New airline serves route from UAE to Manila for OFWs

Business Mirror
Feb 14, 2006

New airline serves route from UAE to Manila for OFWs

IT used to be said that no ship in the world is afloat without a Filipino seaman serving aboard. Now, this observation could be applied to commercial airlines as well.

Etihad Airways, the two-year-old national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), flew its inaugural flight to Manila on Monday with a Filipino pilot-in-command and five Filipina stewardesses among the 13 crewmembers.

"We are proud to have Filipinos among our crew because they bring the warmth and hospitality to our company, traits that Filipinos are known for throughout the world," says Charles Phelps-Penry, regional manager for Asia-Pacific, during a press conference at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport .

UAE is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and west, Oman to the east and north, and is made up of seven emirates which were formerly all independent sheikdoms. The airline's crew comprises a virtual United Nations with other members of the group, aside from the Philippines , coming from India , Estonia , United Kingdom , Belarus , France , Morocco and Malaysia .

The air carrier actually employs 72 nationalities, speaking their own languages.

Etihad flies out of Manila four times a week, arriving at the Naia I at 3:50 p.m. and leaving for Abu Dhabi at 8:45 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

There is an existing trade between the two nations, with the Philippines looking to increase its major export of electrical, machinery, clothing and timber products.

Penry, who used to be with the British Airways in a variety of positions, said that Manila becomes Etihad's second largest destination in Asia after Bangkok .

"Today is a milestone in the Asia-Pacific because Manila becomes our second major destination to serve the 200,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the UAE," he said.

The UAE and the Philippines have enjoyed a tremendous bilateral relationship for many years and the new Etihad service bridges this further so that guests would be offered frequent and flexible service.

Etihad is planning to add eight more routes to Asia that would include Jakarta , Kuching, Lahore , among others.

Already, the air carrier currently flies to 20 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America and Asia . He added that he is proud to have in their company's employ the first Filipino pilot, Capt. Jose Augusto Quimpo, who had been with them since two years ago.

Quimpo, a Philippine Airlines (PAL) veteran, left the airline in 1989 to fly Etihad's Airbus 330. R. Mercene

Brain drain can't be stopped by legislation

Brain drain can’t be stopped by legislation
DEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco
The Philippine Star 02/13/2006

A bill has been filed in Congress seeking to stop skilled Filipino workers, like pilots, doctors and aircraft mechanics from leaving the country. It is as if this brain drain can be stopped by passing a law. If our legislators really and honestly want to stop the brain drain, they have to stop all their foolishness and work to make this country a better place to live in.

Of course, that’s not going to happen soon. Our legislators are very much a big part of the problems driving our professionals and skilled workers out of the country. Given their mentality, our legislators will think it is easier to just pass a simplistic law. But two questions come to mind: 1) can it be implemented? 2) is it constitutional?

I can fully understand why a congressman filed that bill. It is scary to think of a future without all our good doctors, all our good pilots and all our good aircraft mechanics among other professionals. But why should they be punished for wanting to have a better life abroad? It is absolutely unjust for government to stop them from leaving.

People, specially our officials, must understand that in this age of globalization, migration of labor follows the flow of market forces. Globalization is not only about the free flow of goods but the free flow of labor as well. Our predicament is not unique. Recently, Poland also raised some alarm over the same concern as its best professionals move to the United Kingdom and other EU countries where they can be paid a lot more for their skills.

The situation in Poland is eerily familiar. Experienced welders, electricians, other skilled craftsmen and including doctors and dentists have taken advantage of Poland’s membership in the European Union to relocate where there is a potential for higher earnings. A Polish personnel director told the Financial Times they "feel the effects of the opening up of the European labor markets because we have to compete in terms of job offers not only with other Polish employers but with, for example, those in Britain and Ireland."

The problem strikes both ways. Globalization of labor has also caused some Western countries on the receiving end, some problems. All of a sudden, the price of local labor can be checked against the global price. Labor unions in France and Germany, for instance, woke up to the reality that they are being priced out of the market. Political pressure is exerted on governments to stem the tide of migration. But all that is going to be in vain.

The days when we can pay a fully trained doctor P10,000 a month (or less than a call center worker) to serve in a government hospital are over. The global price for the services of a doctor is in multiples of that. Or, worse, the global price of a nurse or even a caregiver abroad is more than what we pay our doctors. No wonder our doctors are leaving for abroad even if it means demoting themselves to becoming a nurse or a caregiver.

The same goes for airline pilots and airline mechanics. There is a global price for those with certified skills to be pilots and mechanics. Sooner rather than later, Filipinos with those skills will demand to be paid the global rate or they will leave local employment to be paid that rate abroad. We may ban recruiters from coming here to poach from local employers but in this age of the Internet, it should be easy enough to recruit without even stepping foot here.

