Thursday, May 12, 2011
Myths about OFWs
THERE IS just too much bleeding-heart sentimentalization over overseas Filipino workers, bordering on ridiculousness. They have been practically mythologized, in a manner they themselves would detest.
Yes, there are horror stories—runaways from cruel employers with no one to turn to in a strange land, young women forced into prostitution—but we have to put things in perspective. We are talking here of a population of eight million OFWs, nearly as big as the population of Switzerland or Greece.
One reason for the depiction of OFWs as the downtrodden of the earth is that their alleged plight are being exploited by NGOs, here and abroad, which get donations from European leftist organizations or Christian do-gooder associations, purportedly in order to come to the succor of these “slaves” of global capitalism.
More often, though, the donations merely finance the fat salaries (they call it “allowances”) of NGO elites who often have never worked a regular job yet manage to enjoy the comforts of cosmopolitan cities.
With the caricature of OFWs imposed on us, the government has also been at a loss on what polices are really needed not only to assist OFWs themselves, but to harness their income for national development.
Myth 1: “OFWs are our country’s poor, the downtrodden, and they risk life and limb in strange lands for pittance wages.”
Well, they certainly make more than journalists writing about their “plight,” even more than a columnist writing two columns a week for this paper. OFWs’ average salary, based on several surveys by the Asian
Development Bank and on extrapolations from total remittances abroad, is P40,000 to P50,000 per month.
And that’s not only tax-free (by Philippine law) but often is the net or disposable income since his board and lodging are often free.
A sentence in a recent column by a colleague trying to portray the sufferings of OFWs nearly floored me: “The poor Filipino farm girl arrives in a foreign land and is soon snatched by her strange employer.” Well, in the first place, a poor farm girl doesn’t have any business arriving alone and without any support group even in Metro Manila, where she is as likely to be snatched by strange employers as anywhere in the globe.
Overseas employment, in fact, is closed to our poorest, as literacy and facility in English are prerequisites for work abroad—and I mean all, even for night-life entertainment places, or for farms in Israel. An Asian Development Bank survey in 2004 found that 58 percent of OFWs surveyed had several years in college, college degrees or even masteral units or degrees, while 28 percent had gone only through high school.
In fact, the reason there has been a massive migration of workers abroad is not because of extreme poverty in our country, but because OFWs are so skilled, likeable and English-literate that there is a huge global demand for them.
Rather than the poorest, the typical OFW comes from the C+ class. They are not starving, and they live in decent houses. OFWs who come from towns outside metro Manila are not “poor farm girls” but mostly what we would consider the middle class in those areas. The impetus for their working abroad is a very strong and admirable sense of ambition that they could move out of the C class into which they and their fathers had been born, that they could finally build their own concrete house, and put their children to college in Manila.
In an ADB survey, the usual, expected response in focus-group discussions to the question why they decided to work abroad was that they wanted to have a higher income to uplift their families’ status. However, just as important a reason were “the perks and excitement of travelling abroad, the adventure.”
One little-appreciated fact in our OFW phenomenon is that it represents the Filipino females’ massive and liberating entry into the work force, in the manner that American women really first got into the workforce in World War II. While this has entailed risks to Filipino women—and the horror stories of OFWs indeed involves mainly domestic female workers—such risks have also emerged whenever females have left the protection of the home to work in a male-dominated world.
One characteristic of OFWs is their gutsiness, their willingness to take risks, as in going to a strange land to work, often even illegally. One term I often heard from OFWs when asked why they decided to work abroad: “makipagsapalaran.” That is a beautiful Filipino term with the root word meaning “fate.” “Makipagsapalaran” is to test fate, with the connotation of being bold in doing so. This characteristic is the reason many returning OFWs have become leaders, even politicians, in their towns.
What’s also admirable about OFWs is that while they live austere lives abroad, they send much of their income (averaging 60 percent, according to the ADB study) to their families back home, even when these already have comfortable lives or even if their children are already productive grown-ups. The more common horror story about OFWs is how their children or spouses splurge their remittances on the latest cell-phone model and designer clothes.
Myth 2: “OFWs are unskilled workers, and the typical OFW is a domestic helper exploited cruelly like slaves.”
That may be true in certain places like Hong Kong and Singapore, but it is not representative of the current stock of OFWs. Using data on the deployment of OFWs from 1998 to 2000, their main occupations are: production workers—30 percent; professional and white collar staff—28 percent; domestic workers and caregivers—28 percent.
