vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Policy, practice belie RP’s labor migration ‘global model’ tag

Posted by: Karol Ilagan | September 21, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Filed under: Civil Society, Governance, Migrant Workers Issues

WITH over eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remitting more than $10 billion to the country each year, the Philippines is touted as a “global model” in labor migration.

But the reality besetting majority of migrant workers has limited this concept of a “global model” to deployment figures only. In terms of upholding and protecting the rights of Filipinos abroad, the country is a far cry from being the perfect example.

Even with laws and numerous offices mandated to serve the needs of OFWs, many Filipinos almost always find themselves prone to various forms of injustices with little or no realization at all of the rights guaranteed to them by national and international instruments.

Examining the policies as well as the performance of government agencies that make up this so-called global model is imperative and urgent, according to the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) at a forum last Friday.

Since 2004, CMA and FES have been holding the Alfredo J. Ganapin (AJG) Advocacy Forum Series, a quarterly public forum that seeks to explore issues affecting OFWs, engaging the government, civil-society groups, and the migrant community.

The recent gathering was a culmination of the 17 previous forums which have produced recommendations in various areas of concern ranging from specific migrant groups (domestic helpers, seafarers, nurses and OFW families) to local and international instruments (Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, Magna Carta for Seafarers, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers).

‘On track, off track’

It seems very easy for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to take pride in Filipinos working abroad, acknowledging them every year in her state of the nation address. After all, one million overseas jobs per year is the only target on track in her Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) 2004-2010.

In 2007, a total of 1,007,623 Filipinos have been deployed abroad. As of June 2008, about 64 percent of the one-million target has already been achieved.

Sources: CFO / DFA / POEA /4th State of Population Report

However, the government’s aggressive labor export policy is at odds with Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, the main legislation that is supposed to comprehensively protect and promote the rights of Filipinos living and working abroad.

RA 8042 declares that the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. The State, the law says, “therefore, shall continuously create local employment opportunities and promote the equitable distribution of wealth and the benefits of development.”

But the increase in overseas deployment, said CMA executive director Ellene Sana, has manifested the worsening employment situation and consequent poverty in the country. The other MTPDP target of 1.6 million new jobs per year is way off track with only 700,000 actual jobs created in 2005 and 599,000 in 2007.

Abuses against OFWs

RA 8042 also provides that the existence of the overseas employment program rests solely on the assurance that the “fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Filipino citizens shall not, at any time, be compromised or violated.”

But problems of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and irregular migration have worsened over the years. Even if a downtrend of undocumented or irregular OFWs has been recorded since 2001, there are still over 900,000 of them in the world, according to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO).

Listed below are some of the countries with undocumented Filipino workers.

UNDOCUMENTED FILIPINO WORKERS (as of 2007)
COUNTRY	ESTIMATED NUMBER
USA	155,843
Malaysia	128,000
United Arab Emirates	35,000
Saudi Arabia	20,000
Singapore	18,000
Kuwait	10,000

Source: Commission on Filipinos Overseas

In Jordan, for example, about 80 percent of Filipino workers are undocumented.

Kanlungan Center Foundation officer-in-charge Nena Fernandez added that in the said country, an average of three Filipino workers escape from their employers each day due to maltreatment.

In addition to OFWs receiving lower than in-contract or delayed salaries or not getting paid at all, they have also been exposed to unfavorable working and living conditions, sexual harassment, and other discriminatory practices.

Fr. Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerants (CBCP-ECMI), explained that the real and main cause why many OFWs have become victims is not out of the desperation to get a job.

“Some are aware of the realities, but they take the risk,” he said.

CMA’s Sana added the lack of an effective reintegration policy — “not having enough decent work back home” — has led to cyclical migration, with 60 percent of OFWs being rehired.

‘Feminization’ of labor

Moreover, a growing “feminization” in labor migration has also occurred with women now comprising about 60 percent of Filipinos working abroad. And most of them are employed as domestic workers, cleaners, and manufacturing laborers.

Source: Commission on Filipinos Overseas

Female OFWs are also relatively younger than their male counterparts. From 1998 to 2002, women migrant workers are mostly between the ages of 25 and 29, but in 2005, many of them are aged 15 to 24.

With the continued increase of migrating women, Kanlungan’s Fernandez said that a gender-responsive program must be initiated “with genuine concern for women.”

The importance of gender analysis in labor migration cannot be overemphasized, according to CMA, noting that majority of women OFWs, notwithstanding their educational qualification and training, are concentrated in domestic and entertainment work abroad.

CMA also pointed out that the rate of women working abroad even reached 72 percent in 2003, but it has declined in 2006 due to Japan’s strict immigration policy, which slashed the deployment of newly-hired performing artists by 88 percent from a high of about 70,000 in 2002 to about 8,000 in 2007.

Also, due to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s (POEA) household service workers policy reform in 2006, deployment of newly-hired women domestic workers decreased by 56 percent from 2006 to 2007.

The major concerns, said CMA, are the employment of the displaced women and the monitoring of POEA’s policy reform.

Fernandez added that except for Section 19, RA 8042 lacks the gender dimension of migration, pointing out that the law was hastily crafted to appease the growing social unrest due to the death of Flor Contemplacion back in 1995.

Its effectiveness, relevance and responsiveness is put to test and questioned in light of the numerous cases of distressed migrants and overseas Filipinos.

“Our question has always been how the government valuates diplomacy versus the welfare of its citizens,” Fernandez lamented. “Must we be always subservient in terms of foreign relations because beggars cannot be choosers?”

Fr. Corros also noted that the sheer number of victims is a problem in itself. He also said that due to lack of trust in government, many OFWs would rather go to nongovernmental organizations or the media for help.

Limited resources

Speaking at the same forum, Atty. Felicitas Bay of the Department of Labor and Employment’s International Labor Affairs Service (DOLE-ILAS) admitted that the government does have its limitations.

“Our resources are very limited, so we welcome all the help we can get,” she said, noting that DOLE is allocated only P6.5 billion in the proposed 2009 budget.

The lawyer encouraged the migrant community to make it a point to report cases of abuses to the labor department. “Bring it to our attention so we can act appropriately.”

Meanwhile, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Director Albert Valenciano said that Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development, had already proposed amendments to Senate Bill 154, an act amending RA 8042. Public hearings on the bill are ongoing, he said.

The AJG Advocacy Forum Series is also held in lieu of the second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) to be held in Manila this October. The Philippines is the first primary labor-exporting country to host the GFMD.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 21st, 2008 and is filed under Civil Society, Governance, Migrant Workers Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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[...] In addition to OFWs receiving lower than in-contract or delayed salaries or not getting paid at all, they have also been exposed to unfavorable working and living conditions, sexual harassment, and other discriminatory practices. Source: The Daily PCIJ [...]

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