Roman Archdiocese welcomes migrant chaplains from Europe and the Gulf

by Fr. Edwin D. Corros  ECMI-CBCP

Roma, Italia, September 13, 2013 – With the backdrop of St. Peter’s Basilica at the grounds of Urbaniana University, twenty two chaplains and pastoral workers for the Filipino communities from twelve dioceses in Europe and the Gulf excitedly gathered for the 10th Regional Consultative Meeting for the Filipino Ministry last September 10 to 13, 2013 at the Centro Internazionale di Animazione Missionarie or CIAM.

Organized every two years by the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) the participants were cordially welcomed by the assistant chaplain, Fr. Ricky Gente and the five religious sisters assisting the Filipino chaplaincy in Rome.

The meeting began with the opening liturgy animated by the chaplaincy of Rome. It was immediately followed by the solidarity message of Msgr. Pierpaulo Felicolo, the director of Fondazione Migrantes – Roma.  Speaking in Italian, he claimed that he was very fortunate to be invited at the meeting of Filipino migrant chaplains who had chosen Rome as its venue.  “The Filipino migrants are well loved in Italy and are well esteemed by their Italian employers. Unlike those coming for example from Albania and Romania to Italy, their presence was likened to the way the Italians were treated in Belgium or Switzerland many decades ago. They were despised by the country that hosted them,” he disclosed.

He continued with his message declaring that his office is to help pastorally the migrant communities in the Roman diocese to settle smoothly. The diocese of Rome journeys with the various migrants coming from the four corners of the world acknowledging them with their distinct music, their particular culture and language. The diocese of Rome is in a constant journey with the migrant Filipinos and their families.

According to Fr. Ricky Gente and the other nuns working in Rome, Msgr. Pierpaulo Felicolo tries to be present always at the formation seminar provided to the forty six Filipino communities existing in Rome. Towards the end of his talk, he had expressed hope that this meeting will bring out better pastoral intervention to the Filipino migrants.

Translating into English the message of Msgr. Pierpaulo delivered in Italian was Sr. Gloria Agaan, a Salesian nun and the oldest religious participant in the meeting. She claimed to be present at the first ever gathering of Filipino priests that convened in the early 80’s when fewer Filipinos were in Europe.  Being the most senior among the pastoral workers for the Filipino ministry in Europe, Sr. Gloria has accumulated a wealth of information and experience with the changing attitudes of Filipinos towards the Church especially in Italy. She observed the need for church people to continue reaching out to them. “Priests and nuns must go out of their comfort zones to visit more often the migrants in their homes,” she enthused. Even at her age at 80, she was still thrilled to throw support at the message of Fr. Herbert ‘Bubi’ Scholz, a Society of the Divine World (SVD) priest gave a formation talk on “How evangelization among Filipinos overseas could still be improved?”

Fr. Bubi who is based in the General House of the SVD in Rome stressed in his presentation that personal relationship with the people they minister must be developed in order for them to be effective witnesses and not just carrier of the message of the Gospel of Jesus. “We must learn to form real community not necessarily small community as many of them are really very small and refuse to integrate or form relationship with others,” he stressed. Born in Essen, Germany in 1958, Fr. Bubi as he is fondly called by many Filipino SVD confreres had worked in the Philippines from 1972 until 1994 until he was called to work in their general administration in Rome. “Our faith must be contagious or infectious,” his reminder to the pastoral workers and this is for him the evangelizing quality in the human relationship among missionaries and the people they serve.

In his opening remarks, Bishop Precioso Cantillas, SDB, DD, the outgoing chair of ECMI spoke on the “Thirty Years of Faith Accompaniment among OFWs”. He reminded participants of this faith accompaniment as an expression of the CBCP’s commitment towards the overseas Filipinos and such deserves to be continued with further enthusiasm. He moreover invited them to assist the Filipino migrants in understanding the value of our faith as the Philippine Church prepares for its 500 years centennial celebration in 2021.



The opening remarks of Bp. Cantillas set the tone of the individual report of chaplains. The first chaplain to deliver an update of what transpired after the  meeting in Zurich in 2011 was Fr. Simon Boiser, an SVD missionary based in Berlin. Armed with power point presentation, he narrated the various activities of the Filipino chaplaincy in that German capital.

Many of the participants were first timers to the meeting hence the enthusiasm was high. Among the chaplains who took turns to deliver their own report were Fr. Ronnie Lacanienta of Bergamo; Fr. Ben Barrameda of Kuwait; Fr. Vicente Castro Jr. of Madrid; Fr. Mark Jeben Diola of Padova; Fr. Lyndon Balubar and Dani Visda of Paris; Fr. Edwin Literato of Siracusa; and Fr. Julipros Dolotallas and Fr. Antonio Enerio of Switzerland. Other participants of the regular assembly of European chaplains were Fr. Jun Deocampo of Cologne; Fr. Rene Esoy of Dublin; Fr. Ricky Gente of Rome; and the national director for the Filipino ministry in Italy, Fr. Elmer Bumanglag. Their chaplaincy’s report was centered on the activities of their community. Some conveyed concern over the changing attitudes of Filipino migrants towards the Church in the region.

One major observation that some chaplains shared in their report is the changing way of life and mentality of the Filipino migrants in Europe. Understandably, the behavior and culture of the host country is also a factor. After four decades of continuous work in Europe, many Filipinos have decided to adopt the citizenship of their host country. This change has come after having successfully brought their children to live with them through a family unification system.

In the past most migrant Filipinos were merely aiming to go back to the Philippines to retire. This is no longer the case when asked about their plans. Many of those who have adopted a new citizenship conveyed that their motherland could not provide them practical reason to return. Until the country show signs of economic stability and better opportunities would they reconsider coming back. However, they would love to come only for holidays.