“Production workers” are mostly skilled workers such as electricians, welders, carpenters, auto mechanics, crane and earth-moving equipment operators. Their average salary ranges from P60,000 to P80,000.
On the other hand, in North America and Northern Europe the stereotype of an OFW is that of a professional often making more than P100,000 a month: engineers, hotel supervisors, nurses and medical technicians.
Of course domestic help and caregivers make up a significant percentage of OFWs, and in several Western European countries, the stereotype of a Filipino is either a female domestic help or a male household maintenance man. That doesn’t mean that they are poor or necessarily exploited. The standard wage for a domestic help in Greece, where I had been ambassador, was 900 euros (P55,000). An OFW there who became a good friend of mine earns enough to be able to visit the Philippines twice a year and to have two residences, one in her hometown and another in Metro Manila.
To portray OFWs as our poorest, and even to weep for them as if they were wimps or refugees from poverty, is to denigrate them and to miss their audacity.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Financial literacy program for OFW families crucial
Posted on May 03, 2011 08:41:01 PM
A COMPREHENSIVE financial literacy program for families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is needed as numerous money transfer agencies and informal channels hinder savings and investments in productive activities, experts said at a forum yesterday.
“Informal channels and money transfer agencies (MTAs) decrease overseas Filipinos’ savings and investment opportunities in the country,” said Golda Myra R. Roma, director for policy planning and research at the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) at the Multi-Stakeholdersí Forum on Channeling Collective Remittances for Development yesterday.
Ms. Roma presented the highlights of a focused group discussion initiated by the CFO last February, which had 17 individuals from banks, remittance companies, money transfer companies, local government units, families of OFWs, and members of the academe.
“Cash pick-up and other instant money remittance encourage consumption,” Ms. Roma pointed out.
Remittances from some 10 million Filipinos overseas prop up the peso and drive consumption. Last year, remittances grew by 8.2% to $18.76 billion.
Ms. Roma said the government should start financial literacy programs for OFWs to channel remittances into activities that support economic growth.
A bank executive agreed. “Through financial literacy programs, [we should] promote savings and financial discipline and channel remittances through savings accounts,” said Raul Marcelo D.L. Dimayuga, Bank of the Philippine Islands senior vice president and global remittance group head said.
“Families receiving money abroad will have the chance to save and invest part of their remittances.”
At the same forum, University of the Philippines economist Ernesto M. Pernia noted that most OFWs come from richer regions, thus these regions receive more remittances than poorer regions.
“Bulk of the remittances go to richer regions, and poorer regions [get smaller shares] which contributes to worsening regional imbalance or inequality,” he said.
“Going out of the country is an expensive undertaking, Filipinos planning to go abroad need initial capital,” Mr. Pernia added.
Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon and Metro Manila are the biggest sources of OFWs, accounting for 16.4%, 14.7%, and 13.9% of the total respectively, data from the 2009 Survey on Overseas Filipinos showed.
Mr. Pernia said there should be a concrete development plan for the regions. “The government should give more attention to poorer regions in order to uplift their economic position,” Mr. Pernia said.
Meanwhile, Rolando G. Tungpalan, deputy director-general at the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), said the government was looking at a 7% rise in remittances from Filipinos working abroad, the same as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) lowered forecast amid unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
He said the 7% target was attainable. “I believe that the share of remittances from other countries is still larger than what we are getting from those who are working in MENA region,” Mr. Tungpalan said.
Citigroup has lowered its growth forecast for remittances to 4.8% from 6-6.5%. Yesterday, ATR KimEng Securities, Inc. economist Luz L. Lorenzo said growth could even slow down to 3%.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to deploy as many Filipinos as before because of what’s happening in Japan and in the Middle East,” she said.
In 2010, remittances from the Middle East reached $2.96 billion, 15.79% of the total $18.76 billion. In February, the central bank said in a press release on the 2010 remittance data that the major remittance sources last year were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.
“[The BSP] was right to lower the projection. [The 7% target] is sustainable,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation Senior Vice-President Marcelo E. Ayes said.
“Although emerging markets are doing good, advanced economies like the US and EU are slowing down. There are also unfolding events in Syria and Bahrain; there are still threats in the Middle East. It may get worse,” Mr. Ayes noted.
“We will not reach double-digit growth or close to double-digit growth for remittances,” he added.
For his part, Mr. Pernia said prolonged unrest could eventually hit remittances.
“If political disturbances will persist in MENA, definitely we will see lower remittances from OFWs. More and more Filipinos might go back here in the Philippines because of the situation,” Mr. Pernia said.
