The World According to Julie

2011-01-27T14:19:00.003+08:00

Preliminary Report of the Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs (COWA) Fact-finding Mission to Saudi Arabia

By Rep. Walden Bello, COWA Chairman

This document is a brief preliminary report prepared for the meeting of the Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs on Jan 26. The full report will be available on Feb 9, 2011.

Members of the Mission

Members of the fact-finding mission to Saudi Arabia were Reps. Walden Bello, COWA chair; Carmen Zamora-Apsay; Emmeline Aglipay; and Cresente Paez.

Objectives of the Mission

The objectives of the mission were the following:

a) familiarize the COWA with the conditions facing Filipino OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which may be described as the frontline state for the deployment of OFWs, where there have been numerous reports of abuses of Filipino workers, particularly female domestic workers;

b) assess the performance of Philippine government agencies in responding to the needs of OFWs in the country;

c) find out the response of KSA-based OFWs to key recent government initiatives such as mandatory insurance; and

d) investigate the status of Filipinos detained in Saudi jails, particularly those under the death penalty, with a view to securing their release or mitigating their sentences.

Activities of the Mission

The team visited three key cities, Riyadh, Jeddah, and Al Khobar from January 9 to Jan 13. In all the sites visited, they followed the following program:

- briefing by officials of the Philippine Embassy, Consulate General, and Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO);

- dialogues with distressed female OFWs in shelters operated by the Philipine government (also known as “Filipino Workers’ Resource Centers” or FWRCs);

- visits to areas where OFWs congregate in large numbers in order to interview them at random; and

- mass meetings with the Filipino community.

Efforts were made before the arrival of the mission to secure permission from Saudi authorities to visit Filipinos in detention in the three cities but this was not granted. However, members of the team met with a key Saudi official handling one of the high-profile death penalty cases.

Findings of the Mission

What were the key findings of the mission?

First of all, the situation of Filipino domestic workers or household service workers is dire, with overwork, maltreatment, and non-payment of wages very common.

Second, rape and sexual abuse are endemic, a condition that members of the team felt was related to the sexual segregation followed in Saudi society, a tradition of treating domestic servants as slaves, and the strict subordination of women to men. The sense of the team is that the causes are not religious in nature but are rooted in social organization.

Third, a great many OFWs are swindled, with them signing contracts with a recruitment agency stipulating at least $400 monthly as pay, only to be confronted with a substitute contract upon leaving the Philippines or upon arrival in Saudi Arabia specifying a significantly lesser amount.

Fourth, there was no enthusiasm for the mandatory insurance stipulated by RA 10022, with some OFWs proposing junking it and others making constructive suggestions for amending the provision.

Filipinos in Detention

As noted earlier, a special concern of the mission was the situation of Filipinos in detention, particularly those on death row. Although the Saudi authorities did not grant the team permission to visit those detained, Rep. Bello and Rep. Paez were able to meet with the head of the Peace and Reconciliation Committee, Sheik Ahmad Al Othonen, to intercede in behalf of Dondon Celestino Lanuza, who has now spent over ten years in jail for taking the life of a Saudi national that, he claims, tried to sodomize him. From that meeting emerged news of a positive development: the father of the other party is now more open to talking about a settlement whereas he was previously against it. According to the Sharia Law that governs Saudi Arabia, Lanuza can escape the death penalty and be released if he is forgiven by the closest kin of the victim in return for a monetary settlement (blood money or tanazul).

There is no doubt that DFA personnel actively monitor developments in the death row cases and make active representation for the OFWs involved. Saudi lawyers are engaged, Saudi authorities are lobbied, efforts are made to negotiate monetary settlements with the kin of the victims, whether these relatives are located in Saudi Arabia or, in cases where Filipinos are accused of killing other Filipinos, in the Philippines. The pace of the justice system, however, is not within the control of DFA officials, and, as in the case of Lanuza and several others, little progress can be made when relatives are dead-set against a monetary settlement.

While the mission can say that the DFA is actively engaged with death penalty cases, it is less certain about its engagement with the non-death row cases, such as “immorality,” a criminal charge levied on unmarried couples seen in each other’s company. Some OFW’s claim that the DFA focuses its work and financial resources mainly on the death penalty cases.

Crimes against Filipinos

The mission was also concerned with the unresolved deaths of Filipino nationals reported in the press. Some mission members were perturbed that DFA personnel did not seem to be updated on the cases. Developments in eight cases for which information was requested was not immediately available from them, and the information provided on two cases was limited to the cause of death as determined by autopsies of the victims

More energetic follow-up work of reports of murdered Filipinos, including interviews of people who knew them, appears to be in order.

Performance of Philippine Government Officials

A more detailed assessment of Philippine government officials on the ground in Saudi Arabia will be provided in the full report. While there are valid complaints regarding the delivery of services, the chair notes that the interaction with key members of the Embassy, Consulate General, and POLO revealed them to be solid, dedicated professionals, trying their best with the limited resources available to them.

Special mention must be made of the vital but unsung role played by Philippine Overseas Labor Offices. These teams are severely understaffed, yet their rescue teams have liberated scores of Filipinas from oppressive employers who have often locked them up. The rescue missions are sometimes dangerous; in one instance, a team had to rescue a Filipina from a remote tribal area where they were met and threatened with tribesmen bearing rifles. The missions are also often carried out with minimum knowledge of the location of the victims who cannot give clear directions because they are not familiar with the neighborhoods in which they are located. In some cases, high tech electronic assistance to pinpoint the location of the victims by tracing their cell phone signals is provided by Filipinos working in Saudi telecommunications companies.

Preliminary Recommendations

The preliminary recommendations of the chairman of the COWA to the Philippine government are the following:

a) Decertify Saudi Arabia as a country fit to receive domestic workers in accordance with Section 3 of Republic Act 10022, which states that “the Department of Foreign Affairs, through its foreign posts, shall issue a certification to the POEA, specifying therein the pertinent provisions of the receiving country’s labor/social law, or the convention/declaration/resolution or the bilateral agreement/arrangement which protect the rights of migrant workers.”

b) Urgently press the Saudi government to negotiate a bilateral labor agreement with the Philippine government that would secure respect and iron-clad protection for the rights of all classes of Filipino overseas workers. This recommendation of the earlier mission to Saudi Arabia consisting of Reps. Rufus Rodriguez, Luz Ilagan, and Carlos Padilla is one that our mission strongly reiterates.

c) Coordinate with other labor-sending countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India to gain leverage vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia in order to secure respect for overseas workers’ rights.

d) Urge members of Congress to work with LGUs in launching information campaigns to dissuade people from going to Saudi to engage in domestic work and related occupations such as “washers” and “beauticians.”

e) Prosecute recruitment agencies that have a record of deploying domestic workers to households and establishments that maltreat workers.

f) Prosecute recruitment agencies that are party to substitute contracting and similar activities under the Anti-Trafficking Act.

g) Ensure that the budget for Assistance to Nationals and the Legal Assistance Fund is not reduced and, if possible, that increased.

h) Increase efforts to secure the release of death row victims as well as other nationals currently detained in Saudi jails on various charges.

2011-01-27T09:51:00.002+08:00

These were the impressions gathered by Rep. Walden Bello, whose team Ellene joined:

Sexual Prey in the Saudi Jungle
By Walden Bello
INQUIRER.net

He was an officer in the Saudi Royal Navy assigned to the strategic Saudi base of Jubail in the Persian Gulf. She was a single mom from Mindanao who saw, like so many others, employment in Saudi Arabia as a route out of poverty. When he picked her up at the Dammam International Airport in June, little did she know she was entering, not a brighter chapter of her life but a chamber of horrors from which she would be liberated only after six long months.

The tale of woe recounted by Lorena (not her real name) was one of several stories of rape and sexual abuse that were shared by domestic workers with members of a fact-finding team of the Committee on Overseas Workers’ Affairs (COWA) of the House of Representatives.

more in The Philippine Daily Inquirer

2011-01-21T14:55:00.001+08:00

Ellene

My friend the fearless NGO worker Ellene Sana was afraid in Saudi Arabia. Now that says a lot about the place where women are still not allowed to mingle freely with men, not even with their in-laws. Where they enter houses, restaurants and even public buses through a separate entrance.

Ellene is no ordinary NGO worker either. She once rallied with the East Timorese for their independence, in Indonesia no less. She once danced to Burmese policemen out of boredom when she was being held in Burma’s military detention center. Ellene survived countless nights listening to the most boring congressman drone on before the absentee voting bill was passed. She survived a weeklong stay in Greece with only $10 in her pocket!

But the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was different.

When she signed on with Rep. Walden Bello, head of the Committee on Overseas Worker Affairs (COWA), as consultant for a visit to Saudi Arabia, she had no idea she would see first hand the hardships overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) face in that alien land.

Ellene now understands why Filipina domestic helpers get jailed for just looking at colleagues of the opposite sex while throwing the garbage or walking the dog. She now understands how hard it is for them to cry out for help when they are kept locked up behind high walls and iron gates, with almost no access to the outside world much less to the Philippine embassy or consulate. She especially deplored the fact that if the girl or woman in question is able to get past the high walls and iron gates, she has to deal with taxi drivers who usually turn out to be rapists themselves, or kidnap the woman to keep as a sex slave whose services he sells to others.

Before the start of the COWA’s trip last week, Ellene was far from afraid. After all, many of the community leaders in Saudi Arabia were her friends. Some had even offered to show her around the kingdom and put her up. But then, travel is prohibitive there for women, and not just cost wise. She almost did not get a visa to enter the Kingdom simply because she was not travelling with a spouse or a family member.

As a result, Ellene left several days after the actual delegation. It was a good thing she was fetched by a consular official at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Riyadh not only because of the general discrimination towards women but also because she arrived in the early morning hours.

However, because Ellene was separated from the delegation, she was not present when the Kingdom’s OFWs aired their grievances to the delegation in a meeting at the embassy premises – minus the women of course. A report in a local newspaper said that although the delegation did not make promises, it took note of the grievances relayed by the OFWs.

“We have come to the Kingdom in high spirits. The government is enjoying an 80 percent rating, which means high confidence from the people. There’s a sense that reforms will be achieved and Congress is determined to help in coming up with a new era for Filipinos," Bello said.

Bello said his group would present a report to the Congress on the results of their mission in KSA. “When we get back to the Philippines, we’ll make a frank and unvarnished report," he said. The dialogue revolved around the establishment of workers cooperatives in KSA, bilateral agreements between the Philippines and KSA on labor protection, repatriation of undocumented OFWs, setting up of an OFW hospital, and representation of OFWs in Congress.

Bello’s mission aimed to address the concerns and issues affecting the country’s estimated 1.4 million OFWs. With him were Reps. Cresente Paez (Coop-NATCO Party-List), Emmeline Aglipay (DIWA Party-List), and Maria Apsay (District 1, Compostela Valley Province).

They were all welcomed to the Kingdom by Philippine Charge d’Affaires Ezzedin Tago, key embassy officials, and Filipino community leaders. Tago was temporary head of the embassy because no Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia has yet been named by President Benigno “Pnoy” Aquino III. Those present at the meeting were Third Secretary and Vice Consul Roussel Reyes, Administrative Officer Arimao Cotawato, Labor Attaché Adam Musa and Welfare Officer Cesar Chavez of the POLO-Central Region, Cultural Attaché Rose Malicse and Attaché Sheila Solas.

The delegation left for Jeddah on Tuesday and Alkhobar on Wednesday, after which they returned to the Philippines. Despite being afraid of the repressive environment, Ellene stayed behind and continued to meet with the OFWs there.

Thanks to Ellene for the photo :)

2010-07-10T11:54:00.003+08:00

KA EDONG

Journalists are better writers rather than speakers. No wonder during the wake of Eddie “Ka Edong” del Rosario and the OFW tribute to him last July 7, I said a bare minimum of two sentences. But I wanted to say more, for Ka Edong actually first came into my life during the turn of the century, sometime in late 2000, when I was covering the migrant sector for Arab News in Saudi Arabia.

I remember first trudging the path to his old office in Bohol Avenue – “yung malapit sa ABS-CBN” he told me then – for my first interview with him. It was him who introduced me to Ellene Sana and Noel Esquela and Rob Ceralvo and the other overseas absentee voting advocates. So in essence Ka Edong brought me into the lobby.

My involvement with him made me realize many of the gripes overseas Filipinos had about their motherland, in particular about their lack of voting rights. It was no wonder that from a mere journalist on the beat, I became one of the advocates. I accompanied him and the group through endless courtesy calls to legislators who signed the Overseas Absentee Voting Bill. I listened with them to endless privilege speeches at the House of Representatives and at the Senate.

