PH, Saudi Arabia sign pact on maids today

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 09:11:00 04/29/2011

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine and Saudi Arabian governments are expected to sign on Friday an agreement that would lead to the lifting of the Middle Eastern kingdom’s deployment ban on Filipino maids, a recruitment industry consultant said Thursday.

Emmanuel Geslani said the two parties were set to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) following talks held in Manila since Wednesday to iron out differences in their labor relations, particularly the thorny issue of Filipino domestic workers’ pay.

“I think they will have an agreement (today) that would lift the temporary suspension by the Saudi government of the processing of documents for Filipino maids,” Geslani said in an interview.

Saudi Arabia practically stopped the deployment of Filipino maids last month when it told Filipino labor officials to stop verifying new contracts for domestic workers.

The Saudis had complained about some provisions of a “reform package” the Philippines started implementing in 2006 for the protection of Filipino maids abroad, including the setting of a minimum wage of $400 per month.

Saudi employers also complained about the requirement that they reveal how much money they made and give an exact address.

“They did not like it that they had to reveal their annual income and submit pictures of themselves and their children. They said it was like they were being investigated,” Geslani said.

But he said there would be no changes made to the $400 minimum monthly salary requirement as Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz had insisted on it.

“That is non-negotiable for Baldoz. She has said it could still go up but it would not be lowered,” Geslani said.

'95% of Filipinos working in Syria illegal'

By Philip Tubeza in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer | ANN – Thu, Apr 28, 2011 4:20 PM MYT

As the unrest in Syria worsened, Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz revealed that only a fraction of the 17,000 Filipinos working in the troubled Middle Eastern country are documented workers.

Baldoz said Overseas Workers Welfare Administration records showed that there were only 837 active Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) members or documented overseas Filipino workers in Syria.

The 837 are active OWWA members--women workers and household service workers, Baldoz said during a press conference at the sidelines of the First National Summit on Labor and Employment in Pasay City.

"This is one country where we have many undocumented workers," Baldoz said.

She quoted the Department of Foreign Affairs as saying there are an estimated 10,000 Filipinos in Syria. But official DFA statements peg the number at 17,000.

On Tuesday, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Carlos Cao Jr. gave an even higher figure--19,000, including 135 permanent residents and around 6,000 undocumented workers.

Labor officials have privately said that a rescue effort in Syria could prove to be harder because, unlike in Libya where most of the OFWs were documented professionals, many of the Filipinos in Syria are household workers.

"We might have to conduct house to house searches like what happened in Lebanon before," one official said.

Baldoz said that while a rescue and repatriation effort in Syria could turn out to be harder the government was already preparing the necessary measures should the DFA raise the alert level for that country and require mass repatriation.

Different handling
"Yes, we will handle this somewhat differently," she said. In the case of Syria, undocumented workers will come under the DFA's assistance-to-nationals program.

So far, Syria is on Alert Level 2 of the DFA's warning system in trouble spots abroad. This means voluntary repatriation. Alert Level 3 means mass repatriation, she added.

Under Alert Level 2, only returning workers would be allowed to leave Syria, Baldoz said.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the POEA was coordinating with recruitment agencies to help locate OFWs in Syria.

"We need the help of the agencies to locate the Filipinos as well as in shouldering the cost of the repatriation in case the need for it arises," Cruz said.

As of Wednesday, the labor department had yet to receive any request for repatriation from OFWs in Syria, he added.

On the other hand, Baldoz defended the government decision to require returning workers in countries torn by civil strife to sign a waiver stating that they know the dangers they would be facing if they return to their employers.

She said that is part of the requirement under the DFA's Alert Level 2.

Returning workers to Bahrain and Yemen, which are also on Alert Level 2, are also required to sign waivers.
Aware of risks

"I think the only message here is we want to be assured that the workers are really aware of the tense situation in the countries where they are going back and if they feel the risks are manageable because they have been working and living there," Baldoz said.

"That gives us some proof that the decision is based on his own personal knowledge of the impact of his decision," she added.

The labor chief said the waiver did mean that the government was washing its hands of any responsibility for the safety of the returning OFWs who execute such a waiver.

"Even those illegals who were able to enter are being helped," Baldoz said.