The CFO’s Ms. Roma told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the Ortigas forum that the 2007-2008 global financial crisis had shown that OFW remittances were resilient.
“At first, we were looking at a lower remittance or a flat remittance this year. However, our study showed that Filipinos were still able to send the same amount of money or even more despite problems overseas,” Ms. Roma said.
“Even during the financial crisis, inflows of money in the Philippines from Filipinos working abroad were still there,” she added. -- Daniel Anne Nepomuceno-Rodriguez
Ms. Roma presented the highlights of a focused group discussion initiated by the CFO last February, which had 17 individuals from banks, remittance companies, money transfer companies, local government units, families of OFWs, and members of the academe.
“Cash pick-up and other instant money remittance encourage consumption,” Ms. Roma pointed out.
Remittances from some 10 million Filipinos overseas prop up the peso and drive consumption. Last year, remittances grew by 8.2% to $18.76 billion.
Ms. Roma said the government should start financial literacy programs for OFWs to channel remittances into activities that support economic growth.
A bank executive agreed. “Through financial literacy programs, [we should] promote savings and financial discipline and channel remittances through savings accounts,” said Raul Marcelo D.L. Dimayuga, Bank of the Philippine Islands senior vice president and global remittance group head said.
“Families receiving money abroad will have the chance to save and invest part of their remittances.”
At the same forum, University of the Philippines economist Ernesto M. Pernia noted that most OFWs come from richer regions, thus these regions receive more remittances than poorer regions.
“Bulk of the remittances go to richer regions, and poorer regions [get smaller shares] which contributes to worsening regional imbalance or inequality,” he said.
“Going out of the country is an expensive undertaking, Filipinos planning to go abroad need initial capital,” Mr. Pernia added.
Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon and Metro Manila are the biggest sources of OFWs, accounting for 16.4%, 14.7%, and 13.9% of the total respectively, data from the 2009 Survey on Overseas Filipinos showed.
Mr. Pernia said there should be a concrete development plan for the regions. “The government should give more attention to poorer regions in order to uplift their economic position,” Mr. Pernia said.
Meanwhile, Rolando G. Tungpalan, deputy director-general at the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), said the government was looking at a 7% rise in remittances from Filipinos working abroad, the same as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) lowered forecast amid unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
He said the 7% target was attainable. “I believe that the share of remittances from other countries is still larger than what we are getting from those who are working in MENA region,” Mr. Tungpalan said.
Citigroup has lowered its growth forecast for remittances to 4.8% from 6-6.5%. Yesterday, ATR KimEng Securities, Inc. economist Luz L. Lorenzo said growth could even slow down to 3%.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to deploy as many Filipinos as before because of what’s happening in Japan and in the Middle East,” she said.
In 2010, remittances from the Middle East reached $2.96 billion, 15.79% of the total $18.76 billion. In February, the central bank said in a press release on the 2010 remittance data that the major remittance sources last year were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.
“[The BSP] was right to lower the projection. [The 7% target] is sustainable,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation Senior Vice-President Marcelo E. Ayes said.
“Although emerging markets are doing good, advanced economies like the US and EU are slowing down. There are also unfolding events in Syria and Bahrain; there are still threats in the Middle East. It may get worse,” Mr. Ayes noted.
“We will not reach double-digit growth or close to double-digit growth for remittances,” he added.
For his part, Mr. Pernia said prolonged unrest could eventually hit remittances.
“If political disturbances will persist in MENA, definitely we will see lower remittances from OFWs. More and more Filipinos might go back here in the Philippines because of the situation,” Mr. Pernia said.
The CFO’s Ms. Roma told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the Ortigas forum that the 2007-2008 global financial crisis had shown that OFW remittances were resilient.
“At first, we were looking at a lower remittance or a flat remittance this year. However, our study showed that Filipinos were still able to send the same amount of money or even more despite problems overseas,” Ms. Roma said.
“Even during the financial crisis, inflows of money in the Philippines from Filipinos working abroad were still there,” she added. -- Daniel Anne Nepomuceno-Rodriguez
Saturday, April 30, 2011
PH, Saudi Arabia sign pact on maids today
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.
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.
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.
Friday, April 29, 2011
School turns ex-OFWs’ wounds into wisdom
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.
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.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
'Brain gain' program for returning OFWs developed
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
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:
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.
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:
- Must be or have been an OFW for at least two (2) years;
- Has no past or present criminal or derogatory record;
- Must be of good moral standing or has received recognition from past or present employer for exemplary behaviour or outstanding service; and
- Must have his/her employment contract processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
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
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
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
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