He was always the joker during those coffee sessions among the advocates, the favorite “tambayan” being Starbucks because of the smoking area. He would even eclipse then Sen. Nene Pimentel and sometimes then Rep. Jesli Lapus during dinners and lunches for the Overseas Filipinos.

With Ka Edong I drank endless cups of coffee at Figaro Coffee Shop at the CCP Complex waiting for the Bicameral Conference Committee on the Overseas Absentee Voting Bill to come up with a consolidated version for the President’s signature. The bicams were held at the nearby Department of Foreign Affairs and our group would hungrily wait for news from several insiders in the bicams.

Finally, I witnessed the signing of the bill into law in Malacañang on Feb. 13, 2003. Ka Edong was a pivotal member of the International Coalition for Overseas Filipino Voting Rights (ICOFVR) that labored for the bill and saw its passage.

And because of him I was too.

2009-02-12T17:50:00.002+08:00

Broken families will be a thing of the past with the help of Microsoft’s Tulay program, Lilybeth Doronio, who because of Tulay now communicates with her overseas worker husband five times a day.

Lilybeth has been married more than 20 years and she and her husband, an engineer at a power plant in Vietnam, used to make do with talking to each other thrice a week using his mobile phone.

She can’t believe her savings now because with her knowledge of Skype and Facebook, they are now able to communicate three to five times a day. All these thanks to Microsoft’s Tulay training center where she was able to get free computer literacy courses.

“He would chat with me in the morning before he leaves for work. Then we find the time to chat during his lunch break. At night, we use Skype so we could talk sometimes until the wee hours of the morning.”

She has three children, two boys and a girl but she still hopes to join her husband in Vietnam someday.

Like Lilybeth, another unexpected Tulay almnus is 80 year old Buhay Tan, a great grandmother seven times over.

Buhay has nine children, all of whom are now professionals. Four of them are abroad and badly wanted to be able to communicate with her. Buhay said two of her sons are in Saudi Arabia, and two of her daughters work as nurses, one in London and the other in California.

Tulay’s trainor in Davao, Wadi Mutia, now considers Buhay as a star pupil. He said his student now knows Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and MS Publisher. She is also into social networking tools like Facebook.

For more, read http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/02/11/09/it-literacy-program-graduate-grandma

2009-02-10T15:55:00.002+08:00

A group of Saudi Arabia based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) wrote me an email providing me a copy of a letter to senate President Juan Ponce Enrile asking him to create an oversight committee to supervise the disbursement of the Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund (ELSF).

The P1 billion ELSF was proposed by President Gloria Arroyo to provide financial assistance to OFWs who lost their jobs abroad as a result of the global financial crisis. Funds would be sourced from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), she said during her visit to the kingdom last week.

“Since the OWWA fund comes from our $25.00 biennial contributions, which is held in trust by the government, it is both our right and responsibility to ensure the Fund, our fund, is only used for the benefit of our member-owners and our families,” the OFWs said.

Francis Oca, VP, PPP (Partidong Pangdaigdigang Pilipino – Riyadh) said “while we do not question the intention by which the ELSF was created, we want to be sure that adequate safeguards are in place so that this Program does not end up like the Smokey Mountain project.”

Lastly they asked that the fund is used only to assist retrenched OFWs and their families and that measures be put in place to ensure the recovery of the funds disbursed.

2009-02-02T23:39:00.001+08:00

By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS

Overseas workers in Saudi Arabia are complaining about the inconvenient schedule for the registration of overseas absentee voters there.

Francis Oca, long-time advocate of overseas absentee voting (OAV) said in a letter to Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia Antonio Villamor that "the announced schedule/timing of the registration is not conducive to attaining the DFA/COMELEC's goal of registering at least a million OFW voters for the 2010 election."

The Philippine embassy earlier announced that registrants would be entertained from 8 am to 4 pm, Saturday till Wednesday. This would mean there would be no registration on Thursday and Friday, the heaviest days during the past two registrations since the weekend in Saudi Arabia falls on these days.

"Parang hindi tama na Saturdays to Wednesdays. Pano naman yung mga 7am to 4pm ang work, ang time lang e Thursday and Friday?" Oca said.

OFW Roberto Pardinas added "oo nga, mahirap masunod ang ganitong schedule kailangan pa lumiban sa trabaho."

The head of the United OFW, Eli Mua said "parang joke-jok lang itong gingawa nila sa OFWs. Those schedules are meant to discredit and downgrade this registration. It is meant to discourage the OFWs from registering; they seem not to help the thousands; just pleasing the few."

"Hindi puwede mag-absent ang OFW at hindi nag-bibigay ng special leave ang mga companya dito. Wala silang paki-alam sa registration natin; ang mga managers na ibang lahi would not give a a minute for our own OAV - Thursday and Friday lang makakarehistro ang 90 % sa mga OFWs. Magagalit naman tayo dito kung ganyan naman na walang walang considerasyon sa atin," Mua said.

Returnees still in CLOAV

OFWs have even more complaints about the proposed conduct for absentee voting. There are still a lot of cases in the certified list of overseas absentee voters (CLOAV) of misspelled names and overseas workers who had transferred to other countries.

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) hopes to correct this during the registration period, which officially started Feb. 1 and will last for seven months until Aug. 31, 2009. During this period, all overseas Filipinos wanting to cast their ballots in the presidential elections in 2010 can sign up at Philippine embassies and consulates abroad.

Hopefully, the outcome this time will be better because the COMELEC has been through two previous registrations for OAV.

For the initial registration in 2003 (for the May 2004 elections), there were 361,457 registrants compared to 142,665 during the registration in 2006 (for the 2007 polls).

The COMELEC attributed the reduction in registrants to the fact that the 2007 polls were merely mid-term elections. They said the 2004 polls were presidential elections thus generating much more interest.

They overlooked the fact that some of the obstacles already present in 2003 were never corrected.

Obstacles

The Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA-OAVS), formerly lead agency in the implementation of OAV said overseas Filipinos usually fail to comply with registration requirements because of distance (from the nearest embassy or consulate), nature of work, and employer's restrictions.

In many cases, the OAVS said overseas Filipinos are geographically dispersed and work or reside in areas far from the designated registration centers – the embassies and consulates. Unfortunately, the DFA-OAVS said there are only 87 facilities (81 Posts, 3 POLOs and 3 MECOs) which serve as voting centers.

For this reason, the embassies have partnered with employers of large numbers of Filipinos to either bus the employees to a registration site or conduct field registrations.

Community involvement in Saudi Arabia

Nevertheless, the numbers have not been good. Probably why this time around, one group is not taking any chances.

The Partidong Pangdaigdigang Pilipino, whose main aim is to get at least one overseas Filipino worker into congress in 2010, is partnering with the embassy in Riyadh to conduct voter information and education campaigns there. The biggest concentration of OFWs is in Saudi Arabia, which also happens to be the number one destination of OFWs.

Rudy Dianalan, president of the Jeddah chapter of PPP said "we have brainstormed the theme and one of those brought up also involved 3 P's: Pagrehistro, Pagboto, Pagbabago."

He said they plan to revive camp visits, lectures at various work sites since "this
helped generate the bulk of Jeddah's 33,000 registrations and 16,000
voters in 2004." In the 2007 elections where the community had not
been involved, there were only 3,000 additional registrants and just
6,000 votes cast.

Similar campaigns are being waged elsewhere and they all involve community involvement.

Different agenda
Here in Manila, OAV advocates are continuing to push for amendments to the overseas absentee voting bill.

Ellene Sana, Executive Director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy, said the amendments in question will scrap the affidavit of intent to return which has been required of Filipino immigrants abroad. This has also proven a deterrent to Filipinos overseas, particularly to green card holders in the US who fear that their residency will be affected by executing this affidavit.

This requirement was included in the law to keep the overseas Filipino "connected" to the Philippines.

That's not all, though.

Longer registration period

Sana said her group and other civil society groups as well are lobbying for a longer registration period for overseas absentee voters. They are protesting its drastic cut from ten to seven months. From the original Dec. 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009, the registration period has been shortened from February 1 to August 31, 2009.

"I do not understand why the period for continuing registration of local voters is one year while that for overseas absentee voting is only seven months," Sana complained.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator of Migrante International, earlier said that shortening the duration of the OAV registration to seven months is unreasonable, unjust and unconstitutional.

Preparations
But Nicodemo Ferrer, COMELEC Commissioner in charge of OAV said the time span is enough. Preparations for the 2009 registration began as early as April 2008 when consultations were held with non-governmental organizations, the DFA-OAVSand the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO).

Ferrer then proposed a "massive information dissemination campaign" for the 2010 elections. Filipinos overseas will be allowed to vote for the president, vice-president, senators and party-list representative.

His fellow commissioner, Rene Sarmiento said a lot of the former registrants will be removed from the voters' lists because the ruling is if an overseas absentee voter fails to cast his ballot for two consecutive elections, he will have to re-enlist. Since the first registration in 2003, many OFWs have transferred residences and/or ended their contracts and have returned to the Philippines.

This year, the COMELEC is expecting at least a million registrants.

Former DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said they are targeting one million absentee voters to register for the coming elections. In preparation for this, COMELEC officials in Manila even visited consular posts abroad to train foreign affairs personnel on the process of registering overseas Filipinos.

2009-01-13T13:24:00.001+08:00

After three years, UST journalism professor and migrant advocate Jeremaiah Opiniano and the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) has managed to come up with the .Philippine Migration and Development Statistical Almanac by monitoring, compiling, and eventually harmonizing statistics on Filipinos’ international migration.

But more than merely a compendium of figures on migrants, my friend Jeremaiah said the Almanac is also a fitting tribute to the hardworking women and men within the government—from both statistical and non-statistical agencies—who have dutifully encoded and compiled raw and processed data surrounding overseas Filipinos.

He said the Migration and Development Statistical Almanac attempts to present data from administrative sources, as well as data from surveys and other selected quantitative studies, on Filipinos’ international migration and development. The data fleshes out the positive and negative consequences surrounding the overseas migration phenomenon to both the Philippines and to the countries where Filipinos go to.

In his introduction on http://almanac.ofwphilanthropy.org, Jeremaiah said the Almanac does not aim to immediately make sense of the various data it presents but rather presents these datasets, regardless of where the data came from and the variances of such data.

Thus, some interesting facts which can be culled from this Statistical Almanac:
• There are 239 countries identified to have Filipinos. Some 209 of these countries are members of the United Nations, while 30 others are non-members (including islands and territories unfamiliar to many of us). Filipinos go to these countries as temporary migrants (or more renowned as “overseas Filipino workers”), permanent migrants, and undocumented or irregular migrants;
• Temporary migrants from the Philippines, says various datasets, can either have males or females as the leading group by gender based on annual data releases. But the permanent migration (that includes marriage migrants who have married foreign partners) is predominantly female. Filipino seafarers are a visible group in terms of number;
• Regions located in Luzon island —the National Capital Region, Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon, and the Ilocos Region— have consistently emerged as the top origin areas of temporary and permanent overseas migrants, as well as the hubs of many households receiving assistance from abroad;
• Overseas workers have the Middle East and Asia as the leading regions of destination for temporary migrants, whereas North America is the leading region of destination for permanent migrants. The Philippines-Saudi Arabia corridor is the biggest migration corridor for temporary migrants, while the Philippines-United States migration corridor is the biggest for permanent migrants;
• The Philippines, from 1975 to 2007, has received over-US$120 billion in cash remittances —all passing through the formal banking system. And in an initial attempt to estimate remittances plowing into each and every Philippine province, triennial estimates show that families receiving assistance from migrants abroad got PhP208.848 billion in 2000 (covering 1.107 million migrant households), PhP245.856 billion in 2003 (1.31 million households), and PhP348.524 billion in 2006 (1.601 million households);
• Males have more total and average remittances yearly than females; and
• Comparisons between estimated remittances during the year 2003 and the audited gross incomes of provincial governments show that remittances of migrant households are more than the total local government incomes in 55 of 79 provinces.
According to Jeremaiah, this was not solely his work but the work of a core group composed of representatives from the Institute for Migration and Development Issues, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and the University of Santo Tomas - Social Research Center (SRC).

2009-01-08T18:06:00.004+08:00

Let us give credit to Labor Attaché Des Dicang who promptly responded to a story written about the late OFW Elvis Laverinto by Harris Julo, the Isabela correspondent of ABS-CBN Regional Network Group. (see http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/01/06/09/kin-appeals-govt-bring-back-ofws-remains-ksa)

Laverinto’s family in Isabela called on President Arroyo to repatriate his remains and Dicang said in a letter to Filipino community member Joseph Espiritu that “our office has earlier coordinated with his sponsor, Mr. Al-Dossary, who now is processing the necessary documents for the repatriation of our kababayan with the concerned authorities and with our Embassy in Riyadh.”