She also said that if the political unrest in the Middle East continues, it would continue to affect the deployment of Filipinos abroad.

The POEA earlier said that the number of OFWs deployed during the first quarter of the year dropped by almost four percent due to the crises in Japan and the Middle East.

Cao said their "preliminary data" showed that the number of OFWs who left the country during the first three months of the year went down to 380,188 from 395,189 during the same period in 2010, or a drop of 3.79 percent.

School turns ex-OFWs’ wounds into wisdom

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:27:00 04/29/2011

MANILA, Philippines—Feeling helpless and exhausted working 22-hour days as a housemaid in Singapore, she was beginning to entertain thoughts of taking her own life.

That was less than a year ago. Now, Myra Grafil is back home and constantly smiling.

She’s a fresh graduate of a certificate course that has given her job prospects in the service industry. And she’s even quoting American media mogul Oprah Winfrey’s memorable line about getting back up.

“Thank you so much for turning our wounds into wisdom,” Grafil said in behalf of her fellow graduates in a ceremony at the Asian School of Hospitality Arts (ASHA) in San Juan City on Wednesday.

Grafil is among 20 former overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and balikbayan relatives who completed a three-month housekeeping course at ASHA on scholarships sponsored by the school, Sen. Manny Villar and the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a nongovernment organization for labor and migration concerns.

“Before, we thought, what will we do with a course in housekeeping? We might just be mopping around. But we found out that it was also teaching us the proper way of talking to people,” Grafil, a native of Samar, said in Filipino.

“We have regained the self-confidence that we lost because of our experiences overseas,” she said.

17 years
Having a certificate in her name ended Grafil’s 17 years of traveling back and forth to work as house help in Taiwan and Singapore. Her last stint, when she experienced being in the employ of a repressive boss, left painful memories.

“Sometimes I only had 2 hours of sleep,” Grafil said in an interview. “My boss would take me to Malaysia to clean another house. She didn’t pay me in full. I was thinking of killing myself.”

During that desperate time, she was somehow able to post a message about her situation on the Facebook page of Susan Ople, a staunch advocate of Filipino migrant workers’ rights and welfare.

On Ople’s plea, Filipino labor officials in Singapore rescued Grafil from her employer in October last year.

“We are OFWs who did not succeed overseas … Some of us are victims of illegal recruiters and abusive employers. She (Ople) was the one who helped us get back up,” Grafil said.

Realizing dreams
The group of OFWs was at first “skeptical” and somewhat awkward during the training, with many still withdrawn because of their traumatic experience abroad, ASHA president and CEO Marinela Trinidad said.

“At first, they would clam up … Some were shy … But there was a lot of interaction, so they bonded well,” she said.

Trinidad said the scholars were provided a short program to ease them into training. But they have the option to continue schooling under ASHA’s ladderized program.

She added that most of the scholars would be placed in jobs in the Cravings group of hotels and restaurants, the school’s mother company to which most of its graduates go.

At the ceremony, Ople challenged the graduates to “prove us right” in investing in their potential.

“We all want you to be optimistic about your future. A dream should not be encased in boundaries, and you should fight for it,” Ople said.

Every year, hundreds, if not thousands, of OFWs are rescued from abusive employers and repatriated to the Philippines.

Amid poor chances of employment at home, cases of illegal recruitment also continue to be reported as more Filipinos hope to land overseas jobs to help their families crawl out of poverty.

Imagine the dreams that scholars like Grafil are able to realize.

'Brain gain' program for returning OFWs developed

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Posted at 04/28/2011 3:52 PM | Updated as of 04/28/2011 6:38 PM

 

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will initiate a multi-sectoral brain-gain program to further improve the skills and provide entrepreneurship opportunities for returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

"The initiative is the DOLE's response to the brain-drain phenomenon depleting the country's pool of skilled workers and experts who are attracted to work abroad for higher pay," said DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

 

Dubbed as “Balik-Trabaho sa Pinas’ Program (BTPP), advocates the return of skilled professional OFWs to the country.

 

"The BTPP program will provide OFW returnees the option to stay in the Philippines to work for better paying positions that have been affected by brain-drain, or set up a lucrative business in the country to meet domestic demand for products and services," Baldoz added.