I guess, we just have to be resigned to the need to adjust to the reality of global pricing for the services of those whose skills are in demand. Even if a law was passed to stop our professionals from accepting higher paying jobs abroad, there is no way we can stop those who are determined to get global paying jobs abroad from leaving the country, anyway.

The only sane strategy for government is to invest even more on education so that we have enough people with the high value skills to constantly take the place of those who go abroad. The curious thing is, even if all our skilled workers find jobs abroad, we would still have a serious unemployment problem here. That’s the situation too in Poland. Despite the outcry against the brain drain now being heard, some three million Poles are still jobless.

I want to think it isn’t as bad as it looks because presumably, those who do go abroad would now have enough earning capacity to invest on their children’s education and training too. Exposure to world class companies should also come in handy when these professionals eventually come home, as most of them do.

It is unfortunate our politicians are prone to grandstand like that congressman who wanted to impose a ban on brain drain. It is similar to one of our late presidents who wanted to repeal the law of supply and demand. Now, a congressman, who has not heard of globalization, wants to curtail the constitutional right of our skilled workers to travel and pursue happiness by earning more abroad.

I suppose that sort of thing happens because Congress had always suffered from a brain drain problem ever since I could remember. I wonder what’s next? I hope a global demand for stupid politicians comes up so we can export them.

Tiger Airways

I got this e-mail that underscores the need for the CAB to be careful in whimsically canceling flights and also the need for all airlines operating here to have a local brick and mortar office and not just a website, to respond to consumer needs.

I am a housewife and a regular reader of your article. I appreciate your business column greatly and your ending jokes usually lighten up my day (most of them at least).

Last month, you wrote an article about one of your readers who was terribly inconvenienced and emotionally affected by the plight of Pinoy passengers bound for Manila(Clark) at the Macau International airport. This was all due to the cancellation of the Tiger Airways Jan. 10, 2006 flight.

Back here at the Clark International Airport at that same date, my husband, my balikbayan son, balikbayan sister-in-law and I were part of the many passengers (businessmen, tourists, and OFWs) who were inconvenienced by that same cancellation, not to mention the irreversible financial losses we suffered from our credit cards due to online hotel reservations we made in Macau and Hong Kong for our 4-day vacation.

I was really thankful to have read your article. I know that you tried to make queries in order to help your reader. On my part, I wrote an e-mail to Tiger Airways and backed it up with a hardcopy sent through their P.O.Box at Changi in Singapore. It’s been a month now and we have not received any official communication/reply from them.

My relatives in the US are pressing for an update/explanation and I feel responsible to communicate any progress of this case to them. I hope you can help me. Thank you and more of God’s blessings on your writing.

My response: The moral lesson here is, never have full faith in high technology such as the Internet to buy airline tickets and reserve hotel rooms in this third world country. We aren’t in that stage of development yet.

Impossible

Here’s Dr. Ernie.

A married couple was having an argument while sitting in bed.

The wife said to her husband, "You’re impossible."

To which the husband replied, "No. I’m next to impossible."

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com

OWWA, Microsoft bridge digital divide among overseas workers

i.t. matters
feb 10, 2006

OWWA, Microsoft bridge digital divide among overseas workers

Alfonso Mirabueno, 45, never thought that at his age, he would be at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s (OWWA) training center for a month now tapping at the computer.

After 16 years of working abroad, he has enrolled in OWWA’s "Tulay: An Unlimited Potential Program for Overseas Filipino," an information technology (IT) training module where overseas workers take computer lessons on internet skills and basic applications in between jobs.

Tulay is an IT training program funded by a grant from software giant Microsoft Philippines as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.

"I need basic knowledge of computers for [the] documentation [work] in my next office, which is an offshore rig off the Gulf of Mexico. Having computer skills is important with the level of technology nowadaysÖ it will make our work easier if we know computer [skills]," the radio operator said.

Mr. Mirabueno is one of the almost 19,000 overseas workers and their beneficiaries targeted in eight of Tulay’s training centers and three planned sites this year, OWWA administrator Marianito D. Roque told BusinessWorld.

"The free training gives [overseas workers] and their families improved level of communication other than SMS [short messaging system] or phone calls. By teaching them how use computers they will have a cheaper and longer communication alternative, imagine three SMS’s is almost equal to an hour of online chat and they can even see each other [through the webcam]," he added.

The overseas workers and their families also receive training for computer applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel for simple accounting and budgeting and Web skills, including Web design through a training module accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Those who finish the program are given a TESDA training certificate.

