Philippines OFW –
What is the vulnerability of OFW to oversea policies (say, KSA, UAE, and probably other
countries).
 Saudi government was implementing a “salary protection program,” under which
expatriate workers could send home only a prescribed amount of their salaries. The
Saudi labor ministry did not specify how much of a foreign worker's salary would be
retained in the kingdom and how much he would be allowed to remit home.
 The number of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will rise as much as
25 percent next year despite the Saudization labor policy. It also recently announced
that it will be putting 20 percent ceiling on the country’s expatriate workers.
 Libya remains the top destination for the hundreds of OFWs, due to high wages and
quality work benefits, who were repatriated by the government. Prior to upheaval,
22,000 to 24,000 OFWs were working there in infrastructure and construction
projects, while others were in oil and gas refineries.
 Hong Kong – A Hong Kong court recently ruled in favor of a Filipina maid’s petition
for permanent residency based on Hong Kong’s Basic Law. The Basic Law gave
permanent residency to people “not of Chinese nationality who entered Hong Kong
with valid travel documents, have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous
period of not less than seven years and have taken Hong Kong as their place of
permanent residence.” However, the Immigration Ordinance excluded “foreign
domestic helpers”, relying on the definition of the term “ordinarily resided.” The
court rejected the view. Hong Kong government will appeal decision.
 The Hong Kong Vallejos case began near the anniversary of last year's botched
hostage-rescue operation in Manila, which left seven Hong Kong tourists and their
guide dead and seven others injured. The whole tragic fiasco was filmed like some
perverse reality show and watched live on Hong Kong television. Hong Kong raged:
Newspaper headlines cried out for justice and accountability from inept Philippine
officials, protesters marched on the Philippine consulate, nasty Internet postings
called for employers to sack their maids as an act of retribution and relatives of the
slain and injured hostages demanded an official apology and financial compensation
from the Philippine government.
 Yemen 9.24.11 Aquino III has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to intensify
its efforts in the repatriation of Filipinos in Yemen as hostilities escalate in its capital
city of Sanaa.
 UK - OFWs met several British lawmakers last week to protest a new immigration
law that would disallow thousands of lowly paid migrant caregivers from settling in
the UK after five years of work.
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How important of OFW to Philippines economy (particularly as economic situation in RP
is looming right now)?
 Total remittances from OFWs worldwide “equate to 10 percent of the country's
annual gross domestic product” and “is keeping the economy afloat.”
 One-fifths of all OFWs are mariners of the world’s sealanes.
 Of nearly one million OFWs who work in land-based jobs, around 60 percent of them
work in the Middle East. This percentage of OFWs was 45 percent of total land based
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OFWs in late 1990s. But this number surged toward 60 percent of total toward 2010.
The greater bulk of them work in Saudi Arabia, in the United Arab Emirates and in
Kuwait where a there’s a significant amount of construction and commercial activity.
1.2 million Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia sent home US$5 billion last year. 2nd
place - Canada (who remitted US$2 billion) and 1st place United States who sent
US$7.8 billion
Last year, OFWs around the world remitted a total of US$18.76 billion to the
Philippines, he added.
OFWs transferred $1.67 billion in August, up by 11.1 percent year-on-year on
10/17/11. The August remittances bought to $13.021 billion the total cash transfers by
Filipinos abroad, up by 6.9 percent from $12.181 billion in the same 2010 period.
Taiwan has 100k OFWs and annual remittance is about $1 billion.
Majority of OFWs were women. Statistics revealed that three-fifths (61.6%) of
annual deployment of new hires over the past nine years were women who had to
leave their homes and endure years of separation from their families.
Any political consequences (as Aquino is putting big bid on his economic campaign, and
how OFW policies shaping his agenda). What is the government doing in assisting OFW
overseas, what is the opposite effect?
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Zoellick said World Bank was open to providing financial support to the Philippines
for an assistance program for OFWs affected by unfavorable events offshore.
10/14/11 Aquino focusing on enhancing the entrepreneurial skills of OFWs as well as
their educational abilities to entice them to stay in the country through the
government is P2-billion reintegration program. Last September, around 10,172
OFWs registered and expressed interest to avail of loans under the P2-billion national
reintegration program of the government. 17 of these loan applications worth
P12,184,000 have already been approved and released. Under the program, OFWs
can obtain loans ranging from P300,000 to P2,000,000. Availing loans is easy for
OFWs because there are no conduits, no collateral, and loans have only 7.5 percent
interest per annum and have also very liberal repayment period of up to seven years.
9.25.11 - OFWs greets Aquino in Japan. Many Filipinos leave the country because
they can no longer stand the fact that those with a “wang-wang” mentality get rich
while those who remain clean and do what is right remained poor. (Wang-Wang
refers to the blaring sirens used by police cars and ambulances to alert traffic and the
people of an emergency. Although considered illegal, wang-wang are also used by
some self-important politician or other influential people as an excuse not to follow
traffic rules and other rules.) Skilled Filipino workers’ relations with Japan good.
7/11 - In this year’s budget, less than 1% of the P1.8 trillion budget is set aside to
directly serve the OFWs who now represent over 10% of the country’s population.
No funds are allocated to assist nationals for repatriation and medical care. There is
little money for the Legal Assistance Fund to help OFWs in distress - P30 million
falls far short of the P100 million required by law.
Because the government did not directly state how much will be allotted to the LAF
and ATN, OFWs have been given reason to worry that their welfare will once again
be neglected and the funds made vulnerable to corruption and misuse,” he said.
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7.29.11 - A group of OFWs in Hong Kong found “insulting” the part Aquino III’s
second State-of-the-Nation Address urging Filipinos to thank nurses who chose to
stay in the Philippines for a lower pay rather than working abroad to serve foreigners
in exchange for higher salary.
7/25/11 - Aquino’s 1st year in office was “arguably the worst year” for OFWs with
thousands losing jobs in Libya and the Middle East, and the execution of three
Filipinos in China, the militant migrants’ group Migrante International stated.