 

Baldoz added that the program will engage highly-skilled and professional OFWs as expert trainers in the conduct of transfer of new technologies and other training and in the sharing of new knowledge they have learned from abroad to their fellow OFWs or fellow Filipinos who need such training to find better paying jobs or engage in business or livelihood in the country.

 

"The DOLE will also link up with labor, business, and other partners in providing an enabling and conducive environment that will encourage the return of our OFWs," said Baldoz.

 

The program will provide a package of services, including training, investment, savings and entrepreneurship assistance to OFW returnees. It will also provide the OFWs real time information on available jobs and labor market developments, accreditation, and permits for reemployment.

 

"The DOLE will engage local government units (LGUs) in implementing the Skills Registry System (SRS) for skills profiling of their constituents, including OFWs, to identify those who may be invited to conduct technology transfer and those who are in need of skills training and entrepreneurship assistance.

 

95% of Filipinos working in Syria illegal—Baldoz

By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:01:00 04/28/2011

MANILA, Philippines—How do you rescue those who are hiding in the first place?

As the unrest in Syria worsened, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz Wednesday revealed that only a fraction of the 17,000 Filipinos working in the troubled Middle Eastern country are documented workers.

Baldoz said Overseas Workers Welfare Administration records showed that there were only 837 active OWWA members or documented overseas Filipino workers in Syria.

The 837 are active OWWA members—women workers and household service workers, Baldoz said during a press conference at the sidelines of the First National Summit on Labor and Employment in Pasay City.

“This is one country where we have many undocumented workers,” Baldoz said.

She quoted the Department of Foreign Affairs as saying there are an estimated 10,000 Filipinos in Syria. But official DFA statements peg the number at 17,000.

On Tuesday, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Carlos Cao Jr. gave an even higher figure—19,000, including 135 permanent residents and around 6,000 undocumented workers.

Labor officials have privately said that a rescue effort in Syria could prove to be harder because, unlike in Libya where most of the OFWs were documented professionals, many of the Filipinos in Syria are household workers.

“We might have to conduct house to house searches like what happened in Lebanon before,” one official said.

Baldoz said that while a rescue and repatriation effort in Syria could turn out to be harder the government was already preparing the necessary measures should the DFA raise the alert level for that country and require mass repatriation.

Different handling
“Yes, we will handle this somewhat differently,” she said. In the case of Syria, undocumented workers will come under the DFA’s assistance-to-nationals program.

So far, Syria is on Alert Level 2 of the DFA’s warning system in trouble spots abroad. This means voluntary repatriation. Alert Level 3 means mass repatriation, she added.

Under Alert Level 2, only returning workers would be allowed to leave Syria, Baldoz said.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said the POEA was coordinating with recruitment agencies to help locate OFWs in Syria.

“We need the help of the agencies to locate the Filipinos as well as in shouldering the cost of the repatriation in case the need for it arises,” Cruz said.

As of Wednesday, the labor department had yet to receive any request for repatriation from OFWs in Syria, he added.

On the other hand, Baldoz defended the government decision to require returning workers in countries torn by civil strife to sign a waiver stating that they know the dangers they would be facing if they return to their employers.

She said that is part of the requirement under the DFA’s Alert Level 2.

Returning workers to Bahrain and Yemen, which are also on Alert Level 2, are also required to sign waivers.

Aware of risks
“I think the only message here is we want to be assured that the workers are really aware of the tense situation in the countries where they are going back and if they feel the risks are manageable because they have been working and living there,” Baldoz said.

“That gives us some proof that the decision is based on his own personal knowledge of the impact of his decision,” she added.

The labor chief said the waiver did mean that the government was washing its hands of any responsibility for the safety of the returning OFWs who execute such a waiver.

“Even those illegals who were able to enter are being helped,” Baldoz said.

She also said that if the political unrest in the Middle East continues, it would continue to affect the deployment of Filipinos abroad.

The POEA earlier said that the number of OFWs deployed during the first quarter of the year dropped by almost four percent due to the crises in Japan and the Middle East.

