flor Contemplacion nuong Marso 17,1995.

Sa kasalukuyan lalong lumalala ang bilang ng mga OFWs na inabuso, illegally recruited at biktima ng sex trafficking, nadamay sa gera, nasa deathrow at kawalan ng aksyon at proteksyon mula sa mga embahada, konsulado’t ahensya ng pamahalaan.

Hindi naging solusyon ang Migrants Act para sa mga OFWs dahil hindi rin ito ipinatupad mismo ng gubyerno kundi ipinahamak pa ni Gloria ang mga kababayan nating naipit sa gerang agresyon ng imperyalistang US sa Afghanistan at sa Iraq dahil lamang sa pagkatuta nito kay US Pres. Bush.

Patunay ng kainutilan ng Migrants Act ang kasong hinaharap ngayon ni Rey Cortez sa Kaharian ng Saudi Arabia. Nahatulan siya ng kamatayan sa pagpatay ng isang Pakistani driver noong Mayo 2002 sa layuning ipagtanggol ang kaniyang sarili sa tangkang panghahalay sa kaniya.

Wala ni isang anino ng mga upisyal ng ating embahada sa Saudi Arabia ang naroroon sa mga krusyal na pagdinig sa kaniyang kaso. Karumaldumal ang ginawang pagpapabaya ng ating pamahalaan sa kaso ni Rey Cortez, na ngayon ay nakasalang nang bitayin sa Saudi Arabia.

Mas masahol pa, ayon na rin sa datos ng DFA, 2,856 ang ating mga kababayan ang kasalukuyang nakapiit sa 56 na mga kulungan sa ibat-ibang panig ng mundo kung saan at 1,115 ang nasa Saudi Arabia at 50 sa kanila ay mga menor de edad.

Sa kabilang banda, habang hindi maramdaman ang serbisyo ng pamahalaan sa mga OFW, garapal na nilulustay ang pondo na para sa kanilang kagalingan. Kinurakot pa ni Gen.Cimatu ang $ 293,500 dolyares para sa paglilikas ng 6,100 OFWs sa Iraq ngunit walang naganap na paglikas at wala ring malinaw kung saan napunta ang pondo. Pati ang DOLE ay kumuha ng $87,757 para daw sa medical assistance bukod pa sa P15 Milyon para sa Gulf War compensation ngunit nananatiling isyu pa rin ito.

Inutil ito sa kaso ni Sarah Balabagan, sa 2, 000 Stranded sa Saudi nuong 1999, sa 6-10 bangkay na umuuwi kada araw, mga mentally distress at ibang mga kaso. Patunay ang kaso nila ang Angelo dela Cruz at Roberto Tarongoy. Mananatiling palamuti itong Migrants Act hangga’t nananatiling bulok ang sistema at gubyerno.

Hindi nito prinoteksyunan ang mga OFWs laban sa pagbabansag ng Dep’t. of Justice na “terrorist contaminated” ang mga galing sa Middle East. Pati jueteng isyu ay ibinibintang sa OFWs. Anong klaseng hustiya at gubyernong ito, wala na ngang trabahong maibigay, pinagbibintangan pang masama. Ang nais lamang ay mabuhay at makakain ng tatlong 3-beses kahit na nasa masamang kalagayan at lugar.

OWWA Omnibus Policies dagdag pahirap sa OFWs!
Walang takot at sabwatang ipinasa nuong Sept. 9, 2003 ng DOLE, OWWA at mga alipores nito ang OWWA Omnibus Policy. Kinitil nito ang karapatan at ipinagkait ang buong serbisyo’t benepisyong dapat tamasahin ng lahat ng OFWs at kaniyang pamilya. Hindi nakuntento pati ang P530 Miyong pondo ng Medicare ay maniobrang inilipat sa PhilHealth kaya’t suspindido ang serbisyo dahil sa anomalya.