And this immediately after New Year when everybody was still hungover from the long holiday.

Unfortunately, Dicang said Laverinto held a visa of a family driver and thus was not entitled to GOSI claims. However, “Dicang may be entitled to blood money claims” and this could be used for repatriating his remains.

We now have to see if this letter will have some effect as repatriation of remains from Saudi Arabia usually takes months.

His wife, Janneth, said her husband was pinned to death under a vehicle he was overhauling. The jack was allegedly detached causing the entire weight of the vehicle to crash down on the victim.

The 41-year-old victim of Barangay Villapaz, Naguillan, Isabela used to be a chief mechanic at Cauayan City.

His family learned of his sad passing last November 15, 2008.

2009-01-05T17:14:00.000+08:00

This was sent to me Dec. 24, 2008, hours after it happened I understand.

Red tape is red tape. Most of us deal with it and fume in silence. Sometimes, though, it becomes outrageous. Like this instance told to me by my friend Noli Benavent who accompanied our PPP-Central member and a volunteer of OFCI/Anita's Kitchen Self-Help Feeding Project, Ma.Tina (last name withheld) to claim the $100 remittance of her friend as a Christmas gift to her and her kids.

The money would have been the family’s meager Noche Buena plus some gifts for the two (2) young kids which Ma. Tina went to get at eBiz Western Union Farmer's Cubao branch last Dec. 24, 2008.

Noli was with her and witnessed the Western Union lady teller claiming that her first names (Ma.Tina) did not match the first name in their system which is Matina even though her last name, claim number, and the name of the sender were correct.

Ma.Tina even presented to the teller her identification, an NBI Clearance, showing her name as Ma Tina (with a space and a missing dot) which can also be interpreted at first glance as one word, MaTina.

After pointing this seemingly minor error, the teller insisted that the name Matina was different from Ma.Tina as claimed by our PPP-Central member. Ma.Tina said that her friend has been sending her money before (not just once) and she had never experienced such refusal to pay her remittance.

Ma.Tina explained to the teller that her friend (who's an American serviceman) is not accustomed to writing initials such as Ma. which he often writes as Ma Tina and is often misinterpreted by encoders from the Western Union sending office commiting the error of typing her name Ma Tina (or Ma.Tina) as one word, Matina.

Nonetheless, the teller told Ma.Tina that the remittance cannot be released for another reason 'coz the address of the sender does not match what's in the system. Ma.Tina wrote the known address of her friend as an APO Box No. and since her friend (the American serviceman) at that time sent the remittance from Afghanistan (where he is currently stationed) and paid for by his credit card issued in the U.S. mainland, the address in the Western Union system may have registered the address of the sender either from credit card's origin (USA) or sending country (Afghanistan).

How would Ma.Tina know what's inputted in the system when the address she often writes in the claim form (which she doesn't had any problems before) is the APO Box Number of her friend.

Having explained this, the teller still refuses to release the funds and insisted that Ma.Tina contacted the sender and have him change the errors in the Western Union's sending country's system.
We went out of the branch so Ma.Tina could load up her mobile phone and send her friend three (3) SMS, each costing her P15, explaining to her friend what happened.

Her friend called Ma.Tina four (4) times (everytime cursing the incompetence of the receiving Western Union branch) to let her know that the Western Union sending office in his base camp in Afghanistan stated that the transaction is valid and can be withdrawn anywhere here in the Philippines.

When we got back to the eBiz Western Union branch to let the teller knows about this, the branch wouldn't accept customers coming in because it was already closing time.

Noli said “I would have shouted invectives to the branch and created a commotion but I hesitated in doing so 'coz it's Christmas.”

He went on: “I'm still fuming mad as I'm writing this now (even as I have cooled down after this incident happened earlier). I couldn't believe that a needy mother (who's a regular Western Union customer) would be refused payment of her remittance at a time like this when she needs to send the money for a decent Noche Buena in her home and gifts for her kids in Surigao City as she will be alone here in Manila away from them. What a bleak Christmas for Ma.Tina and her young kids.”

2008-11-28T11:57:00.001+08:00

PNB Remittance Company Canada
serves the Filipino community

By Jojo Taduran

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - It is the pride of every Filipino in Canada by sending their hard-earned money
to their love ones in the Philippines through the PNB Remittance Company
Canada (PNBRCC).

A subsidiary of the Philippine National Bank which is one of the biggest banks
in the Philippines, the PNB Remittance Company Canada is the Philippines' flag
carrier like the Philippine Air Lines (PAL).

In fact in Toronto alone PNBRCC is always in the forefront supporting the different
activities of the Filipino community including the orientation of new immigrants in
coordination with the Philippine Consulate General's Office headed by Consul General
Alejandro B. Mosquera and other Fiipino community organizations not only in Toronto
but other parts of Canada.

The PNB Remittance Company Canada is contributing to the economy of the Philippines
considering that all its' remittance passed through the Central Bank of the Philippines thus
strengthening the country's foreign reserves,

Jun Miranda is Canada's regional head of the PNBRCC with main office is located at
103 - 90 Dundas St. West, Mississauga, Ontario, Ontario L5B 2T5, Tel. 905 - 896-4840,
Toll Free 1 - 886 - 8806, Fax: 905 - 896 9338, Email: info@pnbrcc.com.

The PNB Remittance Company's branches and their supervisors including the locations
are as follows:

1) Scarborough with Lyssa Borabon as the branch supervisors, 3430 Sheppard Avenue East,
Scarborough, Ontario, M1T 3K4, Tel. 416 - 293 - 5696, 416 - 293 - 8758, and 416 - 293 - 5438,
Fax: 416 - 293 - 7376, Emails: sacarborough@pnbrcc.com and lborabon@pnbrcc.com;

2) Toronto with Mercy Grace Letrondo as the branch supervisor, 545 Sherbourne St., Unit 3, G/F, Toronto, Ontario M4X 1W5, Tel. 416 - 960 - 9231 and 416 - 960 - 9833, Fax: 416 - 960 - 8688, Emails: sherbourne@pnbrcc.com and gletrondo@pnbrcc.com;

3) Eglinton with Roland Romeral as branch supervisor, 875 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario M6C 3Z9, Tel. 416 - 960 - 8488 and 416 - 782 - 5525, Fax: 416 - 784 - 5155, Emails: eglinton@pnbrcc.com and rromeral@pnbrcc.com;

4) Mississauga with Vicente Madamba as the branch supervisor, 90 Dundas Street West, Unit 103, Mississauga, Ontario L5*0, Fax: 905 - 896 - 9338, Emails: mississauga@pnbrcc.com and vmadamba@pnbrcc.com;

5) Vancouver with Lucille Ardinazo as the branch supervisor, 101 - 1245 West Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 1G7, Tel. 604 - 737 - 4944, Fax: 604 - 737 - 4948, Emails: vancouver@pnbrcc.com and lardinazo@pnbrcc.com;

6) Winnipeg with Allan Rafal as the branch supervisor, 737 Keewatin St. Unit 7, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B9, Tel. 204 - 697 - 8860, Fax: 204 - 697 -8865, Emails: winnipeg@pnbrcc.com and arafal@pnbrcc.

The PNB Remittance Company Canada is now providing freight forwarding services for boxes bound for the Philippines under the PNB Cargo services aside from the money transfer or remittance.

In the meantime, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) and the Allied Bank are now working for their merging to become one of the biggest banks in the Philippines to take effect on the first month of 2009.

2008-11-20T14:04:00.006+08:00

Servants in the Nest of a Foreigner

Overseas Filipino workers occupy their free time with a variety of activities, bowling, basketball, cards, hanging out with friends, karaoke, all designed to make them forget that they are in a foreign land and far away from their homes and families.

Anna Maria Zenaida Sundiang Magno, however, did something else.

Zenaida filled her days with words, sentences, adjectives, verbs and idioms.

She took her experiences as a maid for a Kuwaiti family and wove it into a compelling story of a girl forced into overseas work by her family’s need added to her personal circumstances.

After more than two decades of overseas work, Zenaida produced a book, “Katulong sa Pugad ng Dayuhan” which detailed the life of Maria Dolores, both before she succumbed to overseas employment and during her stint abroad.

In the book, Zenaida also told of how Maria Dolores fared when Kuwait was invaded by the Iraqis during the first Gulf War, how she was betrayed by a compatriot who befriended her during the war, and her eventual homecoming.

Zenaida filled her life writing and incorporating into her story her life as a domestic helper, and the lives of her fellow OFWs in Kuwait.

With the help of Sheika Bibi Nasser Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Zenaida’s book was eventually published in Kuwait and later even translated into English and entitled "Servants in the Nest of a Foreigner."

Zenaida is now in charge of the Chevron Company’s guesthouse in Kuwait and is working on upgrading her computer skills through self-study.

2008-11-18T07:42:00.006+08:00

Buhay OFW magazine

After several months, Buhay OFW magazine was finally launched on the afternoon of Nov. 17 by Toots Ople and her horde of supporters. The new magazine features stories of OFWs and several columns, one of them by no less than Labor Secretary Marianito Roque.

"(The magazine) celebrates the life of an overseas Filipino while paying tribute to the families they have left behind," Toots writes about Buhay OFW magazine.

Buhay OFW's maiden issue revolves around employment in Canada, including tips and heartening stories of OFWs there. Thus the first article is aptly about "Buhay Canada" and calls Canada "The new destination point of Filipino workers."

To make it more acceptable to other OFWs, there are also stories of OFWs from different parts of the world including one from Greece and another from Israel and even one of the bleak Christmas of an OFW in Jordan.

Buhay OFW also has positive stories -- success stories of OFWs who made good like Crisanta Sampang who was a domestic helper in Hong Kong but is now also a book author, having written about the quirks of being a maid in Singapore and other funny and absurd situations of OFW life.

The centerpiece article, however, is one on Blas Ople, who is aptly called the Father of OFWs and who said before his untimely death that his lasting legacy to the nation was overseas employment, mostly because the overseas employment program fluorished under his 18 year rule as Labor Secretary.

The magazine is certainly a good read for overseas workers everywhere. It should be interesting to all OFWs and not just those from Canada. The next issue, out January 15, 2009, will center on OFWs in the Middle East -- another good topic!

Buhay OFW is available at all branches of National Bookstore.

2008-11-10T10:36:00.003+08:00

The CFO's Presidential Awardees

I hear congratulations are in order for the winners of the Commission on Filipinos’ Overseas’ presidential awards usually given out in December, which rightfully is the overseas Filipinos month. There are many events and activities next month all geared toward overseas Filipinos, many of whom return to the country to spend Christmas with their families.

The awardees this year include Ka Alex Asuncion of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, whose name is quite prominent as an advocate for the welfare of his fellow overseas Filipinos.

According to CMA Executive Director Ellene Sana, Ka Alex is one of the Saudi Arabia based supporters of OFW-SOS-SMS, a text based SOS system developed by OFWs for OFWs.

In an e-mail, the colleagues of Ka Alex say “Kaming mga OFW dito sa Gitnang Silangan, lalo na dito sa Saudi Arabia ay lubos na nagagalak na isa sa aming kasamahan ay naparangalan nanaman bilang Presidental Awardee. Tunay na ang mabuting gawa ay dapat lang na ma recognize at mabigyan karampatang pagpapahalaga. Ako ay natutuwa at ang mag tulong na iyong ginagawa sa iyong mga kababayan na nandito ngayon sa Saudi Arabia at Gitnang Silangan ay pinahalagahan ng ating Presidente.”

OFW Rey Orbon in Riyadh adds “ang recognition o award na ito ay hindi lang sa individual na mga taong ito kundi ito ay para din sa mga kababayan natin na tahimik na gumagawa ng kanilang makakaya para lang makatulong sa mga libo-libo nating mag kababayan na nangangailangan ng tulong. Marami ang mga taong ito na nakilala ko na na tahimik lang na gumagalaw sa ngalan ng pagtulong sa kapwa OFW na hindi pinalad sa kanilang mga trabaho dito. Mga kapwa natin OFW na kasalukuyang nakapiit ngayon sa mga kulungan dito sa Saudi Arabia. “

“Alam ko na may mga individual o grupo na gumagalaw at dinadalaw at inaalam ang kanilang mga kalagayan. Sa mag taong ito, who are unsung heroes, please go on with what you are doing now. The mighty one from above for sure is seeing ang knows what you are doing!” Rey writes.