Cao said their “preliminary data” showed that the number of OFWs who left the country during the first three months of the year went down to 380,188 from 395,189 during the same period in 2010, or a drop of 3.79 percent.

BBFI launches search for 2011 Bagong Bayani Awardees

Home Updated April 26, 2011 03:52 PM


Bagong Bayani Foundation, Inc. (BBFI) has announced the search for the 2011 Bagong Bayani Awardees.

The Bagong Bayani Awards (BBA) is a national search for the country's outstanding and exemplary overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), BBFI said in a statement.

"BBA pays tribute to the new heroes of our time. It gives due recognition to their significant efforts in fostering goodwill among peoples of the world, in enhancing the image of the Filipino as a competent and responsible worker, and in contributing to the Philippine's foreign exchange earnings," it added.

BBFI along with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the private sector encourages all Filipinos working overseas to submit their nominations.

The awards categories include:
1.     Bagong Bayani Award for Outstanding Employee
2.     Bagong Bayani Award for Community and Social Service
3.     Bagong Bayani Award for Culture and Arts
4.     Capt. Gregorio S. Oca Award
5.     Blas F. Ople Award para sa Natatanging Bagong Bayani

The general pre-qualifying criteria for any Filipino nominee are as follows:

1. Must be  or have been an OFW for at least two (2) years;
2. Has no past or present criminal or derogatory record;
3. Must be of good moral standing or has received recognition from past or present employer for exemplary behaviour or outstanding service; and
4. Must have his/her employment contract processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)

BBFI said nominations may be made either by the employer, the deploying recruitment or placement agency, industry associations, co-worker/s, or other reputable individual or institutions.

Details of the required documents and official nomination forms may be obtained from POLO at the Embassy or may be downloaded from the POEA/BBFI website at www.poea.gov.ph.

Nominations are due on or before Tuesday, 31 May 2011, at BBFI Secretariat, Ground Floor, POEA Bldg. Ortigas Avenue corner EDSA Mandaluyong City. Nominations may likewise be sent through e-mail to bagong_bayani_awards@yahoo.com .

Interested parties may also inquire with the Embassy's POLO through office telephone numbers 673-2236981 and 673-2237052, fax number 673-2236980 or e-mail address polobrunei_2007@yahoo.com.

Arroyo’s plunder raps based on her notes

‘Charge to OWWA,’ Arroyo ordered; P550M misused

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:33:00 04/27/2011

MANILA, Philippines—For allegedly dipping her fingers into a cookie jar reserved for overseas Filipino workers, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo so disgusted at least three Malacañang insiders that they helped put together plunder charges that she is now facing.

Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez Tuesday filed a 23-page complaint claiming that Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, misused more than P550 million from the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) from March 2003 to February 2004.

“This was all very well-orchestrated because in all the recommendations made by the respondents, there was always the handwritten notation made by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ‘OK, charge to OWWA funds.’ But the OWWA funds are funds held in trust by the government and they cannot dip their fingers into the cookie jar that exclusively belongs to the overseas Filipino workers,” Chavez told reporters.

Chavez said three mid-level officials photocopied the documents for him, which was why all these he had submitted as bases for his plunder complaint bear Malacañang bar codes.

Chavez’s sources said they pitied the OFWs whose funds were being misused. He said this was in February 2004 before the presidential elections.

He said the original documents could be ordered produced in court and his sources, some of whom remained in government, need not come out in the open. The justice department can verify the documents’ authenticity through the bar codes.

“They are kind-hearted, highly conscienticized Filipinos who could no longer stomach the quagmire of corruption spewed by Malacañang,” he said.

Days of reckoning
“Today is one of those days of reckoning. Some people think that they can run but they cannot hide. The long arm of the law will catch up with them in the fullness of time,” Chavez told reporters before filing the complaint in the Department of Justice.

Chavez also named as respondents former Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and chief executive officer Francisco Duque III and former OWWA administrator Virgilio Angelo.

It was the second suit brought against Arroyo this month.

On April 4, a P15-million civil suit was lodged against her and 10 others for illegal arrest and torture in connection with the detention of the so-called “Morong 43” suspected communist guerrillas.

Malacañang said it was not surprised by Chavez’s move.