Ayon sa Memo ng dating OWWA Admin Virgilio Angelo Jr. na malaki ang kinalaman sa pagkapanalo ni Golria ang pagkakapasa ng Omnibus Policy. Halatang pinag-interesan ang P8 Bilyong pondo at direktang pera ng mga OFWs. Wala ni singkong inilagay ang gubyerno rito ngunit sila ang nagpapasya anuman at saan nila gustong dalhin at waldasin ang pera ng OFWs.

Malaki ang naitulong ng US$21 Bilyong remittances nuong nakaraang taon sa Fiscal Crisis ng ating bansa dahil sa pagkasaid ng kaban ng bayan bunga ng talamak na kurapsyon at katiwalian sa militar, GSIS, PhilHealth, at iba pang ahensya na kinasasangkutan ng mga pinakamatataas na upisyales at pamilyang Arroyo.

Sa panahon ng krisis, mas lalong dagdag na pahirap ang OWWA Omnibus Policies dahil hindi na lahat ay maaaring makakuha ng medical at burial assistance, loans at scholarship benefits at iba pang mga serbisyo. Halos wala na ngang serbisyo, nagtangka pang-gawing P1,100 ang pasaporte at hingan ng dagdag padalang $20 at pagtitipid sa kanilang pamilya. Puro pagtitipid ang panawagan pero ang gubyerno mismo ay buong nagpapasasa at puros korapsyon ang ginagawa. Pinababayaan ang pagkaganid ng kartel ng langis, kuryente, tubig at mataas na bilihin. Walang inatupag kundi isabatas ang VAT, National ID System, Anti-Terrorism Bill upang pagkwartahan at patahimikin ang mga lumalaban sa bulok na sistema ng pamahalaan.

Ang dapat ay dagdag sahod, rolbak ng langis, pagbasura sa Oil Deragulation Law at pagpaparusa sa mga korap at tiwaling upisyales.

Bulok na bulok ang gubyernong Arroyo. Lantad at talamak ang korapsyon. Nagkakanlong pa ng pinaka-pasista at tiwaling heneral. Sapat na batayang patalsikin ang rehimeng Arroyo. Kapitbisig na labanan ang kahirapan, itakwil ang bulok na sistema at patalsikin si Gloria!

Press Release
May 19, 2005
For reference: Maita Santiago, Secretary-General (0927-796-8183)

HK domestic workers score partial victory with HK$50 wage hike; wage hike for OFWs also needed in other countries – Migrante

For Hong Kong’s foreign domestic workers, the HK government’s HK$50 wage hike is a partial victory. But it falls far short of what the territory’s domestic workers really need.

“We claim partial victory for making the HK government admit that the petition for a wage increase for Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) is reasonable, urgent and justified. But HK$50 is obviously not enough,” says the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, an alliance of domestic worker groups from different countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The AMCB submitted a petition for a wage hike and the abolition of the levy following a series of big protests mounted by the group including a 12,000-strong march in February 2003 before the HK$400 wage cut and levy were implemented.

According to Eman Villanueva, the group’s spokesperson, the increase is a mere pittance and the AMCB maintains its campaign for the return of the HK$3,670 minimum wage and the abolition of the levy for foreign domestic workers.

Wage hikes for other OFWs

An alliance of overseas Filipino groups lauded the AMCB’s partial victory and said wage hikes for migrants and OFWs in other countries is also needed.

“Along with Hong Kong’s domestic helpers, OFWs in Taiwan and Saudi Arabia were also hit with wage cuts under the Arroyo administration. For the most part, OFWs earn minimum or below minimum wage in their host countries. Thus, it’s only just that host governments and the Arroyo administration ensure that our workers get more than ‘slave wages’,” said Maita Santiago, Migrante International Secretary-General.

The Taiwanese government slashed NT$5000 monthly from the salaries of factory and construction migrant workers last November 2001. In Saudi Arabia, Labor Sec. Sto. Tomas agreed to cut the wages of unskilled Filipino workers from US$200 to $150 when she signed a Unified Contract with the Saudi Arabian government and the Saudi National Recruitment Company in 2002.