Ellen says another awardee is Ms. Esperanza Derpo, chair of the Philippine Barangay Society of Nigeria (PBSN). Ellene says her group is a recent addition to the CMA’s global family.

“The citation and recognition of the PBSN through their chair Ms. Derpo is big boost to the Filipinos in Nigeria,” Ellene says. She explains that one of their main advocacies right now is the lifting of the travel ban to Nigeria.

The CFO say in their press release that Esperanza is an engineer by profession who works at the British High Commission (Consulate) office in Victoria Island, Lagos. She is now on her 4th consecutive year of leading the Filipino community in Lagos, Nigeria as the chairperson of the PBSN.

PBSN has become the the unofficial Philippine representative to international events in Lagos, such as the annual Small World Event, an international cultural show counting 27 countries, including the Philippines, as regular participants. PBSN is also known for its charity works both in Nigeria and in Philippines, and for extending assistance to distressed OFWs in Nigeria, in coordination with the
embassy.

Through her chairmanship, the PBSN was able to acquire a permanent office which serves as its clubhouse and barangay office, located at the Caverton Helicopter Staff Compound in Ikeja, Lagos.

The PBSN was founded in 1973 to formalize an already existing organization of Filipinos residing in Nigeria. Its foundations lay on the ideals of uniting Filipinos all over the country in the spirit of nationalism and friendship, while fulfilling a social responsibility to the host nation, Nigeria.

Esperanza was endorsed by the Philippine Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria under
Ambassador Masaranga Umpa.

Ellene relates that when PBSN member Ms. Vangie Novio was here recently, CMA accompanied her in her lobby work with the government agencies to lift the travel ban to Nigeria.

Ellene says she met with Mr. Cinco from the office of VP “para ipaabot ang kanilang apela” and briefly with then Senate President Manuel Villar. CMA at that time conveyed the same concerns to the DFA-OUMWA Undersecretary Esteban Conejos and OUMWA Exec. Director Relacion.

“We need to follow up on this appeal of Filipinos in Nigeria. Magiging lubos ang kasayahan at selebrasyon ng mga Pinoy sa Nigeria kung ma-li-lift ang travel ban sa Nigeria. Otherwise, baka kaya hindi maka-uwi si Ms. Derpo kasi hindi na sya makakabalik sa Nigeria dahil sa travel ban,” Ellene says.

She adds that CMA is also happy that one of their partner NGOs in Holland, Stichting Kapatiran has also been included among the awardees.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will personally hand-out the awards in a special ceremony tentatively set on December 9, 2008 at the Malacanang Palace.

The rest of the Presidential awardees are:

Linkapil Awardees: Association of Philippine Physicians of America, New York; Enverga, Tobias Jr., Toronto; Filipino Women's Association UK, London.

Kaanib ng Bayan Awardees: Catholic Medical Mission Board, New York; Children's Chance CT, New York; Heetens Helpgood Center Philippines, The Hague; Ligier, Laurence, Paris.

Banaag Awardees: Berberabe, Patricia, New York; Carandang, Angeles, Chicago; Casambre Sr., Mary Aida, Hongkong; Filipino Korean Spouses Association, Seoul; Garcia, Lamberto, New York; Ho, Eleanor, Taiwan; Magdalena, Joseph, Riyadh; Muzones, Santiago Jr., New York; Noblejas, Dr. Antonio, Wellington; Overs, Lilian, Toronto; Philippine Community Council of New South Wales, Sydney; Philippine Nurses Association of America, New York; Philipsen, Adelina, The Hague; United Filipino Council of Hawaii, Honolulu.

Pamana ng Pilipino: Besa, Amelita and Dorotan, Romeo, New York; De Leon, Bayani, New York; Esguerra, Carlos, New York; Hizon, Federico, Singapore; Pelayo, Libertito, New York; Ramos, Dr. Teresita, Honolulu; Villarin, Engr. Nilo, Washington.

2008-10-24T15:13:00.000+08:00

COMELEC conducts training for overseas voter registration

By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Philippine consular officials from North and South America acted as irate voters during a role-playing session which capped a five-day training session on registration for overseas absentee voting in San Francisco last week.

http://cms.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/10/21/08/comelec-conducts-training-overseas-voter-registration

2008-10-21T16:31:00.001+08:00

The other night I went with my family to meet my hubby's friend who had planed in from New York. He was telling the story of how immigration officials were surprised that he held a US passport. Having been there for 18 years, he had been naturalized, of course. This reminded me of a letter I received as news community editor at abs-cbnNEWS.com.

The letter goes http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/feedback/10/14/08/hong-kongs-racism-against-philippine-citizens

Kawawa naman yung Pinay na yun. Looks are still everything out there.

2008-09-26T17:59:00.005+08:00

Smells like school spirit: Dad discovers UAAP-mania

The champion team attends mass after the game

My classmate sent this to me.

By LARRY I. GO, Ateneo de Manila University 1982

Here finally ... the true champions.

Since I first stepped into the Ateneo as a freshman back in 1978, I have never expressed any interest in Ateneo's participation in basketball. This is perhaps not surprising as the primary concerns in the campus then revolved around social causes and social issues under Rev. Fr. Bonoan as our Dean.

It must have been a great source of frustration to the basketball fanatics in our batch like Bombit Fucio, Dave Dualan, Chot Kabigting and even Jimmy Hof that I have never attended even a single basketball game by Ateneo.

This all changed this year when my daughter who is a sophomore in Ateneo College asked me to watch a game with her at the Araneta Coliseum as my birthday gift to her. It was a request I could not refuse. So 30 years after I first set foot at the Ateneo College, I was finally going to watch an Ateneo basketball game.

The preparation to watch my first game was quite an experience. Since it was a game against La Salle, finding a ticket was an exercise in patience and perseverance. I then had to negotiate a maze of seemingly esoteric knowledge about the game like knowing what time to go (as early as one possibly can), what to wear, what to bring, and what not to bring, where to sit and what to avoid (like sitting directly in front of the Blue babble Battalion). I was greatly disappointed to learn that the Araneta Coliseum, among other restrictions, did not allow bringing in of "professional" cameras during the game.

Fours hours before the game was to start, I was lining outside the entrance to ensure that I would be able to get some seats. The line was long and hot. Thankfully, it was cool and comfortable once we got inside. I thought it was noisy outside while lining up. But I was quickly disabused of this notion once the basketball game started (UP vs UST).

The opposing bands made quick work of the hearing I had so assiduously protected over the years and shouting to one's seatmate became the normal way of communication. Mobile phones were completely useless save for text or SMS communication. How I longed to havebrought some ear plugs to save what was left of my hearing. The cheering attendant to the game was louder than a Rock Concert (or so I think?!!).

Watching the game was a revelation. Gradually, I adjusted to the cacophony around me. I was able to hear what the announcer was saying and I could even make out some words from the people seated behind me who seemed to be able to carry a conversation nonchalantly amid thedin and noise of the game.

After a while, I thought I was regaining some of my hearing and I slowly removed my hands from my ears. This illusion shattered as quickly as I entertained it for when the Ateneo vs La Salle game started, all hell broke loose.

But it was fun … and I was having a lot of fun. It wasn't just that Ateneo was demolishing La Salle, it was the unbridled excitement that everyone in the Coliseum seems to exude. It was contagious and I too was caught up in the cheering, clapping, booing and whatever else theycall those antics calculated to bring the roof down.

30 years after entering Ateneo, I was finally watching an Ateneo basketball game. I thought that Dave Dualan, Bombit Fucio and Chot Kabigting will be pleased.A few hours ago, I watched Ateneo finally win the championship.

Ateneo won the 2008 UAAP Championship. What made this championship significant is that it was a team effort and with everyone contributing to the final win.

There was no superstar complex and I could not see anyone acting like a prima donna. But what I think truly made this team champions was what they did after the game. The team proceeded to the Church of the Gesu to give thanks and praise for their victory. In my eyes, it was finally here that they became champions.

See you next year in the games (for a back-to-back championship)!

2008-09-26T13:41:00.002+08:00

I got this from the DOH yesterday.

Products Recalled - Melamine Contaminated BRAND II ITEM DESC

BAIRONG GRAPE CREAM CRACKERS
DOVE H/NUT ALM & RAISIN CHOC
DOVE HAZELNUT CHOC
DOVE MILK CHOCOLATE
Dreyers Choc Cake Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Choc Cake Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Cookie & Cream Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Cookie & Cream Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Mint Chip Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Mint Chip Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Rocky Road Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Rocky Road Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Strawberry Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Strawberry Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Toast Almond Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Toast Almond Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Vanilla Ice Cream 887ml
Dreyers Vanilla Ice Cream 887ml
DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF PLAIN
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY
DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW
DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW
DUTCH LADY STER MILK PLAIN
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY
DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SESAME CRACKERS
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SALTINE CRACKERS
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM S ONION CRACKERS
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SEAWEED CRACKERS
GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL BUTTER BISC
GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL SEAWEED BIS
GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL CNUT
GINBIS ANIMAL BISCUIT
Koala Cocoa Biscuit 40g
Koala Cocoa Biscuit 40g
KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 18S
KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 5S
KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 18S
KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 5S
Lotte Koala Cocoa Funpack 210g
Lotte Koala Cocoa Funpack 210g
M & M Chocolate Peanut 200g
M & M Chocolate Peanut 200g
M&M CHOC CANDIES PLAIN%
M&M CHOC CANDIES PEANUT%
M&M CHOC CANDIES-PLAIN
M&M CHOC CANDIES-PEANUTS
M&M FUNSIZE MILK
M&M FUNSIZE PEANUT
M&M Chocolate Candies Plain 200g
M&M Chocolate Candies Plain 200g
MEIJI UJIKINTOKI 2978
MEIJI UMAKABO CHOCOLATE
MEIJI FAMILY PACK-GREEN TEA
MEIJI CHESTNUT & REDBEAN
MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT PROMO PK
MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT
Monmilk BREAKFAST MILK MALT
Monmilk BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT 6S
Monmilk BREAKFAST MILKMALT 6S
Monmilk CHOCOLATE MILK 6S
Monmilk COFFEE MILK 6S
Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT
Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT MILK
Monmilk HI CAL LOW FAT MILK 6S
Monmilk HI CAL MILK
Monmilk HI CAL MILK 6S
Monmilk MILK DELUXE 12S
Monmilk PURE MILK

2008-09-25T11:57:00.002+08:00

I had a scare with milk yesterday. Well, I'm still scared until now although I have switched to a local brand.

My personal experience involved Jolly Cow Fresh Milk which is distributed by a firm in Binondo called Fly Ace Corporation (they are on the net at http://www.flyacecorp.com/).

Originally, Jolly Cow was said to have been imported from Australia. But wanting to make sure because of the Chinese milk thing, I called up the distributor. The girl who answered my call had a set line -- she said they would send samples of the milk for testing to Singapore and asked my number so they could contact me when the results came in (about 2 weeks daw). Well, I didn't want to wait. So I switched brands immediately -- to a locally produced one on which Tagalog was used on the packaging.

Mabuti na yung sigurado.

Meanwhile, Kraft Foods issued the following statement:

Multinational food company Kraft Foods on Wednesday clarified they do not use or source milk ingredients from China for use in their products.

Milk and other dairy products from China are currently under scrutiny worldwide after the chemical melamine was found in several milk powder products manufactured in the said country.

In a statement, Kraft Foods (Philippines) said the following products sold by Kraft's authorized distributors in the country do not contain milk ingredients sourced from China:

* Biscuits - Oreo Sandwich Cookies, Oreo Crumb, Chips Ahoy
* Cheeses - Kraft Eden Original, Eden Singles, Eden MeltSarap, Kraft Cheez Whiz Original, Kraft Cheez Whiz Pimiento, Kraft Cheez Whiz Pizza, Kraft American Singles and Philadelphia Cream Cheese
* Confectionery – Toblerone
* Salad Dressings/Spreads and Other Products - KRAFT Real Mayo, Miracle Whip All-Purpose Dressing, KRAFT Sandwich Spread, Miracle Whip Sandwich Spread
* Specialty/Away From Home Products – Mega Mayo, Pizza Cheese, Filled Cheese, Special Cheese

"Kraft Foods does not source any milk ingredient from China for use in its manufacturing plants in any country outside China," the statement said.

The company also said that their OREO biscuits that are produced in China do not contain any milk powder as an ingredient, while coated OREO biscuits produced in China do contain milk powder, but is sourced from Australia.

"Regardless of where they are produced, Kraft products are always held to the highest standards of safety and quality," the statement said.

"Kraft will always maintain its deep commitment to its consumers, and it will continue to consider the quality and safety of its products a top priority by complying with all applicable quality standards in every market it serves," it added.

