Showing posts with label CARMELITA G. NUQUI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CARMELITA G. NUQUI. Show all posts

Friday, February 6, 2015

Go easy on our heroes, the OFWs

Philippine Daily Inquirer
Letter to the Editor
4 February 2014





 On Feb. 1, the Manila International Airport Administration (Miaa) pushed through with the implementation of its Memorandum Circular No. 08. This integrates airport terminal fee of P550 into the airline fare of outgoing international passengers, including our overseas Filipino workers.

 I, however, find it unconscionable for MIAA, under General Manager Jose Angel A. Honrado, to keep on ignoring our opposition to this circular on International Passenger Service Charge, which blatantly violates the 1995 Migrant Workers Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022.

 Last I checked, under our existing laws, OFWs are granted exemptions from paying travel tax, documentary stamps and airport terminal fees upon proper showing of proof of entitlement, which is the overseas employment certificate issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

 Incidentally, there is no mention in the law about a process by which to obtain refunds or even for OFWs to pay now and be exempt later. MIAA’s MC 08, I believe, ignores the very spirit and intent of this particular provision of our law that protects the rights of OFWs.

 If the integration policy finally pushes through, as MIAA insists, migrant workers who buy tickets online or whose employers send them e-tickets will be forced to pay the P550 terminal fee despite an exemption that has been in effect for the past 19 years. Already hard-pressed with the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities, our OFWs and their families would continue to bear the brunt of yet additional burden on their shoulders.

 What is even more appalling is the fact that Honrado is disregarding our incessant calls to shelve the implementation of MC 08 pending legislative inquiries in the Senate and the House of Representatives or until such time when a system can be developed, in partnership with the POEA and the Department of Foreign Affairs, that enables such integration to push through without prejudice to the existing exemptions meant for OFWs.

 I do hope that President Aquino will find it in his heart to heed the plea of our OFWs, “our modern-day heroes,” by shelving the integration of airport terminal fee in airline fares.
CARMELITA G. NUQUI
President
Philippine Migrants Rights Watch 
pmrw@pmrw.org.ph


12:41 AM | Wednesday, February 4th, 2015
Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/82261/go-easy-on-our-heroes-the-ofws#ixzz3QvyiRgfT 






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Friday, November 29, 2013

PMRW Invites OFWs and their Families to Watch “IloIlo”



BLESSINGS on the hand of women!
        Angels guard its strength and grace.
      In the palace, cottage, hovel,
          Oh, no matter where the place;
      Would that never storms assailed it,
          Rainbows ever gently curled,
      For the hand that rocks the cradle
          Is the hand that rules the world
n    William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)


They are called yayas, maids or nannies. They are the women whose hands rock the cradle, but are oftentimes not valued for the “unskilled” work that they perform in the homes. By taking on caregiving and domestic tasks that are traditionally assigned to women and girls in families, domestic workers enable their women employers to work in the paid labor market. Moreover, by assuming domestic chores, domestic workers allow families that employ them to enjoy family life unencumbered by mundane tasks.

In the multi-awarded film IloIlo, Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen captures the contributions of domestic workers to the families that employ them, especially the care work that is involved in raising and nurturing children.  The film was inspired by Mr. Chen’s memories of his nanny, Auntie Terry, who worked for his family when he was a child.  One of the things that he recalled about Auntie Terry when memories would flash in his mind is IloIlo, where Auntie Terry hailed from.  The film has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Camera d’Or in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, for its honest and poignant portrayal of the interconnected fates of the film's characters.

The Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) is pleased to endorse IloIlo to the Filipino public. Through the lives of Auntie Terry and her Singaporean employers, the film presents the aspirations, struggles and humanity of the characters as they negotiate their encounters initially as strangers, later as worker-employer, and as family members.

Although the PMRW does not encourage overseas employment as a development strategy because of its social costs, the film would be instructive for OFWs, their families, advocates and other stakeholders who work for the promotion and protection of the rights of OFWs, particularly domestic workers.

As a network of migrant advocates, the PMRW was at the forefront in the lobby and campaign for the Philippines to ratify the International Labor Organization Convention 189 (Decent Work for Domestic Workers) and the passage into law of Batas Kasambahay (Domestic Workers Act) or RA 10361.

PMRW will continue to promote and raise awareness about Convention 189 and RA 10361, especially among domestic workers so that they will know and claim their rights.  The film, IloIlo, will contribute to PMRW’s mission to inform and to educate migrant workers, stakeholders and the general public about domestic work and why it is important to provide protection to domestic workers at home and abroad.

It is our hope that the film and others like it will contribute to the appreciation that the nurturing hands that rock the cradle are accorded the respect and dignity that is long overdue. 

Let us all watch, learn from and enjoy IloIlo!



CARMELITA G. NUQUI
President





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