In Canada, Filipino nurses doing 24 hour home support work as “caregivers or domestic workers” get as low as Cdn$1.50 per hour while local Registered Nurses earn up to Cdn$22 per hour, according to the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada. In general, the largely Filipino domestic workers in that country also earn around Cdn$16,896 annually while Canada’s low-income cut-off for one person is Cdn$19,795.

“But given the Arroyo administration’s refusal to act on the KMU-led workers just demand for a P125 wage hike, it’s not surprising that they don’t lift a finger to ensure OFWs also get higher wages,” said Santiago.

“Apparently for President Arroyo, the bottom line is ensuring she squeezes the most remittances out of Filipino migrant workers by intensifying its export of OFWs as cheap and flexible labor,” she said.

“Instead of trying to force us into remitting more than half our salaries home through bank channels, this administration should stop sacrificing OFW wages when trying to ‘export’ migrants overseas,” she added, noting Migrante International’s continued campaign and opposition to provisions that mean the mandatory remittance of foreign exchange earnings of OFWs. #

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News Release
Sunday, May 15, 2005
OFW group calls for free money transfers,warns against mandatory remittances remittances.

It’s about getting the best deal for their buck.

This is how an alliance of overseas Filipino groups explained why OFWs may be unwittingly used to launder jueteng money. At the same time, Migrante International expressed concern that the news report might be cited by the Philippine government to force OFWs into sending remittances through official bank channels.

“Given the very low wages that OFWs get, especially in the Middle East, it’s not surprising that they’ll send their remittance through whoever gives them the best deal. What’s more worrying is that the Macapagal-Arroyo regime might use this to justify forcing OFWs to remit through bank channels,” said Migrante International Secretary-General Maita Santiago.

“Considering the high transaction fees for remittances that banks charge, it makes sense that an OFW would rather send their money through someone that won’t charge them any transaction fees,” she said, noting that the rising cost of living in the Philippines also forces the OFWs to ensure they send the most money home that they can.

Mind conditioning?

“We warn the Macapagal-Arroyo regime not to use this to force OFWs into sending their money through official bank channels. Instead, this administration should give us free and secure money transfers,” said Santiago.

“It would be disastrous for OFWs if they compel us to send through PNB or other banks given their high charges. For example the PNB charges around P430 to P690 for remittances from Saudi Arabia and Italy respectively. If the OFW send money home monthly, that’s P5,160 to P8,280 or 3 to 5 cavans of rice lost to bank fees alone,” she said.

Currently, the House of Representative’s Committee on Labor and Employment is deliberating Omnibus Amendments to the Labor Code and among the provisions House Bill 1505 seeks to retain is the Article on Mandatory Remittance of Foreign Exchange Earnings (Article 22 of PD 442, Labor Code).

“Due to widespread protests from OFWs, this provision is not enforced against land-based OFWs. We oppose the inclusion of this article in the new labor code. Forcing OFWs to remit their earnings illustrates an utter disregard for the economic marginalization many OFWs now experience,” said Santiago, adding that Migrante International members in the Philippines and overseas are gearing up for a campaign to protest mandatory remittances in the new Labor Code.

“In a bid to prop up the Philippine’s ailing economy, the Arroyo regime is bent on implementing a range of measures that will increase, exploit and shore up OFW dollar remittances – at the expense of OFW rights and welfare. The move to force OFWs into remitting earnings through bank channels is but the latest scheme, she concluded. #