Kraft is one of the world's largest food and beverage companies with with annual revenues exceeding $37 billion, more than 100,000 employees and more than 180 manufacturing and processing facilities globally, including the Philippines.

2008-09-24T12:12:00.003+08:00

Here is another of my past articles. This I wrote about a friend of mine who has since become an artist and has also since gotten married. Congratulations Marvic!

By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Mar-Vic Cagurangan’s day in Guam begins, not with a pen – having been known as a reporter in the Philippines, but with a paintbrush and colors.

Last Friday, Cagurangan’s career as an artist took on a new dimension when she held a one-woman show COLORS AND FACES II at the Bank of Guam’s Hagatna Branch Headquarters.

Cagurangan is a member of the Chamorro Artists Association on Guam and they have collaborated with The Guam Gallery of Art in the Chamorro Village and the Bank of Guam for this endeavor.

For this exhibit, Cagurangan presented abstract paintings.

Cagurangan started out in 1988 as a reporter for the now defunct Daily Globe where she covered different police stations. She had just graduated from the University of Sto. Tomas with a degree in philosophy.

Her love affair with the paintbrush began in 2000 when Cagurangan took up a formal art class under the prominent Filipino artist, Sandra Torijos in Manila. Mar-Vic specializes in contemporary art.

In 2003, Cagurangan went to Guam as a reporter for Marianas Variety and was assigned to the political and government beats. She currently writes a humor column titled "Flights," for which she was voted "2006 Best Columnist" in a Guamanian magazine survey.

She had her first solo art exhibit, titled "Colors and Faces," at the Sawadi Lounge in Tamuning in 2003. "That art show was just an experiment. I just thought that it was a fun thing to do, but when people bought my paintings, that’s when I decided that, maybe, I should consider art as my second career," Cagurangan recalled.

Cagurangan has since participated in various art shows including the annual Flame Tree Arts Festival in Saipan, the Asian Pacific Art Exhibit at the Two Lovers Points, and the annual art events by the Council of the Humanities and Arts, among others.

She is the mother of two wonderful boys, who are both natural artists.

Two of her paintings, "Ico’s World" and "The Mystery of Autism," will be on display at the Bank of Guam exhibit, and are products of collaboration between Cagurangan and her 14-year-old autistic son, Ico.

2008-09-24T11:55:00.003+08:00

A taste of Singapore in Manila
abs-cbnnews.com 06/11/2008 12:31 AM

Cora Lelina and her Singaporean consultant HK Tan outside Nasi Lemak

By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS abs-cbnNEWS.com

Not regretting past decisions is nothing new to former overseas Filipino worker Cora Lelina. After all, it was almost a rash decision that brought her to Singapore to work as the personal assistant of a Finnish executive 20 years ago.
Today, Lelina, 42, told abs-cbnNEWS.com, she does not regret another move – the one that brought her home to the Philippines to set up a Singaporean restaurant with the best friend of her former boss.

full story at http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/06/10/08/taste-singapore-manila

(Some months ago I wrote this story and I was enamoured with Cora and the life she had built. I wish other OFWs could be as enterprising as her.)

2008-06-04T06:48:00.002+08:00

I am being encouraged to revive my blog. I stopped being night editor at abs-cbnNEWS last November. I am now on the mid-shift. And I now handle the Pinoy Migration page.

I am infinitely busier. This I posted on Multiply some months back:

BLOGGING IN THE EYES OF A WRITER

After spending almost 40 hours a week writing and editing, I have all but lost interest in blogging. There are still, however, many things I am unable to include in the Pinoy Migration page of www.abs-cbnnews.com which I handle.

Foremost is my dilemma about reconciling being a wife and mother with being an editor and writer of a 24/7 news organization.

Sometimes I want to quit when I see my daughters’ discipline fading just as my page begins to look like a proper migration page.

I have to remind myself I am working for them too. I have to tell myself it’s good for them to see me working – that they’ll follow in my footsteps and work their way to becoming independent some day.

And of course, unlike a pure housewife, there’s fulfilment in knowing that my husband is not my only fan.

2007-01-29T07:30:00.000+08:00

Francis also wrote that in section 19 of the Overseas Absentee Voting Law, the law’s framers provided that 'the ballots shall be sent by the Post directly to the registered voters either by mail or through any other effective means where the postal system is not efficient and reliable.

That provision tells us that in the minds of the framers of the Law, inefficient and not so reliable postal systems must not be a hindrance in the implementation of postal voting.

What then is the real reason why postal voting cannot be implemented in Saudi Arabia?

2007-01-28T20:05:00.001+08:00

A very irate Francis Oca wrote me from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the recent Commission on Elections ruling excluding OFWs there from the scope of postal voting.

Francis wrote:

Overseas Filipinos in the Kingdom, as well as those who have already retired, cannot believe this allegation. Many have argued that the postal system of Saudi Arabia is very much at par with, if not better than those of, leading countries in Europe and the Americas. They opine that if it were really the embassy officials who made the recommendation, they must have other reasons, but not because the postal system is unreliable.

If we look back at the amended Absentee Voting Law, we will note that the burden of responsibility in the implementation of Postal Voting lies heavier on the side of the Posts rather than the Comelec. The latter merely sends to the former the list of absentee voters and the corresponding number of ballots and election paraphernalia. After that, the Post is responsible in recording, receiving and taking custody of all outgoing ballots preparatory to their mailing to the voters, and all incoming mailed ballots. Given the limited manpower of our embassies, it is understandable if our embassy officials will shy away from this responsibility.

However, the framers of the Law were cognizant of this situation on the ground.

2007-01-19T00:25:00.000+08:00

I first met overseas Filipino Robert Ceralvo when I first joined up with the absentee voting bill advocates in the early 90s. His hair was all pepper then. Now it's more salt than pepper. But he is still very much involved in the advocacy. And from New Jersey, Rob wrote this about internet voting:

Ang sarap managinip - libre na, kung minsan nagkakatotoo din!

The decision of the COMELEC to try internet voting is the only way to test whether it will work for us or not. If we will not try, we will never know, and the skeptics will continue to help deny the voting rights of our fellow OFWs located in geographically challenged areas ofthe world.Now that the COMELEC has led the way, let's help make this happen and wish them the best of luck!

2007-01-18T12:45:00.000+08:00

The Commission on Elections approved internet voting the other day. Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr. said this was decided on by the en banc after the Office of the Solicitor General agreed to do away with the bidding process in securing a supplier for the software to be used.

Tuason has always been gung-ho about this, excited that Overseas Absentee Voting could succeed where the local elections failed -- that is in conducting cheating-free elections. Needless to say of being first in implementing a modernization program.

It was also during the registration process for the first OAV exercise that biometrics were first introduced. Biometrics being capturing the registrant's picture, thumbmark and signature via PC.

Anyway, read about the whole process in my article.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=91069

2007-01-11T06:32:00.000+08:00

Rather than concentrate on postal voting for overseas absentee voters, however, Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr. would rather push e-voting.

When I interviewed him, Tuason said this could still be implemented although the elections are only 5 months away.

Anyway, look at my article on abs-cbnnews.com:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=61881

The picture shows the secretaries of the House Committees on Suffrage and Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs viewing the demonstration of Scytl.com of its election software at the Comelec. Demonstrating is Scytl's VP for marketing who flew in from Spain to make the presentation.

2007-01-09T16:06:00.000+08:00

Francis Oca actually wrote a letter to Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr. on behalf of the Filipino community in Saudi Arabia.

His letter goes:

Dear Commissioner Tuazon,

First, please allow me to wish you and your colleagues at the Comelec a happy and productive New Year.

With the news that your good offices have decided not to allow postal voting for OFWs in Saudi Arabia this coming May elections, our New Year will not be so happy at all. As I have commented on the attached article, the recommendation of our embassy and consular officials here are totally incorrect. It is like the statement made, in relation to e-voting, that there are no internet café in this beautiful place. I really wonder which year those who made such statements were here! Baka naman po ang mga kalagayan noong 1990s pa kanilang naging batayan, in which case puede rin nilang sabihin na walang mga cellphones dito. I think the best way for your Committee to find out the real situation here in Saudi is to send a team here. Perhaps OWWA can foot the bill, the trip being OFW related anyway, and one closest to our heart.

I hope you will take a second look at this issue, and consider our recommendation.

Kind regards,

Francis Oca
Sr. Business Consultant

2007-01-08T09:58:00.000+08:00

A Filipino community leader in Riyadh immediately reacted to my story in Arab News. Francis Oca sent me an e-mail and said:

". . . voting by mail for absentee voters in May will definitely exclude overseas Filipinos based in Saudi Arabia . . . where the postal system are considered not so reliable." Commissioner Florentino Tuazon, chair of the Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting at the Comelec, said that "this was the recommendation of the post", meaning the Philippine embassy and consular officials in the Kingdom.

If that statement is true, I wonder what the basis was for those officials to say that the postal system in the Kingdom is unreliable.

During the twenty years that I have lived and worked in this beautiful country, I have not lost a single mail; and my mails always arrive on time. I believe it is totally incorrect, baseless, and an insult to our host country, for somebody new to this place to conclude and issue such a sweeping statement.

The picture shows then Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Bahnarim Guinomla casting his vote in the basement of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh.

2007-01-07T14:35:00.000+08:00

I spoke with COMELEC Commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr. Saturday because it was erroneously reported that Middle East countries would be included in postal voting for overseas absentee voting. Tuason confirmed the opposite and said Saudi Arabia and parts of the Middle East are the exemption.

See my story at http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=90708&d=7&m=1&y=2007

2007-01-05T01:11:00.000+08:00

Mr. Doy Lucenario, head of the passport division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and former Consul General at the Hong Kong consulate, is apparently to be praised.
Advocate Ellene Sana said when she went to the DFA to renew her passport last Wednesday, she noted a visible reduction in the number of fixers in the area, due, she said to the "big visible signages with the name of the dfa passport office, with arrows pointing to the passport office, continuous play on the loud speaker/ public address system of announcements to inform the applicants of what to do and requirements to apply/renew his or her passport and also to warn against fixers, and courteous guards and personnel attending to and guiding the applicants - providing accurate information and advice."
Lucenario's office actually "did a time and motion study to complete first step verification of the documents if there is a long queue of people -- their findings -- it should take at most 30 minutes. not longer."
All in all, Ellen said she was "inspired with news of a government frontline agency that is efficient, person-friendly and delivers in its services."

2007-01-04T11:16:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year again. This was sent to my email from Bong Amora in Riyadh.

Just a little bit of a reminder to everyone. What we had accomplished so far is just a tip of an iceberg, let UNITY be our main ultimate mission to achieve this dream.

Moreover, please don't ever forget that all of us here in this e-group deserves to be congratulated and be acknowledged of whatever small deeds they contributed for the realization of this dream.

Happy New Year - ofw gladiators.

There's another meeting on the 6th daw. Stay tuned.

2006-12-31T20:18:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Let's hope 2007 will be productive for all of us.

2006-12-31T19:35:00.000+08:00

Those who attended the small forum last Dec. 29 were Gerry Cuare of KASAPI-Jeddah, Bong Sukarno, Leo Santiago of the Maritime Party, Rudy Dalisay, Joel Cajigas, Jun Adorna, Irene Nobleza, Rudy Bantiles, Jene Canlas, Au Navarra, Felipe Elemento, Rizal Beato and MeAnn Gonzales. Of course there was me and Jun.

2006-12-31T18:50:00.000+08:00

The PPP will be like a national political party, much like the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party where only one part of it will be devoted to elections. The rest will have other concerns like getting OF representation in related government agencies like the Overseas Workers Welfare Authority and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Aguilar said the creation of this party "will open up more slots and positions to willing, capable and qualified PPP members who want to serve the sector. It will create a tremendous clout in any administration which could result in better consultation,/cooperation to lead to the improvement of the sector and to good governance.
Although only a few attended the initial consultation, Aguilar is confident that the idea will eventually take off. After all, he has had the idea for several years now but nothing has happened so far.

2006-12-31T14:36:00.000+08:00

The Partido ng Pandaigdigang Pilipino or PPP will be a party for overseas Filipinos regardless of his or her status in his or her respective host country as well as those who have come home and the families of overseas Filipinos. The basic reason for the PPP is that overseas Filipinos, despite their large number, , has never maximized its potential to address its numerous concerns.
"It has failedto garner a seat in Congress despite several tries by OFW Party Lists. Moeover, the sector has never been consulted on any State policies, regulations and major appointments that would greatly affect its concerns," Jun Aguilar said in his concept paper.
Still he is quick to add it is not being formed with the end in view of getting a sectoral representative elected in the May elections.
The party should outlive that, he said. It's really a work in progress and it should eventually become something like the TUCP which is consulted every time a labor issue comes up.