6/30/10 Aquino: “Our goal is to create jobs at home so that there will be no need to
look for employment abroad. However, as we work towards that end, I am ordering
the DFA, POEA, OWWA, and other relevant agencies to be even more responsive to
the needs and welfare of our overseas Filipino Workers.”
OUMWA - Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs data: AVG
daily volume of requests: Walk-in 35, Phone Calls, 175, Others 200. As of 9/20/11
Statistics on Hijacking in Somalia - 748 Filipino seamen had been hijacked on board
59 vessels (29 March 2006 – 20 September 2011). 723 have been released on board
57 vessels • 32 remain held by pirates on board 5 vessels
'Arab Spring 2011 and the Philippines' (Part II) 11/02/11
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=743657&publicationSubCategoryId=66
The uprisings in the Middle Eastern countries that we have been watching on television
screens are real life dramas. These faraway convulsions affect our lives in ways we often
are unaware of.
“Rising energy prices and major adjustments.” This year’s Arab Spring happenings cast
long shadows on our lives and on the future. The aftermaths of overwhelming episodes in
the past further continue their influences. The Arab-Israeli war of 1967, the creation of
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and the two Iraq wars have
induced oil shocks to the world economy raising energy prices from US$1.20 per barrel
to US$20 in the 1980s to US$ 100 in our days – peaking even to US$ 130 only in a recent
yesteryear.
Such changes in energy price altered forever the alignments of our family and national
budgets. They necessitated the re-engineering of personal, political, social and economic
activities in our nation.
“Ghadafi was a special case.” Ghadafi of Libya had reckless adventurism that made him
a gadfly to those nations that his actions had harmed. He caused great trouble for our
country. By extending support to Nur Misuari and MNLF (Moro National Liberation
Front), Gadhafi escalated the Mindanao rebellion and bring it within cognizance of the
larger Arab League of countries.
Gadhafi became a party to the Tripoli Agreement which led our government to arrange
regional autonomy for the Moro regions. Further complicated by new rebel players – the
MILF (the Muslim Liberation Front) – this region continues to give us a pestering
problem.
“OFW workers.” Filipino workers abroad have dispersed all around the world. One-fifths
of all OFWs are mariners of the world’s sealanes. Of nearly one million OFWs who work
in land-based jobs (according to our statistics), around 60 percent of them work in the
Middle East. This percentage of OFWs slimmed somewhat to 45 percent of total land
based OFWs in late 1990s. But this number surged toward 60 percent of total toward
2010.
Numerically, this amounts to around half a million Filipinos earning a living in the
Middle East. The workers are scattered throughout many of the Middle Eastern countries.
The greater bulk of them work in Saudi Arabia, in the United Arab Emirates and in
Kuwait where a significant amount of construction and commercial activity had risen
over the last decades.
“Cost of worker displacements -- OWWA.” Periodically, as conditions worsen in some
countries, affected OFWs seek assistance to be returned home. The cost of these
displacements – borne through national budgetary appropriations and from funds raised
by the OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) – could become a huge
claim against national resources. As long as OFW displacements remain reasonably a low
percentage of total OFW workers, as what happened for instance in the recent cases of
Libya and Lebanon, the impact on the country would be manageable. But imagine a
grimmer crisis, in which the scale of events is very sizeable.
“Grim scenarios… on OFWs abroad.” In an ever-changing and risky regional situation,
with crisis after crisis potentially taking their respective sequences, the impact on
Philippine OFWs would vary as well. OFWs finding themselves in war or in politically
unstable zones would need government assistance and possible repatriation. These are
costs of employment that we would not experience if OFWs were instead steadily
employed at home in productive activities!
Grim scenarios of larger disturbances are not out of this world. The two Iraq wars were
major disruptions between 1990 to 2010. The Israeli-Palestinian problem could be headed
today toward peaceful convergence. But this expectation has been thwarted so many
times before.
The nuclear ambition of Iran has caused so much confrontational diplomacy lately. It is a
fearful scenario filled with portentous dangers.
The current troubles happening in Syria – with the opposition to the current leader, the
younger Assad (who succeeded his father’s dictatorship of that country after the latter’s
death) – appears to be getting worse. With the death of Gadhafi, what’s next after Libya?
Another worst case scenario could be any internal conflagration that involves Saudi
Arabia. This country has been politically stable because the ruling monarchy has kept a
tight control over its society, heightened by the security umbrella that the United States
provides through an alliance. Just about the largest number of deployed OFWs works in
this country.
“… on energy supplies.” Not only will this hurt incomes and jobs. The price of crude is
settled in world markets, determined by various forces, some of it controlled by cartels.
As a nation, we take the price determined in the world’s energy market.
Saudi Arabia is the largest oil supplier. Any disruption of supply that originates in that
country has a large impact on world stocks of oil. As a substantial member and leader of
the OPEC, Saudi Arabia plays the balancer of fuel supply gaps and excesses. It is often
the critical player that increases or reduces its output of oil to stabilize the world’s supply.
This has been a stabilizing role on that commodity since OPEC became powerful. If that
role were to be disturbed, even momentarily, we can imagine the ensuing chaos.
“Supplier of capital.” The Middle East has become a major supplier of financial capital
since the 1970s. This role has grown over the years, as petrodollars have continued to
accumulate. These have of course fueled liquidity in the world’s financial markets. This
also accounts for the singular rise of the financial markets of some rich Middle Eastern
countries.
Respectability has put Saudi Arabia and the oil- and gas-rich emirates as a steady source
of finance for the world’s capital markets. This is one reason for the prosperity of that
region of the world despite the political instabilities. Some of these countries have used
their oil riches responsibly even as we have found other countries (like Libya and Iraq’s
Saddam Hussein) that used theirs for adventurisms that have caused trouble for others.