“Since she’s no longer president, she no longer has immunity,” said President Aquino’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

Not so subtle order
Elena Bautista-Horn, Arroyo’s spokesperson, declined to comment, saying she had not seen a copy of the complaint.

Arroyo’s ally, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, said the Chavez action was just a response to Mr. Aquino’s “not so subtle” order to go after the former President, her family and political allies.

“He is just responding to the signal sent by President Aquino. Others can follow to put the pressure on the former President and this is unfortunate because he is just diverting the public’s attention away from the country’s pressing problems,” said Suarez.

Suarez said he wanted to know what the administration hoped to achieve by digging up old files or evidence against Arroyo and whether it would help solve the rising cost of oil and other goods and services.

In his complaint, Chavez said the OWWA funds were diverted not only to boost Arroyo’s 2004 presidential bid, but also to finance “questionable acquisitions” by several Philippine diplomatic posts in the Middle East and the humanitarian assistance in Iraq—“all of which do not contribute and could never have contributed, to the direct and exclusive benefit of the Filipino overseas workers.”

Additional criminal charges
Chavez also accused Arroyo et al. of malversation and illegal use of public funds, qualified theft, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for public officials and employees, and a provision in the Constitution that says tax levied for a special purpose “shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only.”

The plundered funds allegedly totaled P554.8 million, including P530.38 million from the OWWA Medicare Fund transferred to PhilHealth for her 2004 presidential election.

Each OFW pays $25 to OWWA on leaving the country. In March, the Palace budget office said the OWWA fund had totaled P13 billion, but the amount had been depleted because of the repatriation of Filipinos from besieged countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Chavez quotes a Nov. 20, 2002, letter of Duque to Arroyo, on the turnover of OWWA funds to PhilHealth: “The proposed transfer will have a significant bearing on 2004 elections and on the President’s desire to provide health insurance to 8 million indigents by the end of 2003.”

Chavez argued that the OWWA fund already provides for insurance coverage, among others, to the OFWs who have contributed to the fund, and thus the transfer to PhilHealth was “unnecessary.”

US invasion of Iraq
He said the rest of the supposed plundered amount was used for the preparations of Philippine posts in the Middle East when the United States invaded Iraq, then led by the dictator Saddam Hussein, in March 2003.

According to Chavez, Romulo, in various memos to Angelo, sought the release of $293,500 or P16.5 million for the purchase of vehicles and “stockpiling” of the Philippine posts in Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt and Iraq as well as the release of P5 million for the operating expenses of the task force for humanitarian assistance in Iraq.

Chavez said that in a July 2003 memorandum, Angelo shelved OWWA’s General Financial Assistance Program which “stopped the processing” as well as the acceptance of claims of OFWs, which amounted to P16.5 million.

Chavez said $53,000 or P2.9 million was also taken from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency/OWWA that comprised part of the $321,500 needed by the Philippine post in Kuwait to prepare when the United States invades Iraq.

Chavez said he filed his complaint in the justice department because nothing came out of one earlier filed in the Office of the Ombudsman.

Transfer of P4-B from OWWA to Philhealth

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:06:00 04/27/2011

MANILA, Philippines—In 2004, critics assailed then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for allegedly authorizing the diversion to her presidential election campaign of some P4 billion from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth).

They said OWWA funds, amassed from the $25 collected from each departing overseas Filipino worker (OFW), supposedly financed the Philhealth insurance cards which Arroyo distributed during her campaign rallies all over the country.

Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez, then seeking a Senate seat under Sen. Raul Roco’s Alyansa ng Pag-Asa, sought the disqualification of Arroyo for allegedly using public funds for her campaign.

Malacañang however explained that the cards, which bore Arroyo’s picture, were part of the President’s commitment to provide healthcare to poor Filipinos.

In 2005, almost a year after Arroyo won the vote, then Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. called for her impeachment, claiming she illegally used trust funds. He said that OWWA resources “cannot be used for any purpose other than that specified in the law that created them.”

Palace snubs inquiry
In July 2006, questions on the OWWA funds were revived when Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara claimed that he had not received a single cent from OWWA for the evacuation of Filipinos from war-torn Lebanon.