2006-12-31T08:11:00.000+08:00

The OFW gathering last Dec. 29 was not what I expected. It was not unpleasant. It was just different. I have attended quite a few OFW gatherings and they were mostly of the chika-chika kind. Sosyalan kumbaga. This one was a forum on a small scale.

My friend Francisco “Jun” Aguilar of the FMW Group (Filipino Migrant Workers) presented his concept of the Partidong Pandaigdigang Pilipino, a group for overseas Filipinos.

I said if such a concept could be turned into a reality, it would be good for all overseas Filipinos, both overseas workers and immigrants. Filipinos have such a penchant for forming groups, no one group really has a say on policies affecting overseas Filipinos, no one group can be consulted. Having a single group will be a good thing.

BY THE WAY, THANKS TO ME-ANN GONZALES FOR THE PICTURES.

2006-12-25T12:07:00.000+08:00

Christmas this year was a bit different. Nevertheless, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all from me and my husband Sammy, and my daughters Samantha and Julia. See you at the OFW gathering on the 29th!

2006-12-18T06:39:00.000+08:00

For the benefit of my friends who are overseas, I am reprinting my feature for the International Day of Migration which appears on ABS-CBN's homepage Dec. 18.

Lebanon OFWs top migration story for 2006

By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Former migrant worker Rosie Mamaoag will be spending Monday, the International Day of Migration, thanking her stars that she was able to come home in July courtesy of the Philippine government.

When the Philippine government first sounded the call for overseas Filipino workers in Lebanon to evacuate because of a bombing war between the Israelis and the Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, her female employer started locking her and her fellow domestics up.

“Sabi niya sa akin, hindi ka uuwi except kung patay ka na (She told me I won't be able to come home except in a coffin),” she narrated.

“Malapit kami sa bundok at nakikita namin ang mga bomba na sumasabog sa mga apartment na malapit sa tabing dagat. Safe nga daw kami pero gabi-gabi nakikita namin mula sa balkonahe ang mga sumasabog at naririnig namin ang mga eroplano na dumadaan (We lived near the mountains and so we can see the bombs exploding in the apartment houses near the sea. We were told we were safe but every night we see bombings from the balcony and hear the airplanes passing overhead),” she said.

Agnes left Beirut with nothing on her back. While on an errand, she ran away to the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal parish church in Beirut, where most of the Filipinos were temporarily lodged.

“Ayoko nang bumalik doon. Sana madamay na sa bomba ang mga employer ko (I don’t want to go back there anymore. I hope my former employers were hit by the bombings),” Agnes said.

Horror stories of Filipinas caught in southern Lebanon's hostilities between the Hezbollah and the Israelis dominated much of 2006.

Although the war lasted only a few months in the middle of the year, it was easily the most poignant and repugnant, picture of Philippine migration for they year.

OFW voices
From New Jersey, Filipino community leader Robert Ceralvo said in an e-mail to abs-cbnNEWS.com that, “I hope we learn from this experience - every OFW should leave enough money and provisions for themselves, for emergencies like this one, just enough to buy a fare to bring them home or to safety.”

At the same time, he said, “Our government should also re-think their strategy of sending our OFWs to far-away lands, in order to send back their dollar earnings.

The [Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration] (or our government) should allocate reasonable funds for quick evacuation and repatriation of our compatriots in time of crisis.”

Edna Aquino, who set up the Center for Filipinos in London, added in another e-mail message that, “It (the Lebanon crisis) exposed the political bankruptcy of the Philippine government in not getting its acts together which then affected its ability to urgently respond to a crisis situation involving its citizens abroad.”

But Saudi Arabia-based Filipino community leader Manuel “Bong” Amora said in turn that it is not just the government’s response that is central to the Lebanon crisis.

“The vulnerability of Filipino overseas workers of violence particularly our Filipina domestic helpers continue to worsen year by year. Our government and policy makers' response [to] the issue has not been comprehensively explored or little has been done.”

In another e-mail message, Amora narrated a recent news story about two Filipino domestic helpers gang raped in Kuwait. He said this just shows how the government ineffectively addresses the rampant activities of illegal recruiters coddled by big-time syndicates and crooked officials.

“The story conveys how helpless our [Filipino] maids in foreign countries are and how they are susceptible to maltreatment and abuse. It does not only give damage to the reputation of working women sector but to the whole country as well,” Amora said.

He added: “Does our government have to wait for another Sarah Balabagan in the making to attract international attention before we can have a concrete measures to prevent such inhuman act to our Filipina household workers?”

From New Hampshire, Marvin Bionat who formed ‘Talsik’, a movement to keep an eye on the government and allegations of corruption, said the horror story of 2006 was, “Filipinas jumping out of windows to escape the cruelty of their employers and their decision to stay abroad anyway.”

“Why do Filipinos have to leave the country even if it means breaking up their families and facing the desolation and dangers of exile? Lack of opportunities and the desperate need to get out of the rut plus a general hopelessness that the government can't do much to help create the conditions of progress continue to drive young and bright Filipinos/Filipinas away to foreign shores,” Bionat said.

OFW representation needed
But Vic Barrios, chairman of the San Francisco-based Global Filipinos, said, “The most important issue for 2006 is the glaring need for Philippine authorities to recognize in concrete terms the important role and requirements of global Filipinos. While global Filipinos receive accolades as ‘economic heroes’ who keep the country afloat, they have been marginalized given the absence of a crisis-responsive government safety net and non-recognition of their rights to participate in the Motherland's governance.”

Definitely, Barrios said, “a quick-response capacity requires that global Filipinos should be actively involved in the Motherland's governance. Overseas/global Filipinos are political orphans. Is it understandable, then, that there are no mandated public servants who regard them as their constituencies. This anomaly needs to change, as well. Only global Filipinos in legislature can genuinely be concerned with the needs of global Filipinos.”

Remittances
Aquino said the issue of OFW remittances should not be forgotten as it was also a highlight of 2006.

“Migrant workers' remittances continue to be consistently on the rise but government continues to lack a comprehensive long-term strategy on the export of its labor that would address its over-dependency on these remittances to prop up the economy,” Aquino said.

OFW remittances for the first 10 months of the year have reached $10.3 billion for 2006. Remittances last year totaled $10.6 billion.

Idelfonso Bagasao, founder of the Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos (ERCOF), who shuttles between Manila and Brussels (Belgium), said “the biggest story is the one that is not most written about, and that is the resiliency and capacity of OFWs and their families to survive and bend with the wind despite the adversities, the social costs and insensitivity of politicians, alongside an increasing trend for volunteerism and willingness to share resources and skills.”

“This not an issue for OFWs but more for government, because if this trend continues, then one day, government may wake up to find itself extinct and totally useless,” he said.

OFW remittances today make up almost 10 percent of the country’s gross national product and at more than $8 billion for the first 11 months of the year, is about to surpass the 2005 figure of $10.6 billion.

But OWWA head Marianito Roque told abs-cbnNEWS.com that aside from the horror stories from Lebanon, the top migration issue for 2006 was the trafficking of these workers to the war-torn country.

Roque once said that roughly 2/3 of the OFWs who arrived from Lebanon were not even documented as migrant workers. A few were even minors. It was no wonder that others, like 18-year old Sabel Abano, were thankful when their passports were destroyed in the bombings.

Ellene Sana, executive director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy, said the Lebanon evacuation was indeed the country’s top issue, but all it did was highlight how unprepared the government was in dealing with that issue.

“The government did not learn their lessons from the past. They should have been prepared because of what happened during the two gulf wars and the creation of the Middle East Preparedness Team,” she said.

What happened instead was that government effort was uncoordinated. “They did not even know where some of the OFWs were,” Sana lamented. She added that the Philippine government did not even know where to source resources for the evacuation. Most OFWs in Lebanon were repatriated through the International Organization of Migration.

“Watak-watak ang naging response nila (Their response was uncoordinated),” she added.

Eager to escape Beirut, Abano said: “Mas masahol pa ang mga babaeng employer kaysa sa mga lalaki. Pag may nagawa akong mali, hinihila ako sa buhok at pinapaulit. Sinasagot ko nga lang at hindi naman nakakaintindi ng Ingles o ng Tagalog ang babaeng amo ko. (Female employers are worse than the male ones. Whenever I do something wrong, she pulls my hair and orders me to do it again. I answer back because she cannot understand Tagalog or even English anyway).”

She hopes never to go through that again. But if the need arises, she just might have to find pack her bags and find overseas work again. One thing is for sure, though, it will never again be in Lebanon.

2006-12-08T13:06:00.001+08:00

I find that being night editor at abs-cbnNEWS.com has its ups and downs. I have been at it since Nov. 16 and at no time did I feel so repulsed by events as the last few days. Working in the same newsroom as ANC’s, I was able to witness their live coverage of the sham proceedings at the House of Reps.

And this was even brought home by the fact that even Filipinos overseas witnessed the whole thing!

I got an e-mail from a friend in Riyadh and he said: alone in my apartment here in Riyadh, I watched the house proceedings the whole night, thanks to ANC. I amost vomitted when I heard Mr. Villafuerte answered 'Yes", not once but twice, to the question of Cong. Golez whom I think felt slapped on the face by the sarcastic tone in Villafuerte's voice, and face. To my mind it was the height of treason committed by people who always addressed themselves as 'honorables'!

Harap harapang bastusan na talaga. But as someone said, nobody will benefit from the fruits of a poison tree. Not GMA, JDV, Villafuerte, nor Lagman. Soon their train will run off rail.

This just proves that OFWs are still concerned about what happens in the Philippines.

2006-11-18T10:41:00.000+08:00

RECRUITERS COMPLAIN

Surprisingly, labor recruiters reacted strongly to this aspect of the consultations. In fact, the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI) said it supported the POEA’s new minimum wage policy for domestic helpers, but wanted any increase to be “ladderized” or based on the actual skills of the domestics as well as their experience.

Although just a plan PASEI suggested a graduated scheme that would peg at $200 the monthly wage of first-time domestics, $300 for those with additional skills such as sewing, dressmaking, cooking and babysitting; and $400 for those who double as governesses, tutors or caretakers.

Baldoz earlier said the wage increase would be enforced by mid-November as the country would begin deploying domestics with more skills then.

PASEI’s position contradicted that of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters which opposed outright the doubling of the wages.

Both groups, however, agreed that the unilateral hike in wages would ruin the recruitment industry and would be unfair to foreign employers. They also warned it could lead to a decline in the demand for Filipino help and result in more illegal recruitment.

Like Fame, PASEI also opposed the no-placement fee policy that POEA would implement for the recruitment of domestics.

At present, recruiters collect from maids a month’s worth of salary as placement fees if the countries they were sent to are not covered by intermediaries or are special markets such as Taiwan, Singapore and Israel where the prevailing wage is already above $400 or close to it.

2006-11-16T22:47:00.000+08:00

NO MORE PLACEMENT FEE

Jun Aguilar, the recruiter who is not any ordinary recruiter, added his two cents to the discussion and said the POEA Board should make it a policy that all domestic helpers be exempt from any form of fees.

“Personally, exaction of any form of fees from these vulnerable workers should not be allowed. I know members of the industry won’t like it but that is one sure regulation that would benefit the Domestic Workers who are mostly poor people coming from the provinces,” Aguilar said.

He himself does not charge placement fees and instead makes the would-be employer pay the fees.

That is why, Aguilar can say this idea is not farfetched and is in fact doable. “I have done it for the past 7 Years with the thousands of OFW's we deployed and I wonder why the others cannot. I wonder if the POEA has the political will to impose such regulation (at least for the domestic helper) for the benefit of the workers.”

He then asked “does the Philippine government have the political will to make things better for the so called modern day Heroes?”

Your answer is as good as mine.

2006-11-15T08:36:00.000+08:00

OVERSEAS FILIPINO SPECIALISTS?

Mina Gabor said during a consultation with representatives of migrant related NGOs last August that OFWs should be referred to as overseas Filipino specialists which she thought was a better term to refer to our migrant workers.

This would mean migrants as specialists in various fields.

This suggestion did not sit well with the NGOs. In particular, Ellene Sana, Executive Secretary of the Center for Migrant Advocacy was uneasy with the term especially because migrants also take on jobs shunned by the locals/ nationals because they're dirty and dangerous and pay less and invisible etc. etc.

From Hong Kong, Edna Aquino who founded the Center for Filipinos in London, commented that “her proposed terminology confirms what I said above about people in the tourism industry being the principal purveyors of the notion that only Pinoys in lucrative posts are deserving of recognition because they contribute to the so -called "positive " image of the country abroad.”