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PRESS STATEMENT
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Migrante-Philippines Australia hits deportation of Pinay Australian
MIGRANTE - AUSTRALIA.
SIDNEY — Yesterday (Tuesday, May 10 2005) Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone announced in the Senate that Australian citizen was not wrongfully deported a mere 3 days after a car accident that brought her to notice of immigration officials in July 2001. In fact, Ms Alvarez-Solon come to the attention of her officials in April 2001, and deportation was in July 2001. Far from exonerating her Department, which is the implication of the triumphant manner in which Minister Vanstone addressed the Senate, this fact establishes even more the flaws in Australia’s immigration system, and the failures of her Department, and lack of basic competence of her officials. In an extended period of 3 and half months, Minister Vanstone’s officials:

* Were unable to match the profile of Ms Alvarez-Solon with the profile of the missing person on ueensland’s missing person register since February 2001, despite having direct dealings with Queensland Police in the deportation process;

* Were obviously incompetent and confused when they could not recognise the name “Vivian Alvarez-Solon” given to them as the name used on all official Philippine documents, combing a “middle name” [her mother’s maiden name], and a primary family name [her father’s family name];

* Were unable to identify and address obvious mental health issues

* Abandoned all sense of duty of care when they dumped Ms Alvarez Solon in Manila with obviously inadequate arrangements for who would meet this obviously ill woman and take responsibility for her welfare in a city as dangerous as Manila.

* Have treated with disrespect her as Minister, the Australian Parliament and the Australian people by the way information has been released selectively, slowly, in a piecemeal fashion and only in attempts [like the crude one of Ms Vanstone in the Senate yesterday] to avoid taking responsibility for the errors committed, rather than contribute to assisting those searching for MS Alvarez- Solon.

Ms Vanstone’s words by her own admission reveal the Compliance section of her Department had a cavalier attitude of “deport first and ask questions later” when they were dealing with Ms Alvarez-Solon.

Clearly, the search was not for the truth of Ms Alvarez-Solon’s situation respect for her rights. It was a search for reasons to deport and Immigration officials found what they were looking for in the inability of a mentally ill Australian citizen and a person on non-English speaking background to articulate her situation. A rudimentary knowledge of standard practice in giving names for official purposes in the Philippines would have led any official to know that Ms Alvarez-Solon gave her right name (not the “wrong” name as Ms Vanstone has claimed) in April 2001.

In the subsequent months, officials with a modicum of competence would have been able to draw a link with the woman on the missing person register in Queensland, and established the fact that she was an Australian citizen. Ms Vanstone’s claim that there was no racism or racial discrimination involved in this case.

We have worked through immigration processes on behalf of our constituency know that apparently “non-discriminatory” policies and procedures will have a discriminatory outcome in actual practice. If Ms Alvarez-Solon had a white skin and a broad Australian accent, she would have been presumed to be an Australian citizen, her mental illness addressed, and the search for her identity begun in earnest.

As she did not have either, the search began in earnest for reasons to deport. In Cornelia Rau’s case, the error of speaking a foreign language in addition to fluent Australian-English was enough to ensure detention and a failure to establish her identity or address obvious mental illness. Maybe on paper, procedures appear non-discriminatory, and officials are asked to apply them without discrimination.

However, our experience over the years is what the Rau and Alvarez-Solon cases prove these procedures and these officials when working in the ‘normal’ way produce discriminatory results that confirm a xenophobic impulse fear or incomprehension of the ‘other’, or a person different from the white, English-speaking Australian.

So far from ameliorating the horrific tale of suffering of our Australian citizen Vivian Alvarez-Solon, Minister Vanstone has confirmed in her comments in Australian Parliament the incompetence of her officials, the failure of her Department in specific cases, the discriminatory outcomes of her Department’s procedures and actions and the need for a full Royal Commission into the threat her Department poses to the rights of Australian citizens.