The OWWA transmitted $150,000 to Bichara, four days after his complaint got wide publicity in Manila, prompting the Senate decision to call the inquiry.

However, government officials snubbed the Senate inquiry by invoking Executive Order No. 464, which required administration officials to seek authorization from Arroyo before appearing in congressional inquiries.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III later told media that no irregularity attended the transfer of P530 million in OWWA funds to Philhealth.

Duque explained that the first tranche of OFW funds—P300 million—was transferred to Philhealth on March 16, 2005, or 10 months after the May 2004 elections. Another P230 million was transferred the following month, he said.

He said that part of the P530 million, which represented 15 percent of the total OWWA’s Medicare fund, went to pay OFW claims in 137 hospitals. Lawrence de Guzman, Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives

Ilocos Norte pilot site for study on OFW-driven development

By ROY C. MABASA

April 10, 2011, 6:45pm

 

ILOCOS NORTE,Philippines -- Ilocos Norte, the oldest Philippine community in the migration game, was recently chosen, together with Taguig, as a pilot site for the field testing of a major United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project worth $250,000 aimed at harnessing the power of remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to drive sustainable economic development in the country.

Governor Imee Marcos said no other place in the country deserves this honor more than Ilocos Norte because, like many other places in Northern Luzon, the province is completely “remittance-addicted.”

“We’re delighted to have been chosen as part of this, we requested it time and time again. And we’re grateful that we have been obliged,” Marcos said during her speech at the launching of the Overseas Filipinos Remittances for Development (OFs- RED): Building a Future Back Home Project held at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City.

The UNDP formally inaugurated last Wednesday the OFs-RED pilot program, which was wholly funded by the Western Union Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Western Union, to pool funds from migrant workers and channel them into projects that lead to economic development and community-based enterprises in the workers’ home communities.

Renaud Meyer, UNDP Country Director in the Philippines, said the project will contribute to speeding up efforts in the Philippines to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular, the target to halve poverty by 2015.

Meyer explained that the group will test a mechanism to facilitate and direct overseas remittances towards savings and investment in livelihood improvement and entrepreneurship for the poor and vulnerable, and ultimately create jobs and reduce poverty.

The OFs-RED project, he said, involves six phases. The first phase is “Policy-Making,” which is the assessment and refinement of government policies for the inclusion of collective remittances.

It is followed by “Capacity Assessment or Building,” which is establishing awareness among sender and beneficiaries of the program. The third phase is the “Collective Remittance Model,” which includes the creation of the framework and mechanism of the project.

The next phase is the “Promotion and Mobilization of Funds” phase, where OFWs and their families must be willing to undertake the “interventions” identified in the study.

This is then followed by the “Action Pilot” phase, which is the field testing of the project in two local communities: Ilocos Norte and Taguig City.

The sites were chosen for their openness to the concept of migration and their exposure and experience in migration.

Possible projects to be rolled out in Ilocos Norte are towards the agribusiness, ecotourism and food processing industries.

The last phase is the “Evaluation,” which would assess the final model on how to harness remittances from OFWs and translate them to local development programs before implementing it to other communities.

“We have, perhaps the full spectrum of migrants from Ilocos Norte (all over the world) - from those agricultural workers that populated and migrated to Hawaii and California and also those doctors in Chicago and New York or Bahrain and London,” said the daughter of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Thereafter of course, the Ilocos Norte chief executive said, the people heard of world-famous Ilocano poet Carlos Bulusan in America, as well as the Alaskan fishermen, the workers in tuna factories and in the shrimp farms in New Orleans – they were all Ilocanos as well.

Maryland schools ordered to pay Filipino teachers

By Jun Medina
INQUIRER.net  
First Posted 19:14:00 04/09/2011

The US Department of Labor has ruled that Maryland's Prince George's County school system should have paid for all the expenses of 1,044 teachers recruited from foreign countries, including more than 800 from the Philippines, and told the school to pay $5.9 million in back wages and penalties.

The DOL's Wage and Hour Division directed the school district to pay $4.2 million in back wages and another $1.7 million in penalties.

The Filipino teachers were recruited as early as 2004 to last year, arranging special visas called H1-B which allows American employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. Most of these foreign workers almost always end up being granted permanent residency or green cards due to their qualifications and their contributions to society.

