Protection of OFWs uneven
By Maria Aleta Nieva-Nishimori, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/26/2009 6:18 PM
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13th in a series on GMA's 9th State of the Nation Address
Laws are in place to protect the millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who continue to seek employment opportunities outside the Philippines. But the Arroyo government has to keep its focus on protecting them.
“The laws that we have are well placed. It’s just a matter of implementing them and to retain the focus on the protective measures for migrants,” said Jeremaiah Opiniano, executive director of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues.
Recently, the death of 10 OFWs in Afghanistan hogged the headlines and affirmed fears that migrant workers are deployed there despite an existing ban imposed by the Philippine government in 2007.
Aside from Iraq , the Department of Foreign Affairs stopped sending OFWs to Afghanistan , Lebanon , Jordan and Nigeria following the shaky security and labor conditions in these countries.
In 2006, Arroyo’s SONA cited the repatriation of OFWs from strife-torn Lebanon and thanked the modern-day heroes for serving their families, and their country.
The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said, however, that the air crash in Afghanistan is evidence to the inability of the government to provide local jobs that has driven workers to seek employment overseas even in dangerous countries.
Migrante International chairperson Gary Martinez said Arroyo’s support for the US war on terror placed many OFWs in the Middle East in danger, including truck driver Angelo dela Cruz who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2004.
Dela Cruz was released only after the Philippine government pulled out its military contingent in Iraq . As a result, the government banned deployment to Iraq.
Martinez said that under Arroyo’s term, many OFWs are languishing in jails and six OFWs were executed. The most recent was the beheading of Jennifer Bedoya (a.k.a Venancio Ladion) last year.
“In these 6 cases, the government didn't provide effective legal assitance. Under President Arroyo, from 41 executions last year, the number has risen to 59," Martinez added.
The DFA said in previous reports that the commutation of death sentence, including May Vecina’s case, has always been a priority of President Arroyo.
The government, Martinez said, should not take credit for the release of Vecina who was granted full pardon after being sentenced to death for killing her ward. He clarified that Vecina was released because of her good behavior while serving time in Kuwaiti jail.
Abused
The Philippines has been touted as a model country for managing migration. However, as the government ensures that protection mechanisms are in place for both land- and sea-based migrants, there are still reports that OFWs are often abused starting from the time they apply for work abroad.
Many are victimized by illegal recruiters and human traffickers. The POEA has taken a lot of criticisms particularly when reports came out about the more than 100 Filipino workers who were promised work as drivers in Dubai . They were reprocessed and sent there by a POEA-licensed recruitment agency after paying huge placement fees. The issue of the Sabah deportees is also a major concern that needs addressing.
In a statement to the 10th session of the United Nations Migrant Workers Committee last April in Geneva , the civil society network Philippine Migrant Rights Watch (PMRW) pointed out the limited number of embassies and personnel to provide immediate services to Filipinos. It stated that there are only 88 embassies and consulates, three cultural offices, 37 labor offices, and 20 Filipino Workers Resources Centers “tasked to address the problems of the estimated 9-10 million Filipino migrants worldwide”.
2007 deployment
Despite the dangers and abuse, Filipino workers continue to leave the country.
In 2007 alone, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) deployed a total of 1,077,623 OFWs thus maintaining its stature as a "top labor deploying country in the region”.
A labor force survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed that unemployment rate in April 2009 was 7.5 from 8.0 of the same period last year. The labor department said that “this corresponds to total unemployed persons of 2.830 million, a reduction of 84,000 from the previous year level”.
Moreover, the global economic crisis has resulted to the displacement of hundreds of OFWs. The government’s response to the crisis was in the form of Administrative Orders 247 and 248 which were issued December last year.
Under AO 247, the POEA was ordered to refocus its functions from regulation to full blast market development and the exploration of job markets for OFWs. AO 248, meanwhile, assigns the Department of Labor (DOLE) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to “take the lead in carrying out the government’s payback program for the expatriate Filipino workers”.
“That's a natural response to the crisis. That’s the spirit of the order. We just have to be vigilant that sending people out will become an explicit policy,” Opiniano said.
PMRW wants to find out where the government intends to get the money for its supposed ‘payback program’ since the OWWA fund is from OFWs who pay the US$25 membership fee.
PMRW president Carmelita Nuqui pointed out that the passage of the OWWA Omnibus Policies in 2003 drew flak from OFWs and migrant groups.
The OWWA Omnibus Policies were passed by the agency in 2003. The Board "promulgated and codified the policies, rules and regulations to provide guidelines on OWWA membership and its coverage, collection of contribution, and availment of benefits and "embodied the policies on fund management, programs and services administration and corporate governance". An OFW who pays the US$25 contribution may only avail himself or herself of the OWWA benefits and services like insurance and health care; burial benefits, family assistance among others until the expiration of their contracts.
Like the AOs, migrant groups and OFWs were left in the dark when OWWA transferred the Medicare fund and function to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation in 2003. In 2005, lawmakers raised a howl and questioned the transfer which they said was made "without due consultation and express approval of the OFWs and the beneficiaries, who are the sole owners of the fund".
Social cost
Labor migration was a temporary solution to unemployment in the 70s. Now, with Filipinos in 193 countries, Opiniano said that they are also in markets where “there are reported cases of abuse of Filipino workers.”
“That's the consequence of government trying to send more people out and they're quite scattered all over the world…you don’t know what to do next,” Opiniano said.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the Philippines is one of the three top migrant sending countries next to China and India.
In last year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Arroyo praised ordinary Filipinos including migrant workers. But while their remittances contribute significantly--whether through legal or illegal channels-to the economic coffers, many return home physically and mentally broken or worst, in boxes.
The government should look into the social costs of migration and not just the remittances, Nuqui of PMRW said.
Reforms
It’s not all bad news, though.
Filipinos abroad were given the opportunity to exercise their right to vote under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act. But lack of manpower, machines, and budget are some of the difficulties that hinder its full potential.
The policy on Household Service Worker which took effect in 2006 was supposed to bring improvement to OFWs working in the service sector. Among its reforms, it sets to upgrade their skills and salary rate to US$400 from US$200.
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