Tulay’s initial phase involved the opening of training centers at the Filipino Workers Center in Malaysia and Bayanihan Center in Singapore, as well as similar community technology learning centers at the OWWA main office in Pasay City.

In 2004, three more centers were set up in Hong Kong, Taichung in Taiwan and in Cebu through a P4-million cash grant and P3 million worth of software provided by Microsoft.

"The project envisions that [overseas workers] will have a better peace of mind and thus promote and maximize their productivity at the job sites with the assurance that they have direct contact and can monitor family activities on a day-to-day basis," Mr. Roque said during the launch of Tulay’s third phase.

New training sites in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, La Union Cagayan de Oro City and at the OWWA satellite office at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration head-quarters in Mandaluyong City were launched last week. Microsoft provided a P5.6-million grant for the centers.

Antonio Javier, Jr., Microsoft’s managing director, told Business-World that Tulay is part of the firm’s commitment to "bridge the digital divide for under-served sectors of society [by] providing real solutions unique challenges that face [overseas workers]."

He added that additional training sites would be set up soon in the Middle East and Italy.

"We hope by the end of five years there would be a network for [overseas workers]."

Citibank to go into remittance business

Citibank to go into remittance business
By Ted P. Torres
The Philippine Star 02/09/2006

After taking a significant chunk of the credit card market, Citibank NA is now trying its hand on the money transfer or remittances business for Filipinos residing or working in the United States.

Launched last year, the US-based financial institution will use its money cards or automatic teller machine (ATM) card to cater to the relatives of some 2.7 million Filipinos residing in the US.

Citibank has tapped its subsidiary – Citibank West (United States) – to cater to the remittance business which also includes migrants from Mexico, India, South America and Eastern Europe.

Citibank West has over 900 branches US-wide although only 50 branches, mainly in Nevada and California are prepared or capable of servicing remittances from Filipino migrants.

"We want to make all our 900 branches US-wide open to Filipinos," Calixto Garcia-Velez, Citibank West FSB president, said.

Garcia-Velez claims the cost of each transaction is only $8 which could be remitted by relatives in the Philippines through the ATM machines of BancNet and Mega-Link.

If the Philippine transaction is done in Citibank-based ATMs, there are no other fees. Interbank fees, however, apply for ATMs with other banks but within the MegaLink or BancNet networks.

Another distribution channel locally is Citibank Savings Bank, a product of the acquisition of Citibank of the then Insular Savings Bank. The thrift bank presently has 15 fully-operational branches, with another 21 branches expected to be fully online soon.

Garcia-Velez said that they are also offering various services and products for Filipinos in the US. Among these are a life insurance policy worth $250,000 coverage aside from savings and checking accounts.

Only GMA can exempt OFWs from paying $5 Naia security fee

Business Mirror
February 3, 2006

UNLESS President Arroyo signs an executive order, all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would pay the $5 "security charges" that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) would impose in the second quarter of this year.

The Naia is raising P1.3 billion a year, or about P7 billion in five years, to finance a comprehensive effort to make the Naia a veritable fortress equipped with all kinds of detectors, listening devices, hand-held "wands," x-ray portals and vans that could detect if nearby vehicles or suspected cars contain explosive devices.

This van is similar to the ones that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) deployed in Manila several years ago during the visit of President George Bush.

Called a "backscatter" van, the vehicle is equipped with a threat image projection (TIP) equipment showing which vehicles within range contain bombs or explosive charges, and each car would cost about $5 million or P27.5 million each.

On the other hand, the x-ray portals that would be deployed at the airport's entrance would also be able to detect any metallic object or suspicious items in a person's possession that carriers could show so as to avoid body frisking or "patdown" inspection, according to an official of the premier airport who is privy to the three public hearings conducted among airport and airline officials.

The most contentious issue that the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) has to deal with is whether it has the political will to charge $5 as well to domestic travelers, expected at about three million passengers a year. "The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has allowed all ICAO member-countries to levy the security fee and its edict does not exempt anyone from paying, including the OFW or domestic passengers," said a Miaa official who requested anonymity. R. Mercene

More on OFW Power

More on ofw power
BIZLINKS By Rey Gamboa
The Philippine Star 02/03/2006

Our recent column (Harnessing the OFW Power, 30 January 2006) quickly elicited quite a number of comments from readers, many of them accessing the electronic version of The Philippine Star item via the Internet from as far as the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East.

We’ve compiled some of the more interesting reactions for today’s column. They paint an interesting picture of how our overseas Filipino workers feel about their years working abroad. This first one is from Cianamen Palmero who is now employed in Dubai. Read on.