Saudi Arabia has become a significant member of the councils of the world’s multilateral
institutions, especially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Indirectly,
their financial resources play an important role in the world’s economic fortunes. Arab
capital is one resource that could play a very positive role in the financing needs of
countries like us, as we strive to finance our huge needs for economic growth and
development.
Group urges Philippine gov't to clarify Saudi remittance cap 11/01/11
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/asia/philippines/2011/11/01/321524/Groupurges.htm
A Filipino migrants rights group has urged the Philippine government to seek
clarification from Saudi Arabia regarding a statement made by the kingdom's labor
minister that a cap would be placed on remittances sent home by foreign workers.
Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona over the weekend
urged Manila to act after Saudi Labor Minister Adel Fakieh told the news website AlArabiya that the Saudi government was implementing a “salary protection program,”
under which expatriate workers could send home only a prescribed amount of their
salaries.
“The salary protection program which the host government announced is a mechanism of
control on the outflow of remittances (and) may violate the expatriate workers' rights on
how to manage the fruits of their labor,” Monterona said.
“If this will be implemented by the host government, it is but proper for the sending
governments, including the Philippines, to seek clarification on how it will be
implemented as it will surely affect our fellow migrant workers and their families who
are dependent on their remittances,” he said.
Monterona noted that the Saudi labor ministry did not specify how much of a foreign
worker's salary would be retained in the kingdom and how much he would be allowed to
remit home.
Al-Arabiya quoted Fakieh as saying that the remittance of millions of Saudi rials by
migrant workers was “harming” the kingdom's economy.
“About nine of 10 workers in the country are foreigners. This has led to millions of rials
being transferred to their home countries, harming the local economy,” Fakieh reportedly
said.
Based on Saudi records, there are some 8 million migrant workers in the oil-rich
kingdom, with 6 million of them employed in the private sector, Monterona said.
Expatriate workers remit “roughly 100 billion Saudi rials to their respective countries,”
he added.
Citing Philippine Overseas Employment Administration records for last year, Monterona
said 1.2 million Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia sent home US$5 billion last year.
They came third after overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Canada (who remitted US$2
billion) and those in the United States who sent US$7.8 billion, Monterona said.
Last year, OFWs around the world remitted a total of US$18.76 billion to the Philippines,
he added.
Monterona said the Saudi salary protection program would “certainly affect the
Philippines” as total remittances from OFWs worldwide “equate to 10 percent of the
country's annual gross domestic product” and “is keeping the economy afloat.”
World Bank eyes support for OFW program 10/28/11
http://business.inquirer.net/27219/world-bank-eyes-support-for-ofw-program
World Bank Group president Robert B. Zoellick said the multilateral lender was open to
providing financial support to the Philippines for an assistance program for overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by unfavorable events offshore.
In a press conference Thursday, Zoellick, who was in Manila for a two-day visit,
acknowledged the ill-effects of the weak economies of the United States and the
eurozone on migrant workers.
Zoellick said the bank funded similar assistance programs in the past in other countries,
and it was willing to do the same for the Philippines.
“It is a type of program we (the World Bank) can work on for the Philippines,” Zoellick
told reporters.
The United States and countries in the eurozone are some of the biggest hosts to migrant
workers from various countries, including the Philippines. The challenges confronting
their economies, however, have led to job displacements for some of these workers.
Zoellick said the Philippines had so far been fortunate to see continued growth in
remittances from overseas Filipinos despite the economic and debt woes of the advanced
economies in the West.
The growth in remittances indicates that while some OFWs in crisis-torn countries lose
their jobs, others acquire employment in alternative labor markets.
“Remittances from Filipinos overseas have held up pretty well because they work across
sectors,” Zoellick said.
The World Bank assistance may be extended to a program that will help displaced
Filipino workers find alternative employment or income opportunities.
He said the bank acknowledged the importance of remittances to the Philippines and
other emerging economies.
Remittances to the Philippines amounted to $13.02 billion in January to August, up by
6.9 percent from $12.18 billion in the same period last year, according to a report by the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The Philippines is the fourth-biggest remittance-receiving country next to China, India
and Mexico.
In the meantime, Zoellick said the bank was also willing to provide financial support for
other development programs in the country.
He said the Philippines would receive a $2-million grant from the Global Facility for
Disaster Reduction and Recovery, a pool of fund contributed by 38 countries and seven
international institutions including the World Bank.
The money is meant to help the country improve its capacity to reduce the ill-effects of
natural disasters.
Libya sill top choice for repatriated OFWs — DoLE 10/27/11
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/339163/libya-sill-top-choice-repatriated-ofws-dole
MANILA, Philippines — Libya remains the top destination for the hundreds of overseas
Filipino workers (OFW), who were repatriated by the government from the conflict-torn
North African country, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said.
Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said during the awarding ceremony
Thursday of the 2011 Productivity Olympics in Intramuros, Manila that many of the
repatriated OFWs still preferred to return to Libya due to its high wages and quality work
benefits.
“Many of the repatriated workers chose not to look for new jobs since they want to return
to Libya for work,” Baldoz said.
OFWs raring to return to Libya 10/23/11
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=740367&publicationSubCategoryId=68
With the death of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, former overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) are raring to go back and work in the North African country at the
soonest possible time.
“I have been jobless for one year and recently, my family has been a victim of floods. I
want to work again even in Libya,” said Crispin Yusores, 46, a resident of Barangay San
Miguel here.
A veteran OFW who has worked on Diego Garcia Island and Dammam in Saudi Arabia,
Yusores said he has renewed his passport and is preparing the documents necessary for
his return to work.
He said he is setting his sights on Libya, a country ruled by Gadhafi for more than four
decades until he was deposed and killed last Thursday.
According to Yusores, the death of Gadhafi will trigger a rush for reconstruction and
rehabilitation that will require skilled Filipino workers.
“I am very sure that many Filipino workers will be needed in Libya,” he said, adding that
he still has two children to send to school.
Meanwhile, Socorro Castro, officer-in-charge of the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration (OWWA) in Central Luzon, said indeed many OFWs have been inquiring
about possible job openings in Libya upon learning about Gadhafi’s death.