“I attribute this to ignorance more than anything else. The best response , based on my experience, is to challenge her to define what she meant by "specialist" or "experts" . And, in turn, we define the tasks of a typical domestic worker and ask her if these would not qualify a domestic worker to be considered a specialist in her/his own field,” Edna added.

Riyadh-based Filipino community leader Rashid Fabricante, who takes under his wing runaway domestics in the kingdom, said in Tagalog “send Ms. Gabor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – she will get it straight from the horses mouth what is wrong with our government policies on the deployment of domestic helpers.”

2006-11-14T07:36:00.000+08:00

MIGRATION AND TOURISM

Filipino community leader Edna Aquino is questioning the involvement of Mina Gabor in the consultations.

Edna, who chairs (and co-founded) the well-known Center for Filipinos in London said apparently Gabor’s involvement in the migrant industry is the POEA’s attempt to temper the lack of understanding by the tourism industry of the plight of Pinoy migrant workers, i.e. make the industry more sensitive and at least understanding of the OFWs presence abroad regardless of their status.

Mina Gabor was once secretary of the Department of Tourism and believes in always projecting a positive image for Filipinos abroad.

According to Edna, however, Gabor should stop there and not peddle the idea that only high flying overseas Pinoys or those who have landed in "lucrative" posts are deserving of honors and acknowledgement.

“Someone who cares a lot about the Philippine image would not necessarily be someone supportive of the cause of migrant workers,” Edna said.

This was never the case. “For a long, long time - nangunguna ang Dept of Tourism including during her term as DOT Secretary in peddling the notion that stories about rape and abuse of domestic workers that hit the headlines in the media abroad is bad for the Philippine image. These assertions may be true and valid, but if lacking of any understanding and empathy to affected individuals, adds more stigma to the situation of abused domestic workers and fuels the discriminatory attitude against them particularly among certain sectors in the Philippine migrant community abroad ignorant about the issue.”

“Wala namang problema na dapat mas palitawin ang positive contribution and image of Pinoys abroad to their host countries. Pero kung ang ibig sabihin nito ay itago natin at huwag pagusapan ang mga pang-aabuso sa ilang bahagi ng sektor –all for the sake of keeping the positive image - that's where we have disagreements with people in the tourism industry,” she added.

“Unfortunately, that is still the overriding agenda of the Philippine tourism industry,” Edna said adding “taking care of domestic helpers to improve our image is very superficial.”

2006-11-13T08:13:00.000+08:00

SUPERMAIDS

In the wake of the campaign on transforming Filipino domestic helpers into “supermaids” by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in early August, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (c/o its women’s sector board representative Mina Gabor) held a “consultation” on the issue.

The proposal consisted of training ordinary domestic helpers in administering first aid, attending to emergency procedures such as evacuation in cases of fire, training in the local language of the country of employment, aside from performing the usual chores of housekeeping and cooking.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said this was a partial solution to the problem of unemployment facing about 30,000 Filipinos expected to return to the country from Lebanon where there was an ongoing war between the Hezbollah and Israel. (The picture shows some of them when they arrived in the Philippines.)

Many representatives of migrant related non-government organizations who attended the hurriedly prepared POEA consultation and as one, said they were against this new program.

This “ridiculous and horrible” idea was rejected by the participants (including representatives from the POEA mind you) for a thousand and one reasons – it would mean additional work but the poor overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who would still be a domestic. This would make him or her “invisible, undervalued, vulnerable to abuses and exploitation, not covered by labor and social laws with expensive training fees to boot!

The idea has since been dropped by the TESDA and nothing more has been heard about it in the past few months. But the seeming effect – controlling, and eventually cutting, the deployment of domestic workers is now being felt.

At the time, even Max Bringula, an OFW and a Filipino community worker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said the supermaids idea “is a big laugh.”

“They should instead improve the services that should be given to our fellow OFWs in need of help from their abusers,” Bringula said in Tagalog.

As one NGO head said "we are being turned into a nation of servants and the government does not mind it and is even promoting it."

More on the consultation tomorrow

2006-11-10T06:50:00.000+08:00

INTERNET VOTING?

Elections Commissioner Florentino Tuason Jr. is all agog over the demonstration Wednesday morning of Scytl (Secure Electronic Voting) a worldwide leader in the development of secure e-voting platforms (www.scytl.com).

Pablo Sarrias, who flew all the way from Barcelona to present Sctyl’s Pnyx.DRE, which is an “innovative poll-site e voting solution that turns a standard PC into a secure, accessible and reliable Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting terminal.”

Of course, he said during his demonstration, the system can be adapted to the internet (using a webpage) and 2,048 bits for each key which would be used to access the voting page and would allow the local Electoral Board to confirm the identity of the voter.

If this system passed the muster of the legislature, the Comelec would no longer have to purchase equipment, just Scytl’s services which would be renewable for each election. Thus, no more bulky machines rusting away in warehouses during the three years between elections.

After all, Pnyx.DRE is a cost-effective solution that allows reusing the PCs of the voting terminals after the election for other purposes (schools, libraries, etc.).

Sarrias, his company’s Vice President for Sales and Marketing, said his firm “provides simple and secure solutions for all types of electronic voting, from elections and referenda to shareholders’ meetings and labor union elections, all with the same level of trust, security and privacy that exist in conventional elections.”

According to Sarrias, this “can be used to carry out all types of electoral processes in a secure and convenient manner with the highest usability and accessibility standards.”

“Pnyx.DRE ensures the integrity of the votes, voters’ privacy, the auditability of election results, and offers a number of verification mechanisms that enable voters to check the correct casting and recording of their votes,” Sarrias said.

Tuason was naturally excited since Section 16.11 of the Overseas Absentee Voting Law specifically states that “the Commission shall study the use of electronic mail, internet or other secured networks in the casting of votes, and submit a report thereon to the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee.”

He also said even with a proposed budget of only P238 million, they would be able to implement this on a limited or pilot basis.

2006-11-09T07:39:00.000+08:00

PROTESTING THE AGREEMENT WITH JAPAN

Overseas Filipinos have come together and signed an on-line petition that expresses their concern for the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), which allows the entry into the country of various waste products, including toxic waste, from Japan in exchange for paving the way for the entry into Japan of Filipino health care professionals.

The JPEPA was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Sept. 9 on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Helsinki, Finland. It covers 11,300 tariff lines for commodities and services and sought to mandate zero tariff on waste and other materials considered toxic and hazardous under both Republic Act No. 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Act, and the Basel Convention.

An earlier e-mail from overseas Filipino (OF) Cesar Torres said the agreement was signed “away from the glare of the media, and without the knowledge, scrutiny, and participation of the Filipino people.”

“Up to the last few days leading up to the signing of the JPEPA, the DTI refused to reveal the full text of the agreement to Congress, despite the earlier promises of Trade Undersecretary Tomas Aquino to provide a copy of the latest draft legal text of the agreement once the negotiations are completed and as soon as a thorough legal review of the proposed agreement has been conducted. It was only when the DTI was threatened with the revocation of its budget that it made moves to provide Congress with copies of the JPEPA. But even then, the offer came too late.”

According to Senator Mar Roxas, Arroyo signed the agreement without consultation and Roxas said that when he left the Cabinet as trade secretary before the 2004 elections, the JPEPA was a “mere” general agreement on economic cooperation.

Last week Torres and fellow OF in Germany Rogelio Bantiles wrote out the plea to the President of the Philippines, to the Senate of the Philippines, and to the Japanese Government.

Germany-based OF Shiela Bantiles Zangl, the very first signatory of the petition, said “only if the last tree has been cut down, the last river contaminated, the last breeze polluted, would we humans realize that we cannot eat money. I hope, we will wake up before these things happen. Stop soiling the Philippines.”

The second signatory, OF Johnny Pecayo from Beverly Hills, California, USA, said “we cannot move forward if we are carrying a heavy baggage detrimental to our health.”

To all this, Torres said the signatories “come from all over the world. Scanning the names and the places where they come from, one is glad that we are indeed connected to each other in the World Wide Web -- for the good of mankind and the Philippines.”

“Now, let us see what our leaders and guardians in the Philippines will do,” Torres said.

2006-11-08T07:40:00.000+08:00

Goodbye Toey!

We friends are holding a despedida of sorts for my high school classmate, Dr. Melinda “Toey” Dimaano-Hernandez. I don’t recall why she was called Toey, but that’s beside the point.

Several months (or was it years?) ago, Toey told me she was quitting her job to take up nursing and look for a better life in the US. I was surprised because she had a good job as an anesthesiologist, owning a six-bed hospital in Valenzuela which she ran together with her gynecologist husband.

Toey was always so easy-go-lucky and content with her lot in life. The fact that she felt she had to go abroad to seek a better life for her five children was very telling of the country’s over-all situation.

This is exactly what the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was warning about when it noted that the ranks of OFWs were swelling.

The ADB warned that the sustained export of skilled Filipino labor could eventually end up discouraging foreign investments if the local talent pool continued to decline.

"Brain drain has an impact on foreign direct investment as capital will flow only into economies with perceived adequate supplies of skilled labor in key sectors," the bank said in a book released last week titled "Converting Migration Drains into Gains."

The 66-nation member organization defines brain drain as a situation when a country's diaspora is disproportionately made up of skilled workers, causing the source country to experience a decline in average-per-worker income. Eventually, educational investments in the source country--such as tuition paid for nursing or computer skills courses in the Philippines--become subsidies for the destination country.

The ADB pointed out that the country's migrant labor force "encompasses a disproportionate share of the most productive age group (those between 25 to 44 years old)," which suggests a loss, even for temporary and limited periods, of "those with the most experience, on-the-job training, and likely supervisory skills."

The group also represents "a disproportionate share of individuals with greater number of years of education, especially those who have completed bachelor's or higher degrees."

"One of the greatest concerns about brain drain is that the continued migration of skilled workers reduces overall productivity," it added.

That the Philippines’ intelligent middle class is disappearing is obvious. Government statistics showed that there were 7.9 million Filipinos overseas as of end-2005, either as contract workers, permanent residents or undocumented migrants.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) says almost 2,000 a day leave the country on a daily basis to find jobs, and better pay, abroad. But this figure does not include those who were directly hired, and these constitute most of the brain drain the country is experiencing.

A case in point is Indonesia where most of the Filipino expatriate community are bankers, businessmen and accountants. Most also have high-paying jobs, jobs for which they would not get the same salary here in the Philippines.

It’s no wonder that people like Toey leave for greener pastures. The fact that she was unfazed about having to go all the way to Guam for her nursing licensure exams (NCLEX and CGFNS) only highlighted the fact that a practicing doctor like her lowered herself to study nursing and go abroad.

2006-11-07T07:54:00.000+08:00

DINIA’S CASE

My friend Ellene, Executive Director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), was excited the other week because of a June 2001 warrant of arrest issued by a Geneva court for Filipino diplomat Teresa Paran.

Joseph Sycip of the Geneva Forum for Philippine Concerns (GFPC) forwarded the documents pertaining to this case and I found out Paran was found guilty by the examining magistrate in the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland for aggravated detention of one Dinia Baliton who worked for her from September 1998 to December 2000.

The GFPC is a Geneva-based non-governmental organization which has been aiding overseas Filipinos in that part of the world for some time. The GFPC is one of the many overseas partners of the CMA.

Paran had contracted Dinia, who was her first cousin, as a domestic in 1998. Paran was then assigned to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva. During the period she worked for Paran, Dinia hardly received any salary except for $1,900 given to a third party.

Then in December 2000 Paran told Dinia she was sending her home to the Philippines because the younger girl had learned to go out alone against Paran’s wishes.

“She told me that last 2 December, I left the house without asking her permission. I told her whom would I ask. There was nobody in the house. I did not know where you went , I did not know when you will come back (the entire Paran family was gone for more than 3 days),” Dinia said in her sworn statement.

She added that Paran and her husband then shouted “Wow, since when and why should the employer tell their housemaid where they would go.”

But Dinia did not want to go home, so she tried escaping from Paran’s locked 5^th floor apartment and climbed out the window. Dinia had tied some clothes together to make a sort of rope to climb down with. However, her knots did not hold and she fell and sustained several fractures and abrasions to her neck, back and legs. Worse, she nearly died.

Even before an open investigation could be initiated by the proper authorities, Dinia's employer, Ms. Paran, was already defensive invoking diplomatic immunity. Dinia Baliton was forced under circumstances to work abroad to earn for her family because there are no decent jobs in the Philippines, but who now finds herself paralyzed and unable to work, after being apparently exploited and treated like a slave.