"I just read your column (Harnessing the OFW Power, 30 January 2006) and I do agree with the idea. I’ve been here in the Middle East for almost three months now; I’m in my mid-20s and I don’t have plans in staying here for good.

"My long term goal is really to invest in marketable securities and real estate. I’m quiet fortunate ‘cause I have the financial freedom and the ample knowledge to hopefully engage in such things unlike most of our kababayans here abroad.

"Most of us here really want to invest in any form of business but some just don’t know where to start, what to do, or simply just don’t have the business acumen to really succeed in their would-be chosen business.

"OFWs are willing to invest so long as they know their money would be safe and (the) returns sufficient. Whoever will handle such program must have integrity, compassion and vision. Integrity, because we all know how we perceive our politicians to be; compassion, for the hard-earned money that these OFW’s worked hard for; and finally, the vision to really understand what this program is all about and where is it leading to. And of course let us not forget the significant role of information dissemination in such kind of program.

"Anyway, hope I could read more of these kinds of programs and hopefully too, it won’t remain an idea written in a piece of paper.

Invest in the economy

This one is from Carina Dizon from the US.

"I read your column about investing in the Philippines, and totally agree with you on tapping overseas workers and keeping the money (in the Philippines). I have been in the US for 14 years and learned (about) investing through my own reading and research.

"I would like to invest and help our economy, but our government was not clear on how the overseas worker could get involved and (how they could) invest their hard earned money. The government should guarantee the investment the same way it guaranteed the international investors, because overseas workers want a guaranteed return of their hard earned money.

"How I wish the Philippine government introduced to the Filipino people especially overseas worker the steps on how to invest in simple layman terms. For a start, the government should educate the overseas worker prior to leaving the country (on) the following:

"1. A guarantee that the money invested would not go to the hand of blue collar criminals.

"2. Steps on how to invest, what, whom, where, how much the minimum/maximum interest required and where to purchase it while… abroad, likewise, the terms or conditions in clear language.

"3. Continued dissemination of investment information or options, and where and how to get them.

"4. Information on who is managing the investment and where the money is (going to be) invested. The investments for (companies like) NAIA-3, UCPB, and Napocor should be managed by people / private companies with… sterling records.

"Probably President Arroyo should harness her talented economic managers to work on this and implement it as soon as possible, so that the overseas worker would not spend all their hard earned money on daily consumptions. The government should educate the overseas worker, their families on how to invest.

Relentless financial literacy campaign

Tony Ranque from the Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos (ERCOF) provides our overseas Filipino readers who believe that the fruit of their labors can be harnessed and put to better use with a glimmer of hope. Here’s his short comment:

"I believe we need to do massive and relentless financial literacy campaigns for OFWs and families first so that they will understand and appreciate what is being proposed (in the column Harnessing the OFW Power, 30 January 2006).

"OFWs should then be encouraged to form small savings and investment groups where they may jointly educate themselves on financial matters.

"Incidentally, I heard that BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) will undertake a series of advocacy campaigns on financial literacy programs for OFWs and their beneficiaries in various regions of the country starting February."

ERCOF is a non-profit organization whose avowed vision is for an economically, politically and spiritually empowered Philippines that is sustained by developed local economies, and by the strategic use of the resources of its citizens locally and overseas. You may visit their website at www.ercof.org for more information.

<snip>

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com or at reygamboa@linkedge.biz. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.

Remittance costs eat up 5% of OFW incomes -- BSP

By Des Ferriols
The Philippine Star 02/03/2006

Sending money to their families cost overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) between 1.31 and 4.4 percent of their income, equivalent to a total of about $154.5 million to $519 million that are paid to banks out of the projected $11.8 billion worth of remittances this year.

According to an estimate made by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the cost of sending money is even higher if OFWs send their earnings through non-bank channels such as door-to-door delivery services which cost up to almost five percent of their income.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said yesterday that remittance fees vary depending on whether the remittance is coming through banks or money transfer agents and whether the money is being directly credited to the account of beneficiaries, other local banks or door-to-door delivery.

According to Guinigundo, the cost is also affected by the origin and destination of the remittance as well as the mode of payment, whether in pesos or in US dollars.

"Based on information we have gathered, the cheapest remittance fee would involve direct deposit of remittance in pesos to an account maintained with the remitting bank," Guinigundo said.

The most expensive, on the other hand, is the door-to-door delivery of foreign exchange remittance. Additional fee is also charged for delivery made outside Metro Manila.

Guinigundo said a study made by the BSP indicated that bank remittance fees range between 1.31 percent and 4.4 percent of the amount of remittances.