“They are very interested to work in Libya, but there is no order for deployment yet
because an alert status is still imposed there,” Castro said during an OWWA medical
mission at Barangay San Juan here yesterday.
She said the government is still waiting for a go-signal from their representatives in Libya
for the deployment of OFWs.
She said it might take months before the peace and order situation there returns to
normal.
Migrante-Middle East, on the other hand, warned those who want to work in Libya to be
careful about rampant illegal recruitment of workers.
In a statement, the organization of migrants in the Middle East said the Philippine
Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) should issue an advisory to make
jobseekers wary of job opportunities being offered to them in Libya.
“It was expected that ex-OFWs, mostly repatriates due to the Libyan upheavals, are
considering a comeback to work there. Aside from them, there are would-be OFWs, too,
now looking for job deployment to Libya,” Migrante regional coordinator John Leonard
Monterona said.
Monterona said prior to the Libyan upheaval, 22,000 to 24,000 OFWs were working
there primarily in infrastructure and construction projects, while others were in oil and
gas refineries.
Others were nurses and medical professionals who worked mostly in government
hospitals.
“We are urging the Department of Foreign Affairs to properly assess the situation in
Libya. We also urge the POEA to issue an advisory to guide our fellow OFWs and
prevent them from becoming victims of illegal recruiters and human traffickers,” he
added
August remittances up 11% to $1.67B, says BSP 10/17/11
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/235654/business/august-remittances-up-11-to-167b-saysbsp
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) transferred $1.67 billion in August, up by 11.1
percent year-on-year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.
"Remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks grew by a double-digit rate
for the first time during the year to reach $1.67 billion," BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr.
said in a statement.
"Notwithstanding lingering global economic uncertainties, the cumulative stream of
remittances from overseas Filipinos continued to be solid and resilient, supported by
sustained demand for Filipino skills abroad," the BSP chief said.
The August remittances bought to $13.021 billion the total cash transfers by Filipinos
abroad, up by 6.9 percent from $12.181 billion in the same 2010 period, BSP data
showed.
Cash transfers by sea-based Filipino workers jumped 14.4 percent and the money sent
home by land-based Filipinos grew 5 percent.
The central bank estimated that 85 percent of total remittances in the first eight months
came from Filipinos working in the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan,
United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Norway.
Banks and financial institutions now offer more cash-transfer options for Filipinos abroad
and their beneficiaries in the Philippines, encouraging more clients to use formal
channels for their money transfers, Tetangco said.
Commercial banks also continue to “build up their network of remittance business
partners worldwide [and have] contributed to the country's larger share of the global
remittance market," central bank chief noted.
“Partnerships have been strengthened with correspondent banks and with other
remittance companies abroad," he added.
'The run up to December'
The BSP last April lowered its remittance growth forecast to 7 percent or $20.1 billion
for the whole of 2011, from the original target of 8 percent or $20.2 billion, citing the
tensions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the devastation suffered by
Japan early this year.
It expects a slower growth of 5 percent or $21.2 billion next year.
Despite the tensions in the MENA states, Tetangco said OFW remittances will pick up in
run up to December, Tetango noted.
"Going forward, the remittance outlook for the remaining months of the year remains
favorable as government redeployment strategies are in place to help Filipino workers
affected by the social unrest in the MENA region," he said.
OFW remittances grew by 8.2 percent to a record $18.76 billion last year from $17.35
billion in 2009.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported stable
employment prospects for OFWs.
The number of processed job orders climbed by 8.6 percent to 193,176 in January to
September this year for Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and
Hong Kong from 177,936 in the same period last year.
Another batch of licensed Filipino nurses and caregivers are expected to be deployed in
Japan next year under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the POEA
Taiwan looks to Increased Presence on Mainland 10/11/11
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?storyid=%7B8a153360-1702-48ac-8c51382f9836dd80%7D
Taiwan has 100k OFWs and annual remittance is about $1 billion.
OFW triumph in a Hong Kong court
10/06/11
http://opinion.inquirer.net/14775/ofw-triumph-in-a-hong-kong-court
A Hong Kong court recently ruled in favor of a Filipina maid’s petition for permanent
residency based on Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the equivalent of the territory’s constitution.
The decision pits Hong Kong’s declared commitment to the rule of law against its fears
of an immigration deluge. It parallels the Filipinos’ own local debates on whether whitecollar professionals should be exempt from the strict exit regulations applied to OFWs.
We all—Hong Kong Chinese or Pinoy—go into intellectual contortions to craft classneutral regulations to camouflage class-based prejudices. It exposes both societies’—
Hong Kong’s and Pinoy’s—own self-contradictions, or in the words of a philosopher, the
“incongruity between the [‘official political dogmas’] they had accepted [and] the social
life they in fact lived out in their relations to one another and to their subordinates.”
Evangeline Banao Vallejos has worked as a maid in Hong Kong since 1986 under a
succession of fixed-term contracts. By the time she applied for permanent residency, she
had been a Hong Kong resident for more than 22 years, but for the brief intervals she
would spend in Manila as required by Hong Kong each time a contract expired.
The Hong Kong court found that the entire family of her employer “treated her as part of
their family,” supported her residency application, and would continue to employ her
should she gain such residency. She had “integrated into the local community,” was
“active … in volunteer work [for her] church” and “wishe[d] to retire in HK” with her
husband. Her children were all grown up, married and financially independent—causing
none of the immigration nightmares raised by critics. In the language of public interest
litigation, she was the ideal Hohfeldian plaintiff, a sort of pre-beatification Rosa Parks of
the 21st-century civil rights movement.
Since its historic handover back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, Hong Kong has been
governed by a charter, the Basic Law, that would secure for the next 50 years the “one
country, two systems” approach to signal the world that Hong Kong will continue to be
the center of Asian markets, and signal Hong Kong’s people that Beijing would continue
to respect their human rights.