"All employers, including school systems, are required to follow the law," said Nancy J. Leppink, acting administrator of the Wage and Hour Division.

"That includes the legal duty to pay every teacher hired the full wages he or she is owed," Leppink added.

The DOL said it is assessing the school system $1,740,000 in civil money penalties and may be disallowed from filing new petitions, requests for extensions or requests for permanent residency for foreign workers under any employment-based visa program.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) of which the foreign educators were members condemned the Prince George's school district for "illegally and unfairly exploiting workers who came from other countries to teach in American schools."

"It is especially troubling that this exploitation occurred just a short drive from the nation’s capital," said AFT president Randi Weingarten.

The AFT represents 1.5 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

Weingarten observed that this is not the first example of this type of abuse, adding that a 2009 AFT report called attention to abuses in international teacher recruitment, and filed state and federal complaints last year on behalf of Filipino teachers working in Louisiana.

He added that the federation has been actively pushing for legislation to regulate the recruitment industry in an effort to help develop a code of ethics for the international recruitment of teachers.

"Our goal is to create a systemic fix to keep such abuses from happening again. If proactive regulations had been in place to stop the bad actors, Prince George’s County Public Schools would not be spending millions in back pay now," Weingarten stressed.

The Filipino teachers, who were considered the cream of the crop of the school system where they came from, welcomed the labor department ruling and expressed hope "for an equitable solution to the problem."

"We are grateful to DOL for conducting this investigation, but most important is that our teachers' right to have their visas renewed and their permanent resident applications processed continuously should not be jeopardized," said Millet Panga, secretary of the Philippine Educators Network.

Panga said it's not so much about the money, but their desire to arrive at something that would be "beneficial" to all parties.

"We recognize that our school system is facing big budget problems right now, and we really hope that we can arrive at a decision beneficial to all," she said in an interview.

"After all, we are all part of the school system and we sincerely care for our students [and want them] to receive better services," she added. FilAm Star

Palace forms new team to handle OFW crises

By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 17:48:00 04/09/2011

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang has created a new, high-level team to strengthen the government’s ability to respond to the needs of overseas Filipino workers faced with political conflict and natural disasters in the countries where they toil.

Executive Order No. 34, signed on April 6 by President Benigno Aquino III and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. establishes the Overseas Preparedness and Response Team under the Office of the President. It replaces the Middle East Preparedness Team that was formed in 2002 to deal with the evacuation of thousands of Filipino workers in the Middle East during the crisis in Iraq.

The EO mandates that the OPRT be composed of the executive secretary as chairperson and the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns and the secretaries of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employment, National Defense, Justice, the Interior and Local Government, and Budget and Management as members.

The presidential adviser on migrant workers is Vice President Jejomar Binay.

The high-level crisis team has been tasked to draw up strategies and programs and to formulate policies to appropriately respond to crisis situations affecting Filipinos abroad. It shall develop and adopt interactive operating arrangements among agencies to effect maximum coordination.

The panel may call upon any department or agency of the government or private-sector group and coordinate with bilateral and multilateral partners in the formulation and implementation of plans, programs and policies.

“Natural disasters, civil unrest, armed conflicts and similar crises in foreign countries expose overseas Filipinos to immediate hazards and risks,” Ochoa said in a statement regarding the EO.

“So, it is only imperative that we establish a measure and a system that would ensure the safety and welfare of our countrymen abroad,” he added.

OFW families living the dolce vita

Remittances lead to more shopping, study says

By Vanessa B. Hidalgo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:10:00 04/09/2011

MANILA, Philippines—Remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) not only prop up the local economy, they also tend to spoil OFWs’ loved ones back home.

Research shows that Filipino families with OFW relatives engage in more leisure activities and own more gadgets compared to those without a relative working abroad.

Synergy Business Consultancy conducted the market research and pointed out that OFW families are more inclined to eat out, socialize, go to the mall and purchase the latest electronic gadgets.

Synergy managing director Germaine Reyes notes that “since they have higher purchase capacity, more of those OFW families engage in certain leisure activities compared with those without.”