We repeat our calls of May 9 2005 :

to immediately hold a Royal Commission to investigate the cases of wrongful detention and/or deportation in particular Vivian Alvarez-Solon

* to locate the victim and provide services
* to indemnify the victims and their families
* to release all children in detention to the community
* to overhaul the procedures for detention and deportation to ensure the Rau and Alvarez-Solon cases are not repeated
* to end the system of immigration detention this produces such discriminatory and unfair results.
* For more information please contact:

Migrante Philippines Australia Jane Corpuz-Brock, Spokesperson: 0414 854 258
In the Philippines, you may contact Migrante International at 926-2838

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PRESS STATEMENT
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Stories of Struggle and Hope
Last January 17 to 21, Migrante International mounted a photo-exhibit and forum at the House of Representatives. Entitled, "Stories of Struggle and Hope: A closer look at the plight of migrant workers amidst increased attacks on their rights and welfare", the activity was jointly sponsored by Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, Special Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Chair Rep. Edcel Lagman and the Migrante Sectoral Party.

The week-long activity was launched on January 17 with a mass by Fr. Allan Arcebuche, OFM and a forum with OFWs and migrant NGOs.

Speaking at the forum were: Migrante International Sec-Gen Maita Santiago, DAWN Executive Director Mel Nuqui and Center for Overseas Workers Executive Director Sr. Bernadette de Guzman. Baltazar Bardoquillo also gave a testimony about the plight of his sister, Jesusa - who returned to the Philippines mentally-ill after less than two months in Saudi Arabia.

A documentary expose on the anti-migrant impacts of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s Omnibus Policies was also presented.

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News Release
Monday, January 31, 2005
Migrante condemns Malaysia for caning undocumented Pinoys
As Malaysia gears up for its crackdown on undocumented foreigners, an alliance of overseas Filipino groups slammed Malaysia’s practice of caning undocumented migrants – including male children above ten years old. The only ones exempted are those above 50 years old.

Since caning for first time Immigration Act offenders was introduced in August 2002, Malaysian authorities have caned 18,607 foreigners – including 1,956 Filipinos (as of December 9, 2004). The undocumented workers face up to six strokes of a half-inch wooden cane while the male children may receive up to ten strokes of a “lighter cane”. This form of punishment commonly leaves welts and scars.

“This cruel and inhuman practice must end. Migrants are not animals to be whipped simply because they may have committed administrative violations of immigration laws. In fact, in continuing to practice ‘caning’, Malaysian authorities are the ones truly guilty of violating even their own laws,” says Migrante International Secretary-General Maita Santiago.

According to Suaram, a Malaysian based human rights group, caning violates Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as Article 12 (2) of the Malaysian Human Rights Charter which says, “No person shall be tortured or subjected to cruel or degrading treatment or punishment by individuals, police, military or any other state agency.”

Malaysia’s Immigration Act was amended in 1996 to make caning a mandatory part of the sentence for repeat offenders guilty of using forged passports and other immigration offenses. In 2002, it was again amended to include caning for first time offenders.

Migrante International also decried the Arroyo administration’s tactic of quickly sending Filipinos back to Malaysia instead of developing viable long-term livelihood opportunities for them in the Philippines.

In 2002, the Arroyo administration responded to the crackdown by setting up “one-stop-shops” tasked with the swift processing of papers so that the Filipinos could return to Malaysia. But according to Migrante, the problem is that visas were usually only good for a few months, after which, the Filipinos would again join the swelling ranks of undocumented foreigners in Sabah and other parts of Malaysia.

On Thursday, Migrante International will mount a protest rally at the Malaysian embassy to call on Malaysia to uphold the human rights and dignity of all migrant workers. #

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News Release
Monday, January 31, 2005
Migrante hits DFA Sec. Romulo’s absence for undocumented Pinoys in Malaysia
As Malaysian authorities gear up for their massive crackdown against undocumented Pinoys in Malaysia tomorrow, Migrante International slammed DFA Sec. Alberto Romulo for gallivanting across Europe instead of heading to Kuala Lumpur.