The Basic Law gave permanent residency to people “not of Chinese nationality who
entered Hong Kong with valid travel documents, have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong
for a continuous period of not less than seven years and have taken Hong Kong as their
place of permanent residence.” This would give rise to the “right of abode,” to remain in
Hong Kong without “any restriction in respect of his or her employment, place of
residence and duration of stay.”
However, the Immigration Ordinance excluded “foreign domestic helpers” (or FDH in
the idiom of Hong Kong law), relying on the definition of the term “ordinarily resided.”
FDH did not meet that test, it was argued, because inter alia they are typically allowed
into Hong Kong solely on fixed-term contracts and must leave Hong Kong once these
expire; they live in the homes of their employers and do not establish an independent
household; they are banned from bringing in their dependents “to ensure that they will
maintain genuine links in their own country,” otherwise the surge in immigration would
overwhelm Hong Kong’s resources.
The court rejected the view. How different is the FDH from any other person employed
in Hong Kong under their labor laws? They are equally subject to whatever privations or
luxuries any employee faces in the open market. The court also held that the issue of
FDH maintaining bonds with the home country is not relevant because what the Basic
Law requires is merely “ordinary residence.”
We Filipinos are used to seeing our courts decide highly contentious disputes. In Vallejos
v. Commissioner of Registration, the Hong Kong courts faced precisely one such case
where the “socio-economic and political implications of a particular outcome necessarily
transcend the legal analysis of the issues.” The court then says: “But it is important that
such public discussions should not be allowed to confuse the proper remit of the
adjudicative function of the court in the case itself. In the performance of his judicial
duty, a judge should always focus on, and only focus on, the legal merits of the issues
which he or she has to determine.” As a Filipino law professor, I urge local judges to read
the decision both for the nuance of its language and its careful reasoning.
The decision of the Hong Kong Court of First Instance will obviously not be the end of
the story. The case will be appealed possibly all the way to Beijing, where a different
interpretive tradition prevails and where the Basic Law, a constitution unto the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region, is but a statute unto the National People’s
Congress.
I have read some of the arguments of the Hong Kong critics of the decision, who
apparently have launched a signature campaign against the maids and garnered more than
90,000 signatures. One said: “We don’t think this is discrimination. We have rules, they
come to Hong Kong just to make money.” But couldn’t this be said as well of all the
“gweilos” who come to Hong Kong to enjoy job and business opportunities not available
in the home country—and then we call one group “expatriates” and the other, FDH. And,
typical of a legal system built on case-law, can the “just to make money” argument apply
to Evangeline, who has invested 22 years of a life embracing a community that wouldn’t
consider her its own?
Philippines under fire in Hong Kong 8/26/11
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MH26Ad01.html
A landmark lawsuit launched by a maid from the Philippines, with opening arguments
heard in the High Court on Monday, has brought Hong Kong's usually dormant racism to
the ugly surface. Evangeline Banao Vallejos, who has lived and worked here for 25
years, is asking the government to grant her the same legal path to permanent residency
for which every other foreign worker may apply after seven years in the city.
For her temerity, she and the nearly 285,000 other foreign domestic workers - who do the
cleaning, the cooking and a big part of the child-rearing for many Hong Kong families have been roundly vilified and told to mind their place as second-class citizens. Hong
Kong's largest political party, the pro-government Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, has spearheaded the campaign against right of
abode for foreign domestic workers.
While the Vallejos case continues - and is to be followed later this year by two similar
suits from other maids from the Philippines - on Tuesday Hong Kong grimly marked the
anniversary of last year's botched hostage-rescue operation in Manila, which left seven
Hong Kong tourists and their guide dead and seven others injured. Armed with an M-16
assault rifle, Rolando Mendoza, a former policeman who was dismissed for corruption,
had seized a Hong Kong tour bus and demanded his job back in return for the release of
his 25 hostages.
After hours of negotiations broke down, a SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team
stormed the bus, attempting to break through its windows with sledgehammers. Finally after 90 clumsy, hapless minutes - the team boarded the bus and killed Mendoza, but not
before he had exacted his revenge on the tourists and their guide.
To top it off, the whole tragic fiasco was filmed like some perverse reality show and
watched live on Hong Kong television.
Hong Kong raged: Newspaper headlines cried out for justice and accountability from
inept Philippine officials, protesters marched on the Philippine consulate, nasty Internet
postings called for employers to sack their maids as an act of retribution and relatives of
the slain and injured hostages demanded an official apology and financial compensation
from the Philippine government.
In response to the rising anger, the Hong Kong government issued a black travel alert
against the Philippines - the most severe warning possible.
A year later, that rare black travel alert remains in place, reaffirmed this week by Chief
Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, and feelings remain raw. Remarkably, Syria, a
nation that has been in perpetual turmoil for the last two months as President Bashar alAssad attempts to smash a growing revolt against his rule, is the only other country that
has been given such a dire travel assessment by Hong Kong.
Represented by Hong Kong legislator James To Kun-sun, relatives of the eight who were
killed by Mendoza have seized on the anniversary to make a dramatic pilgrimage to the
death scene - Rizal Park, in the heart of Manila - to once again demand an apology from
Philippine President Benigno Aquino and compensation for their lost love ones.
They have received neither. Aquino, who did not attend the commemoration ceremony
staged by the relatives in the park, expressed "deep regret" for the loss of life and
sympathy for the still-suffering families, but he blamed the tragedy on a lone "deranged
gunman" whom he likened to Anders Breivik, who massacred 77 people in Norway last
month.
"This was the act of one man," he stated. "In the same token that some of us citizens have
been affected elsewhere in the world, we do not blame the entire population."
The president added: "We continue to sympathize with [the grieving families]. We really
wish it didn't happen."
But those families were not appeased. At a press conference held at the Spanish fortress
where the hostage drama began, a tearful Lee Mei-chun, who lost a son in the debacle,
expressed her sorrow and outrage: "It has been one year, and I still cannot forget my son.