The study shows that 43 percent of respondents with OFW relatives go to mall against 32 percent for those without family members who work abroad.

When families with OFW relatives go to the mall, they usually dine out in fast foods or fine dining restaurants.

After eating, they tend to do some shopping or window shopping (43 percent) while others watch movies (31 percent).

Some also engage in social activities such as social drinking (29 percent), videoke (26 percent), going to parties or social gatherings (17 percent), bar hopping (8 percent) and dancing in discos or clubs (5 percent).

In Metro Manila, two of five households have an OFW immediate family member who sends home money.

In terms of socioeconomic profile, 54 percent or the majority of OFW families belong to the D class. Just 9 percent of families with OFW relatives are in the upper income or ABC class.

The survey involved 1,000 households in Metro Manila and respondents were interviewed between September and October 2010.

The research also shows that 35 percent of OFW families have a computer or laptop while only 11 percent of families without OFW relatives have a computer at home. OFW families also tend to have mobile phones and digital cameras.

Also, OFW families tend to travel more compared with those without relatives abroad.

Research also shows that among the popular recreational activities of OFW families are going to the gym, playing musical instruments, playing board games, going to the salon or spa, playing video games and engaging in sports.

Former OFW earns more while working in hometown

By JENNY F. MANONGDO

April 2, 2011, 2:08pm

MANILA, Philippines — A former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who worked abroad for 14 years is now contributing largely to her community, earning twice more than what she earned in the past after establishing a modern birthing home under the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Dolores Batchanicha is one of the five women who benefitted from USAID’s program targeting the enhancement of technical and business skills of public and private midwives in the country.

The five Filipino women who made a difference in their provinces through the improvement of pregnancy-related services in their provinces were honored by USAID recently during the celebration of the International Women’s Day.

Batchanicha practiced midwifery at a local hospital in Davao City before she worked in Saudi Arabia for another 14 years.

From 1989 to 2002, Batchanicha spent years helping mothers give birth at the Saudi Naval Base Hospital, where she received further training under British midwives.

But soon after her three children finished school, this 59-year-old mother wasted no time and came back home to reunite with her family.

Finding no fulfillment in running their family business, Batchanicha underwent a training program of the USAID in assisting women give birth.

She said she learned about the program through her colleagues in the Integrated Midwives’ Association of the Philippines.

Funded by the USAID, her birthing home was launched in early 2006 in General Santos City, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has already accredited three beds in her facility.

“It’s hard being an OFW. It’s hard to live far from your family, so when I learned about the USAID program, I immediately joined it,” she said.

Batchanicha’s birthing clinic is one of only two clinics operating in Barangay Calumpang in General Santos City.

Like Batchanicha, Corazon Paras and Olive Vergara also sought to provide comfort and quality care to mothers who are giving birth to their babies through birthing homes.

Paras successfully established a home-like birthing clinic in her province in Bohol through the help of USAID.

“It is not like a hospital, but more like a home. It is a small place that can provide quality services,” she said, describing her PhilHealth-accredited birthing home.

Meanwhile, the USAID helped midwife and birthing home owner Olive Vergara of Pampanga to secure PhilHealth accreditation.

Her birthing home has been awarded by the PhilHealth over 625 accredited health providers during the 2010 PhilHealth awards for excellence in health services.

The absence of doctors in the past was one of the main reasons there were many cases of bleeding after delivery in the town of Lamitan in Basilan.

But things changed when Virgie Cadano joined the USAID program “Caring for Mothers and Newborns in the Community (CMNC).”

Cadano was trained to practice new techniques of near-delivery labor management including the administration of Oxytocin, a drug injected to prevent post-delivery bleeding.

Cadano was also able to convince local government executives to build a birthing center in the area.

“There is a big difference when we practice the techniques that we learned from USAID. We can see that there is less bleeding and after two days, the mothers are already able to do household chores like washing their clothes,” she said.

It was learned that there are now 18 midwives who are also learning the new techniques from USAID.

She said mothers in her hometown are now more open to hire the services of a midwife when giving birth.

“In the past, they prefer the ‘hilot’ (traditional birth attendants) because they feel ashamed when midwives see their private parts. But this has changed,” she said.