Ellene asked me how the Philippines can crow about its advanced migration policy and have diplomats who violate laws and abuse their Filipino domestic helpers.

The warrant, which remains valid until June 2011, remains unserved but Ellene feels that a decision made in favor of a documented Filipino domestic against her abusive diplomat employer is victory enough.

2006-11-06T06:46:00.000+08:00

OFW-SOS Summary and Statistics
OFW Joseph Henry Espiritu kindly forwarded to me a seven month summary of the performance statistics of the SMS SOS which he helped develop together with Vic Barrazona and Manila-based NGO worker Bobby Soriano (see an earlier post). The report, Joseph said, was compiled by the V-Team-Juan, a welfare-based Filipino community organization in the kingdom. The report was for the first seven months since the SMS SOS came into being in February 2006.
The system logged a total of 1,385 messages, 985 of which came from Saudi Arabia, 255 came from relatives of OFWs in the Philippines, and a smattering came from countries such as Kuwait, South Africa, Israel, Hong Kong, Sweden, USA, Bahrain, Indonesia, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon, Maldives, Qatar, Taiwan and Malaysia.
The report said SMS from Saudi Arabia has been consistent for the past seven months with 45 average senders per month and 110 average sms per month.
The report concluded that the pre-departure orientation seminary (PDOS) for OFWs bound for the kingdom should not be merged with "the seminar for other countries."
"A one week special PDOS for KSA OFWs might be enough and this will surely lessen the number of distressed kababayans in KSA."
Furthermore, the proponents said "every OFW going to KSA must have a copy of the Saudi Labor Law (Tagalog) and must also thoroughly briefed to follow the laws of Saudi Arabia. We believe that the OFW's lack of knowledge of the Saudi Laws and the Saudi Labor Laws is the main reason why we have so many distressed kababayans in Saudi Arabia."
It is also too bad that until now, not enough OFWs seem to be making use of the SMS SOS which was developed by and for OFWs. Perhaps if the number was publicized more among OFWs, and not just among those in Saudi Arabia where most of the proponents come from.
The government really should capitalize on this system instead of creating other redundant text-based systems.

2006-11-05T18:44:00.000+08:00

The Overseas Absentee Voting Registration
Registration is finally over with nearly 140,000 overseas Filipinos signalling their intent to participate in next year's mid-term senatorial elections. Like the first registration in 2003, the post ith the most registrants was the embassy in Hong Kong where 6,322 registered to vote. But unlike the initial list-up, the country with the most number of registrants was the United States of America with 8,626 registrants. Saudi Arabia came a close second with 8,427 registrants.

For more, see http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=88530&d=6&m=11&y=2006

2006-10-19T16:59:00.000+08:00

Close Encounter with our ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Yesterday I had a long interview with Antonio P. Villamor, the country's newly confirmed ambassador to Saudi Arabia. I admit I was apprehensive about the interview. I needn't have been. It was almost like having coffee with a favorite grandfather who would explain things patiently to me. Grandfather because at 72, Amba Villamor was yanked out of retirement (in peaceful Dumaguete) as he was highly recommended for the post (by no less than former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Chito Brillantes who is now our Ambassador to Canada.

It was also refreshing to meet a diplomat who understood that ambassadors should no longer hew to the traditional definition of an envoy and his/her roles. Traditional being coctails with the host government and trade delegations and etc. Perhaps it was because Amba Villamor had served as consul general in Hong Kong for four years before his retirement. He also told me he had served in various capacities in Guam, Tokyo, Micronesia and Jeddah.

I look forward to talking with Amba Villamor more. He strongly believes in backing up backchannel efforts with official ones in taking care of the Filipino community in Saudi Arabia.

Oh and did I mention that he thinks I should visit Saudi Arabia during his term -- and stay in his official residence. After all, he said, there's only me and my wife now. His one and only daughter is now a consul in Singapore.

2006-10-06T07:13:00.000+08:00

My story made the front page of Arab News today. Congress rejected the proposal to include Saudi Arabia in postal voting (for the overseas absentee vote in 2007). The congressmen remained unconvinced. They think that although the kingdom's postal system is secure, the use of post office boxes as addresses negates this. Before the bill was passed in 2003 these same congressmen were saying that OFWs in Saudi Arabia were living in camps (workcamps) so there was a danger that their employers would control their votes. So what's next? I wonder how the Comelec will surmount this?

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&amp;article=87723&d=6&m=10&y=2006

Nevertheless, here are the registration statistics as of Oct. 5 according to the
Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat at the Department of Foreign Affairs

Asia Pacific - 11,092
Middle East - 18,291
Americas - 10,853
Europe - 6,393
POEA (Comelec satellite registration center) - 36,377
NAIA (Comelec satellite registration center) - 42,690
TOTAL - 125,696

2006-10-05T11:41:00.000+08:00

Advocate or journalist?

Through several people, primary among them Ellene Sana and Noel Esquela of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), I have been involved with migrants and migrant issues since the early 2000s, 2001 to be exact. This was when a large group of Filipinos came to Manila to lobby for the passage of the Overseas Absentee Voting Bill (now the Overseas Absentee Voting Law). Even before that I had been writing on migrants' issues through Philippine News and Arab News because I wanted to help the OFWs.

Well, I got wrapped up in OFW issues and met a lot of overseas Filipinos who eventually became my friends. Take Mike for example. I wish other OFWs could be as financially literate and independent as he is now. There's also Marvin in the US who's been there for ages (since 1988) and Carlo in the Netherlands. All of them were absentee voting bill advocates along with Robert, Vic, Ka Edong, Tita O, Vic and many others in different parts of the world.

2006-10-04T08:29:00.000+08:00

Living With No Electricity

We have had no electricity for nearly a week courtesy of Typhoon Milenyo (International Codename Xangsane). Our electric connection was severed when our neighbor's tree fell over it when the eye passed over Metro Manila last Sept. 28. I was lucky I was at home that day, watching the wind lashing out from the safety of my upstairs bedroom. Others were not so lucky. There was this passenger cab driver whose Toyota FX was crushed when a billboard fell over it early that afternoon.

To wit: Giant billboards toppled by Milenyo on Thursday killed at least one person, damaged property, caused mammoth traffic jams and triggered an intense debate on whether outdoor advertising should be banned altogether.
Bayani Fernando, chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), called for a halt on the construction of advertising structures until their owners had been made to account for the injuries and damage they caused last week.
“I am appealing to local government officials concerned, particularly building officials, to declare a moratorium on the putting up of new billboards until we have brought back sanity to Metro Manila’s skyline and victims of these fallen structures have been given justice,” said Fernando.

The efforts are being complemented in cities around the metropolis. In Makati City, the City Engineer’s Office even decided not to allow the rebuilding of collapsed billboards. In Mandaluyong City, the city council began working on a proposed ordinance to limit the sizes of billboards.

A proposal to ban billboards actually surfaces from time to time but this is usually silenced, mostly by the outdoor advertisers who claim a great loss of income if this ban comes true. Well, this time, a life has been sacrificed. I hope it will not be in vain.

2006-09-26T20:11:00.000+08:00

In November 2003, I went home to St. Bridget's School as a silver jubilarian. I wrote this for the alumni newsletter that year.
As early as May 2001, five of us from class ’78 of St. Bridget’s School began meeting regularly for our class’ silver jubilee which we intend to be one unforgettable event for all alumni.
There were numerous activities to be arranged and an early start in the preparations by the five of us -- Monica Sison-Ramirez, Ivy Serame-Sta. Ana, Che Chongco-Santos, and Pat Dimalanta and this writer -- was agreed.
We got valuable advice from New York-based Gina Cruz-Cordon during her yearly vacation to the Philippines.
Our monthly meetings got a big boost during the General Homecoming in 2001 when Grace Blancaver set up an e-mail group for the class. This made communication among classmates much easier.
As early as then, we began our search for our “lost” classmates, even calling up parents and relatives of those who had migrated abroad. This task was shared by everyone but it was Gina and Yiying Olaguera who did most of the tracking down in the United States where several members of Class ’78 had gone.
Second on the agenda was what we intended to donate to the school. We had to raise enough money to donate something to our beloved alma mater which would last and would be useful to its current students.
After much discussion, we decided to forego large fund raising activities and would instead count on regular contributions from all the members of the class.
We organized a small rummage sale in May 2002 at the Loyola Heights Barangay Hall. Because of its success, members of the class held another one in November, also at the same venue.
Not all members of the class participated, but a good number showed up to help out during the sale. Many donated all sorts of stuff to be sold, from dinnerware to clothes, to suitcases, to pillows, to shoes.
We had a good time despite all the difficulties we had to go through. I remember going around the Loyola Heights area in Che’s car, sticking up 8”x10” posters advertising our sale. I remember Ivy and Toey Dimaano-Hernandez roping in their children to help out, with Monica lending her van to ferry the boxes of saleable items from Ivi’s house, our designated warehouse.
All our efforts paid off. We were able to donate a brand new piano to the school. Not only that, we had the old piano restored and gave it a new lease on life, making it look practically brand new.
The donation was made in time for the St. Bridget’s high school graduation in March this year.
Of course, the piano will come in handy when Class ’78 presents their “surprise number” after a short program at the General Alumni Homecoming on November 30 at the school auditorium.
Carrying the theme “Familiar Faces in a Familiar Place,” the festivities will begin with registration at 1 p.m. of November 30. This will be followed by a mass at 2 p.m. The main program will start at 3 p.m. to be hosted by Class ’78 members Judith Planas and Yiying.
The program will start off with the singing of national anthem and to be followed by welcome remarks to be delivered by Class ’78 class presidents.
The candidates aspiring for the five vacant board seats on the St. Bridget’s alumni board will be presented to those in attendance. Casting of ballots will follow immediately after.
There will be a special number to be rendered by the daughters of St. Bridget’s alumni and then an update on alumni projects to be given by Gina Olaguera-Gil of Class ’77.
A surprise number by members of Class ‘78 will be held after all these.
Dozens of prizes will be raffled off throughout the short program which is expected to end by 6 p.m. Free snacks will also be served throughout the program.
This will not be the end of the reunions of Class ’78 members. A exclusive dinner will be held at the Pacific Place on Pearl Drive in Ortigas Center on December 13. An excursion of sorts is also being planned for class members and their families.
Definitely, this will be an unforgettable alumni season not only for Class ’78 members but for all alumni of St. Bridget’s School as well.
END

2006-09-21T21:23:00.000+08:00

Mike and Bay Spa

I haven't know Mike Bolos that long -- only since many OFWs came to Manila to lobby for the passage of the Overseas Absentee Voting Bill in 2001. Not long considering I have been slugging away at this keyboard for more than a decade now. His story is remarkable, though. He turned a hobby (trying out spas) into a business and when he retired last year after serving his Arab masters for 25 years, he set up his own spa right in the heart of Metro Manila.

To read my article in Arab News entitled
Former OFW Invests in 'Rejuvenating' Business printed Jan. 1, click http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&amp;article=75602&d=1&m=1&y=2006

2006-09-21T18:21:00.001+08:00

Vic's SOS SMS system
Some friends and I were having dinner with Vic Barrazona, who was on vacation from Saudi Arabia sometime in 2002 when he mentioned he had an idea -- of creating a text system that would allow the embassy to keep track of OFWs in the area. He said then this was because during the gulf war it was proven that the embassy did not even know how many OFWs there were in Saudi Arabia and where they were located.

Well, the system got created thanks to Vic and Joesph Espiritu and Bong Ramilo (in Australia) and of course Bobby Soriano at the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD). Unfortunately, it never got government support so during the recent bombing war between Israel and the Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, the lack of government's ability to keep track of the OFWs in the area was again shown up.

If you want to read what I originally wrote about the project, click on this site:
http://www.ofwjournalism.net/previousweb/vol5no6/prevstories5063.php
for the article entitled
Mobile phones not just for sending money, group shows

2006-09-21T17:56:00.000+08:00

In between writing jobs, I am also a mommy. These were taken during the 7th birthday party of my youngest daughter, last Sept. 16, 2006.

2006-09-21T17:49:00.000+08:00

The Saga of the 28 nurses in New York
My friend Ellen Sana led me to this story. She gave a speech at the UN General Assembly and on the side talked with the lawyer of 28 nurses being "abused" by their recruitment agency -- supposedly with the blessing of a top government official. This was confirmed by an unnamed source in the POEA. I also talked with the nurses' Philippine lawyer and as a result, wrote a story published in Philippine News last Sept. 13, 2006 entitled
28 nurses say they are fighting ‘Goliath’ in N.Y. case
http://www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=19a61fac7a8d0f2af1a08580b8b6d589

2006-09-21T08:44:00.000+08:00