Every night I remember him. The Philippine government has not done anything, and we
cannot put it aside. I come here to fight for my son."
Aquino's remarks, made on the day of the anniversary, only further incensed hostage
survivor Lee Ying-chuen, who scoffed: "What is the date today? Why does he choose
today to say such things? He does not know any basic manners at all. Does he think we
are not angry enough today?"
Family members insisted that the Philippine government was responsible for the deaths
of their relatives because of the incompetent rescue bid and complained that the official
investigation of the incident, ordered by Aquino, was a farce. That investigation resulted
in mere hand slaps for four of the policemen involved and no punishment at all for senior
officials.
So the rage continues. But where do we go from here?
Hong Kong's reaction to the tragedy has bordered on hysteria - and, when the black travel
alert was issued, the city stepped over that border into a scary realm of illogical
vengeance, where no responsible government should go.
Syria and the Philippines? Assad and Aquino?
These comparisons could pass for a bad joke perhaps, but for a year now Hong Kong
officials - as a sop to a still-angry, still-mourning population - have kept a straight face
while pretending that their black-alert designation was based on rational analysis of travel
risks in the Philippines. Meanwhile, local media report an 80% drop in the number of
Hong Kong residents flying to the Philippines and a 10% to 20% drop in those flying
from the Philippines to Hong Kong. City officials may be savoring their cathartic
revenge, but the prolonged catharsis is proving costly to both sides.
Many people in Hong Kong say Vallejos should be given her fair day in court without
insults and the condescension. And neither she nor any other Filipino workers in the city
should be punished for the incompetence of the Manila Police Department.
OFW thank President Aquino for allowing them to continue working in
Afghanistan
http://www.philembassy.no/news-item/ofw-thank-president-aquino-for-allowing-themto-continue-working-in-afghanistan
Thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers have expressed their deepest gratitude to
President Benigno S. Aquino III for allowing them to continue working for their
respective employers in Afghanistan.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Executive, Filipino Carlo Echano, a US government
contractor working in Afghanistan who represents more than four thousand OFWs,
thanked the President profusely for his “guided decision on allowing us to continue our
professions and labor in Afghanistan.”
He said that despite the concerns aired on their safety, they still feel secure working for
“our American and NATO (North America Treaty Organization)-member employers.
“We thank you for appreciating the efforts of our American and NATO-member
employers to keep us safe and secure in our work in an environment that aims to build
peace in this part of the world,” the letter read.
“We thank you for recognizing our hard work and acknowledging that our efforts are not
only to support our families but also to build the economy of our country,” it added.
A deployment ban has been issued by the Philippines disallowing Filipinos from
traveling to Afghanistan due to security risks.
But Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa announced last August that Filipinos already
working in the country are not covered by the ban.
"After making an assessment of the conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq based on input
from Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), we have recommended that Filipino workers
who are already employed in US military bases and installations in these countries be
allowed to remain there to continue their employment," Ochoa said.
The Executive Secretary said however, that the overall deployment ban to Afghanistan as
well as Iraq still remains.
A majority of the 6,000 OFWs are working inside two US bases in Afghanistan
- Bagram and Kandahar Airfields.
Aquino government enhances entrepreneurial skills of OFWs under P2 billion
reintegration program
http://ofwnews.blogspot.com/2011/10/aquino-government-enhances.html
President Benigno S. Aquino III said his administration is focusing on enhancing the
entrepreneurial skills of overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) as well as their educational
abilities to entice them to stay in the country through the government is P2-billion
reintegration program.
“The state would have to be really focused on those who have the least in our society.
Therefore, there’s heavy emphasis on microfinance to generate entrepreneurial abilities,”
President Aquino said during an open forum with the members of the Foreign
Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) in Makati City on Wednesday.
“But over and above that, we’re also training, investing in the education sector to be able
to provide opportunities for even advanced studies present in the country rather than
having the experts go to other countries like America or Europe to further their studies,”
he said.
The government is reviewing that particular area so that Filipino researchers get the
necessary endowments and research facilities to be able to conduct their studies here
rather than going abroad for the benefit of foreigners rather than Filipinos.
To make capital available to Filipino entrepreneurs there are proposals to develop a bank
for OFWs, the President said. He also mentioned small-scale business such as dairy
production in Nueva Ecija using carabao milk that could be suitable for returning OFWs.
Last September, around 10,172 OFWs registered and expressed interest to avail of loans
under the P2-billion national reintegration program of the government, the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) reported.
According to OWWA, 17 of these loan applications worth P12,184,000 have already
been approved and released by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) for various
business undertakings.
Businesses funded under the reintegration program include hog fattening, duck egg
production, vegetable growing, internet café, Nuat Thai food and body massage; and
dental laboratory.
Under the program, OFWs can avail of loans ranging from P300,000 to P2,000,000.
Availing loans is easy for OFWs because there are no conduits, no collateral, and loans
have only 7.5 percent interest per annum and have also very liberal repayment period of
up to seven years.
http://www.pinoy-ofw.com/news/14454-migrante-aquinos-1st-year-office-worstofws.html
President Benigno Aquino’s first year in office was “arguably the worst year” for
overseas Filipino workers with thousands losing jobs in Libya and the Middle East, and
the execution of three Filipinos in China, the militant migrants’ group Migrante
International said Monday.
President Benigno Aquino III
Garry Martinez, Migrante International chair, said the Aquino administration failed to
immediately evacuate and repatriate OFWs affected by conflicts in Libya, Egypt and
elsewhere in the Middle East-North Africa region, and also those affected by calamities
and disasters in Japan and New Zealand.
“Since Aquino took his oath it has been especially more grueling for OFWs and their
families. He specifically promised to give special attention to OFWs in his inaugural
speech but what we have experienced is the complete opposite,” Martinez said.
“Aquino’s first year may just be the worst year for OFWs and their families, and policywise, there are no indications that things will get better,” he added.