He said these fees include the transfer cost as well as the cost of foreign exchange conversion.

"That’s why promoting competition among the different service providers would help bring down the remittance fees," Guinigundo said. "We’re also working to remove barriers that tend to increase remittance charges and to improve payment and settlement systems to make it more efficient to lower remittance costs."

The BSP official added there is also a serious need to educate OFWs and their families in channeling part of their remittances to savings and other micro-enterprises.

In time, Guinigundo said OFWs invariably return to the country and saving up part of their income would help them reintegrate to the economy.

Warning to OFWs: Few jobs in Macau

Feb 02, 2006
Updated 07:34pm (Mla time)
Jerome Aning
Inquirer

THERE are not many available jobs for foreign workers in Macau because of an existing government regulation that locals must be given priority when filling vacancies.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz issued this reminder on Thursday after 15 Filipinos victimized by an illegal recruiter were repatriated from the special administrative region in China.

Baldoz said the victims arrived in Macau last January 15 only to find out there were no job vacancies waiting for them.

Baldoz said Filipinos who want to work in Macau should know that the Macanese government is implementing its localization program, which gives employment priority to local residents, particularly those qualified for basic-level jobs.

Foreign workers are allowed in Macau only to fill posts where there is a shortage in domestic labor such as supervisors in executive, finance, casino, gaming operations, hotels and restaurants, information technology and marketing departments, she added.

©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved

ILO: Automated ships, competitive pay cut need for RP seamen

Feb 02, 2006
Updated 12:01pm (Mla time)

Associated Press

GREATER automation aboard ships and competition from Asian neighbors is cutting into demand for the Filipinos who make up 20 percent of the sailors in the global shipping industry, the International Labor Organization said Thursday.

The current shipbuilding boom has created strong demand for officers worldwide, the ILO said, but the trend toward automated vessels with smaller crews has reduced the need for lower-skilled seafarers, known as ratings.

"As today's ships become more specialized and automated, the required skills mix has changed," the ILO said in a statement. "Demand for skilled deck officers and engineers continues to rise, while slimmer crews means the need for lesser skilled ratings is dropping."

A December report by the Baltic and International Maritime Council estimated a worldwide shortage of 10,000 qualified officers and a surplus of 135,000 ratings, the ILO said.

Aside from shrinking overall demand, less-skilled Filipino sailors are facing competition from Asian neighbors like China, India, Myanmar and Vietnam, just as Filipinos squeezed out their European and American counterparts in the past, the ILO said.

The labor body said the benchmark monthly wage for Filipino ratings is 1,400 dollars, while sailors from other Asian countries are accepting jobs for as low as 500 dollars 700 dollars.

Some ship owners also are increasingly imposing age restrictions -- sometimes as low as 40 years, it said.

But the ILO quoted shipping industry and labor executives as saying many ship owners still prefer Filipino crewmen because they speak English, are Western-oriented, and "flexible and have a caring attitude."

The labor body said it was now crafting a new Maritime Labor Convention to reflect the needs of a globalized shipping industry. If adopted, it will consolidate and update more than 65 international labor standards adopted since the 1920s and address issues including minimum age, working hours, occupational safety and health protection.

Central Bank figures show about 240,000 Filipino seafarers sent home 1.2 billion dollars, or 16 percent of total remittances, in the first nine months of 2005.

(1 dollar = 52.090 pesos as of Feb. 1, 2006)

©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved

Saving four OFWs on death row is priority of new DFA exec

Saving four OFWs on death row is priority of new DFA exec
Jan 31, 2006
Updated 07:18pm (Mla time)
Nikko Dizon
Inquirer

SAVING four Filipino workers sentenced to death overseas is now the primary concern of the newly-appointed Foreign Affairs undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs.

“There are only two avenues left for the Philippine government to save them. One is by making representations for the grant of executive clemency and the other is to offer blood money to the victim’s families to completely exonerate them (OFWs),” Esteban Conejos Jr. said in his first media briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.

Conejos said that of the four OFWs, three are women who have been convicted of killing their employers in Saudi Arabia. Two are serving time in Riyadh, while one is in Jeddah.

The male OFW was meted the death penalty in Sabah for drug trafficking, Conejos said.

Meanwhile, Cornejo said the DFA has recently hired two Kuwaiti lawyers, who are experts in the appellate level, to represent OFW Marilou Ranario who has been sentenced to death by hanging for killing her Kuwaiti employer last year.

Aside from these cases, Conejos said his office would be focusing on assisting 32 other OFWs in different countries who are facing offenses punishable by death.

©2006 www.inq7.net all rights reserved