“Sec. Romulo should be in Kuala Lumpur fighting for the rights of more than 170,000 undocumented Filipinos in Sabah alone. Instead, he’s on a European tour in a baseless bid to have one man deported – Prof. Jose Maria Sison, who rightly symbolizes the Filipino people’s aspirations for genuine freedom and national democracy,” said Migrante International Secretary-General Maita Santiago.

There are about two million foreign workers in Malaysia with about half considered undocumented or “illegal”. Most work in palm oil plantations, construction and domestic service. The bulk of the migrants are from Indonesia, the Philippines and India.

To “hunt” the undocumented workers, Malaysia is mobilizing about 400,000 civilians who will receive a substantial financial reward for each undocumented worker caught. Migrants who are captured face imprisonment and up to six strokes of a half-inch cane prior to deportation.

Malaysia’s notorious prison-like detention camps for the undocumented workers are usually over-crowded and unsanitary. During Malaysia 2002 massive crackdown, many migrants became ill and scores of babies and children even died during the mass deportations.

“Sec. Romulo should be in Kuala Lumpur to make last-minute high-level representations to the Malaysian government to protest this latest attack on the rights and welfare of our compatriots. He should be there to ensure that not one Filipino is hurt or killed in the mayhem that’s sure to occur in the next few weeks,” said Santiago.

“What’s happening and about to happen in Malaysia is urgent and very grave. We denounce this administration for again failing to protect the rights and welfare of overseas Filipinos,” she said, noting that Migrante International is gearing up for a protest action at the Malaysian embassy this Wednesday.

In 2002, Migrante International led a fact-finding mission into the conditions of the undocumented Filipinos deported from Sabah. The fact-finding mission was held in Sulo, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga. The fact-finding mission found that militarization and massive unemployment were among the main reasons why so many Filipinos are in Malaysia, largely Sabah. #

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News Release
Monday, January 24, 2005
Reject VAT, "VAT-Girl" - Migrante
For reference: Maita Santiago, Secretary-General (0927-796-8183)

As the Senate prepares to open hearings on the proposed VAT increase today, an alliance of overseas Filipino groups called on the public to reject both the VAT hike and its main proponent, “VAT-Girl”.

“VAT-Girl is none other than President Gloria. Her move to increase VAT from 10% to 12% will surely bleed the people dry. Given the already rock-bottom wages and sky-high prices the Filipino people face, any tax increase will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” said Migrante International Secretary-General Maita Santiago.

At a BAYAN-led press conference this morning in Quezon City, Migrante International unveiled its VAT-Girl caricature of President Gloria as a bat whose wings are painted with the US’ stars and stripes to symbolize how VAT is an IMF and World Bank imposition.

“Instead of heeding the US or President Gloria, we implore on the Senators to listen to their constituents. Listen to the OFWs who voted for them. If they have any heart left for the people, they should soundly junk the proposed VAT hike,” said Santiago.

“But if some Senators do go ahead and toe Malacanang’s line, they should prepare to meet the Filipino people’s wrath – both here and abroad. And they should expect that in the next elections, they will be the ones junked by overseas absentee voters,” she said. “For the impoverished families of OFWs who depend on their loved-ones’ remittances, the VAT increase will mean an additional burden for the migrants. It means more sacrifices and scrimping for OFWs just so they have enough to send for their families’ daily needs back home,” she said.

“We are in strong solidarity with the consuming public in opposing any hike on VAT. We denounce this Malacanang and IMF-WB orchestrated move to pass the burden of the fiscal crisis onto the Filipino people. We will take this fight to reject this anti-people bill, and its proponent President Gloria, worldwide,” concluded Santiago, noting that Migrante International will mobilize its organizations in different countries for the February 16 anti-VAT people’s protests. #

Monday, January 24, 2005

Migrante rally near the US embassy in Manila, .Monday, January 24, 2005

Protection for OFWs - kabataan ng migrante para sa bayan (kamiyan), migrants’ youth groupwill take this fight to reject this anti-people bill, and its proponent President Gloria, worldwide.

More Statements Click here

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