Martinez said that, for the first time in years, three Filipinos were executed
simultaneously in China, and the number of Filipinos in death row increased from 108 to
122.
He added that Aquino also committed “blunders” that threatened the wellbeing of OFWs
in Hong Kong (thru the Manila hostage tragedy), Taiwan (with the deportation of
Taiwanese nationals to China) and China (conflict over the Spratly Islands).
http://www.pinoy-ofw.com/news/14707-aquinosona-hurts-ofws-hk.html
A group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs ) in Hong Kong found “insulting” the part
of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s second State-of-the-Nation Address (SoNA) urging
Filipinos to thank nurses who chose to stay in the Philippines for a lower pay rather than
working abroad to serve foreigners in exchange for higher salary.
“We detest the implication that OFWs chose to serve foreigners instead of their
countrymen,” said Dolores Balladares, chairman of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong
(UNIFIL-MIGRANTE HK).
“We protest the underlying contempt of President Aquino toward migrants who had no
choice but to work overseas, separated from our families and communities, because the
past and the present administration failed miserably to provide jobs and livelihood and
denied basic social services to the Filipino people,” she stressed.
The subject of their protest is the part of Aquino’s SoNA last July 25 stating: “Kung
magkasakit ka at makita mo ang nars na nag-aruga sa iyo, sa halip na magserbisyo sa
dayuhan kapalit ng mas malaking suweldo, pakisabi rin po, ‘salamat po’ (If you get sick,
and you see the nurse who takes care of you, instead of serving foreigners in exchange
for higher salary, please also say thank you.)”
http://mb.com.ph/node/335581/improved-image-ofw
Improved image of OFWs greets Aquino in Japan
By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO
September 25, 2011, 10:37pm
TOKYO, Japan — President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived here Sunday afternoon to a
rousing welcome from his countrymen, whose image as workers had improved
considerably since the years when mostly Filipino nightspot entertainers roamed Japan.
The President and members of his delegation were welcomed by Philippine Ambassador
Manuel Lopez.
Their first stop was the Japan Education Center to meet with the Filipino community.
Aquino said they were his “boss.”
So it was just fitting that they were first on his agenda in Tokyo, interacting with
community leaders and hearing their issues and concerns.
He said many Filipinos leave the country because they can no longer stand the fact that
those with a “wang-wang” mentality get rich while those who remain clean and do what
is right remained poor. He was referring to the sense of entitlement that some Filipino
public servants assert and get to enjoy while in position.
“We are aware of this system. A wang-wang system that maybe pushed most of you to
try their luck abroad, to get away from an abusive government,” Aquino said.
Filipinos in Japan were taken too lightly before as mere entertainers whose forte was to
sing and dance.
But respect for overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in Japan is changing for the better, as
they fill up jobs for skilled workers offered by Japanese firms here.
Filipino seafarers are also becoming in demand as well as the nurses, who endear
themselves to the aging Japanese population with their uniquely Filipino special care and
attention.
Labor Attaché Clifford Paragua said the labor market for skilled OFWs is vastly
expanding in various fields such as information technology (IT) and health care.
Under the Aquino administration, over 12,000 OFWs entered Japan as skilled workers
while some of them were hired under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership
Agreement (JPEPA).
One huge labor market for Filipinos is the shipping industry where 53,000 Filipino
seamen are manning Japanese ships, Paragua said.
These days, 7 of 10 seamen on Japanese ships are Filipinos, making them highly valuable
in the Japanese shipping industry.
“Filipino seamen enjoy the trust and confidence of their Japanese employers,” he said.
The JPEPA, ratified by the Philippine Senate in 2008, allows the entry of health workers
and those in the engineering and information technology center after getting language
training.
With the surplus of nursing graduates in the Philippines, the JPEPA has opened the door
for their employment, Paragua said.
Some 500 Filipino nurses have been hired under the JPEPA, with the fourth tranche of
recruitment already under way for 2012, Paragua said.
Paragua said skilled Filipino workers have earned the respect of the Japanese people
because of their good nature, communication skills, and valuable credentials for the job.
“They work hard, they hardly complain with the time and the workload,” Paragua said on
the general impression of the Japanese on Filipino workers.
President Aquino, who is here on a four-day official visit, is scheduled to meet with
stakeholders in major Japanese businesses, including those in the shipping industry.
Paragua said the President could meet Japanese shipowners to tackle the training and
education being given to Filipino seafarers.
“We have to ensure consistent training and education for our seafarers if we are to
continue cornering the shipping sector here in Japan,” he said.
“Probably, this is one reason those in the shipping sector are scheduled to meet with the
President – to ensure that we keep sending quality Filipino crew members or seafarers for
Japanese ships,” Paragua said.
To date, Japan has become a host country for 220,000 Filipinos, he added. Ambassador
Lopez, said this number could grow significantly higher if one includes the “Japinoys”
residing here. Japinoys have for their parents a Japanese and a Filipino.
“There’s a big population now of Filipino-Japanese coming up and in the years to come,
you will see more and more of these,” said Lopez.
Entertainers still thrive in Japan
Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) figures, however, show that Filipino
entertainers still compose majority of OFWs deployed in Japan.
Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said that while the deployment of “Japayukis” or
entertainers in Japan sharply fell since 2004, they still compose the largest group of
workers there.
“We still send entertainers to Japan although the number has drastically dropped since the
Japanese government imposed stricter requirements in hiring of Overseas Pilipino Artists
(OPA),” Cruz said.
It could be recalled Japan imposed stricter requirements on the visa application of
migrant entertainment workers in 2004 to curb its prevalent human trafficking cases.
Cruz said the number of Filipino musicians, singers, dancers, and choreographers used to
reach 80,000 before the new requirements were imposed.
The data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) last year
showed the number of deployed dancers and choreographers in Japan, most of which are
female, dwindled to about 700 last year, while musicians and singers only reached 400.
This is about 80 percent of the estimated 1,290 OFWs sent to Japan last year.
Aquino’s agenda
Aquino looked forward to highlighting a progressive Philippines run by a clean
government during his four-day visit.
Palace officials said Aquino’s visit is aimed at bolstering bilateral relations and attract
more investors with promises of transparent governance and a friendly business-climate.
His journey to Japan includes meetings with Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Yoshihiko
Noda, business leaders, and the Filipino community. Aquino is expected to return to
Manila on Wednesday, September 28.
“These are the goals of our visit—to tell the world about the light of change in the
country, to introduce a Philippines on the straight path of governance, a Philippines that
is open and with a level playing field for business,” the President said in Filipino before
boarding his plane. (With reports from Samuel P. Medenilla and Genalyn D. Kabiling)
http://www.philstar.com/article.aspx?articleid=730513&publicationsubcategoryid=200
Aquino orders intensified OFW repatriation in Yemen
MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA) to intensify its efforts in the repatriation of Filipinos in Yemen as
hostilities escalate in its capital city of Sanaa.
“Upon the instructions of President Benigno S. Aquino III and committed to ensuring the
safety and welfare of Filipinos in Yemen, we are intensifying efforts to repatriate
Filipinos out of Yemen,” DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a statement.
The DFA said that a total of 282 Filipinos have been repatriated from Yemen since Alert
Level 3, or voluntary repatriation on government's expense, was raised on May 24.
Alert Level 4, or mandatory evacuation, was raised in Sanaa on June 6.
Del Rosario said that the Philippine embassy's team in Yemen, led by Ambassadordesignate Ezzedin Tago, will continue to encourage Filipinos to take advantage of the
government’s voluntary repatriation program, especially those in Sanaa.
The team has been there since February 25, even before tensions began in the country, he
added.
The DFA advised Filipinos in Yemen to call the Embassy team in Sanaa immediately "if
they feel unsafe in the area they are residing and the teams can move them in a safe area."
There are around 1,200 Filipinos still in Yemen.
media.tripod.lycos.com/1810698/1965016.pdf
Aquino Report Card 2011
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CD8QFj
AF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fd2dglobalsummit.cfo.gov.ph%2Fdownload%2Fday2%2Fwor
kshops%2FGlobal_Legal_Assistance_and_Advocacy_Part_I%2Fpresentations%2FCON
EJOS_Protecting_the_Rights_of_OFWs_as_a_Pillar_of_Philippine_Foreign_Policy.pdf
&ei=laOxTqbDD-Xo2gXOlrSEAg&usg=AFQjCNE2WAouOhJJYBVer3asADOdB_6fw
Philippine Labor Employment Plan 2011-2016 pdf
Undocumented OFWs to rise despite Saudization
http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=74
3550
By Dennis Carcamo Home Updated November 01, 2011 09:01 AM 4 comments to this
post
MANILA, Philippines -- The number of undocumented overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) will rise as much as 25 percent next year despite the Saudization labor policy,
according to a migrant workers' rights group.
Migrante-Middle east coordinator John Monterona said these OFWs have managed to
secure part time jobs though their working permits were already cancelled.
"They were given ‘final exit’ clearance but managed not to go through on their flight
back home and instead tried to seek a part time job even though their work permits were
already cancelled," he said.
To date, there are about 1.2 million OFWs in Saudi Arabia, Monterona said.
Since September, the Saudi labor ministry has implemented Nitaqat or the localization of
labor, giving priority hiring its own jobless nationals over expatriate workers.
It also recently announced that it will be putting 20 percent ceiling on the country’s
expatriate workers.
"This would mean around three million expatriate workers will be sent back to their
respective countries in the coming years amid the implementation of Saudi’s Nitaqat,”
Monterona noted.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/16239/filipino-caregivers-protest-new-immigration-lawin-uk
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the United Kingdom met several British lawmakers
last week to protest a new immigration law that would disallow thousands of lowly paid
migrant caregivers from settling in the UK after five years of work.
At the three-hour meeting at the House of Commons at Westminster in London, OFWs
led by the Kanlugan Alliance of Filipino Organizations, relayed to Members of
Parliament their concerns about a new policy by the UK Border Agency not to renew
visas for anyone who was not being paid the minimum hourly rate of 7.02 pounds (about
P486) set for senior care workers.
“The UK will need skilled migrant care workers for the foreseeable future. Skilled
migrant care workers are hardworking families. Settlement is one of the main reasons
why they come to Britain. It’s unfair to change immigration rules for people already
settled who’ve planned for their lives. Salary level should not determine who settles,”
Kanlungan said in a statement.
Kanlungan leaders and representatives from other groups such as the Migrant Rights
Network and the Unison also met with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration.
The OFWs said the new policy was discriminatory because visas had already been issued
to other migrant workers who are paid lower rates and who had worked legally for five
years in the UK.
Kanlungan project staff Jamima Fagta, in an email to the Inquirer from London, said two
caregivers, Lourdes Dizon Somera and Gundelina Ramirez shared their difficulties in
obtaining their Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) document, which would allow them to
live in the UK after five years of work.
The two explained to lawmakers how immigration rules affect them and their families,
their work and the community as a whole.
Somera, who went to the UK five years ago to work and support her family and her
younger siblings back home, said she was “devastated” when her application for ILR was
rejected.
Somera also recounted how she had come to love her work of caring for her wards, since
she is an orphan. “It is a mixture of joy and hard work being a caregiver…I have personal
empathy with them so it is fulfilling when I deliver the care…It is as if I am caring of my
own parents.”
If she fails to get her ILR, Somera would have to leave UK, together with her two-year
old son, who was born in London.
Fagta said the audience was “moved” by the OFWs’ personal stories, adding, “If we were
only given ample time, all of the senior caregivers in that room could have shared the
same agony.”
The OFWs, she said, appealed to the MPs to hold a parliament debate on the matter.
“The response was positive but we need to work together to achieve this,” Fagta said.
http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/statistics.html
OFW stats !!!