Although some are also thinking about returning, but for many, their children are decided to stay put. Many of those who have bought  properties in Europe are now torn between staying with their children and going back home  for their retirement. These are few of the examples shared by the chaplains who had attended the consultative meeting in Rome.

With the global economic slump that also hit Europe, several Filipinos complained that they do not have anymore the luxury of choosing jobs. Many have also lost their jobs and could not also complain about their salary cut. Some were reported to have problems paying for the property mortgage especially among those who had decided to settle permanently in Europe. Just like the Europeans now they too face the same reality of job insecurity and financial woes.

With the changing priorities that come with their European integration, many of them are not even coming to church. Everyone seemed preoccupied of finding part time jobs to augment their income even during Sundays.

Among the second generation Filipinos, referring to the youth, many are not going to Church. One of the chaplains even claimed that some Filipino youths have become members of a satanic cult. The chaplains found some difficulty addressing the needs of the youth. This issue was also raised consistently in the previous consultative meetings in Dublin, Jerusalem and Zurich in 2007, 2009 and 2011 respectively. Apparently, some chaplains have a hard time addressing this problem as many of them had failed to offer a practical possible solution.

As in the past, besides their meeting, prayers and liturgical celebrations were likewise animated by the chaplains and pastoral workers. In the afternoon of September 12, 2013, the participants went to the basilica of S. Pudenziana, the seat of the Filipino chaplaincy in Rome to celebrate the Eucharist with the Filipino community. Afterwards they were treated to a hearty Filipino dinner. The dinner was followed by karaoke singing that allowed participants to enjoy taking turns in the microphone exhibiting their vocal prowess.




Not every chaplain invited to the meeting was able to attend. Earlier that week, Fr. Gestie Advincula, CM, the chaplain of the Filipino community in Beirut, Lebanon had informed the organizer that he was withdrawing his participation from the meeting due to the escalating tensions happening in Syria. He feared that he will not be able to return to Lebanon in the event that the US would take action against Syria. Moreover, Fr. Virgilio Bago Malgapo the outgoing chaplain of Ibiza, Spain, had sent his report but due to lack of time, it was not read by the organizer. He too had apologized for his inability to join as the new chaplain will soon be replacing him.

Everyone enjoyed the presence and company of each other especially during meals and coffee breaks where lively sharing of experiences of their mission were exchanged.

On the last day of the consultation, it was agreed that  chaplains support the second collection that was approved by the CBCP during the celebration of the National Migrants’ Sunday in the Philippines. The executive secretary of the ECMI will send them a letter related to this activity.

Furthermore, the participants had approved that the next meeting will be brought to the Gulf region.  The chaplain of Kuwait volunteered to host the 11th regional consultative meeting in August 2015, once his bishop agrees.  Then, Kuwait will become the second country to host the meeting outside Europe. It must be remembered that Israel hosted the 8th consultative meeting in Jerusalem last August 2009.

SHARING OF EXPERIENCE AND PROGRESS

Implementation of the 5th AFML Recommendations

by Fr. Graziano Battistella, SMC

  

Migration in ASEAN

Using a traditional framework, ASEAN is comprised of 6 countries of origin and four countries of destination of migrants, mostly migrant workers. Using a systemic approach, (and ignoring Brunei because of the small number of migrants involved) it could be said that the region is characterized by four main migration subsystems, where Thailand is the center for a periphery involving Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos; Singapore is the center for an inflow of migrants from traditional sources (mainly Malaysia) and from other countries of Chinese and non-Chinese origin; peninsular Malaysia is the center for migration from Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam; and Sabah is the focus for migration from the Philippines and Indonesia. Three main observations can be made in regard to migration in the region:

1) Migration is important for the countries of origin, like Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, because they have the ASEAN region as their main destinations. However, it is not very important for the Philippines (leaving the case of Sabah aside), which utilizes only Singapore as a major destination within ASEAN. In fact, the number of Filipino migrants within ASEAN is only around 300,000 (according to CFO estimates, excluding Sabah). Migration is even more important for destination countries, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, which have a high percentage of foreign labor force. Therefore, the migration discourse within ASEAN cannot be ignored and, paradoxically, the country which most contributes to this discourse – the Philippines – is the one with the smallest interest in it.

2) Countries of destination, while relying heavily on migrant labor, intend to reduce it. In particular, Singapore and Malaysia are inclined to increase highly skilled labor and decrease unskilled labor. Countries of origin also would like to increase the deployment of skilled workers. However, the supply of unskilled labor in the region is very large and the possibilities to find employment either in the service or the informal sector are very high. Convergence of interests among ASEAN countries needs to be clarified, for a more effective governance approach.

3) Migration is disproportionately characterized by irregularity. Irregular migrants are over one million in Thailand and over one million in Malaysia. Irregularity has been persistent from the 1980s and 1990s and all regularization efforts have proven ineffective. This means that to some extent it is endemic and perhaps accepted. Even in the case of the Philippines, half of the Filipinos in ASEAN countries are considered in an irregular situation, although the data is affected mostly by the reality in Sabah. It is not possible to ignore the irregularity aspect in a dialogue on migration within ASEAN.

Before suggesting recommendations within the ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labor (AFML) it is important to consider this overall context.

Recommendations from the 5th AFML

Recommendations formulated in the 5th Asean Forum on Migrant Labour embraced the migration process in a comprehensive way, emphasizing many components that need to be present in the governance of migration, from the human rights approach to the transparency and accountability of procedures, the sharing of information, effective monitoring and partnership. Behind the many formulations, it is evident that a major objective was the improvement of the recruitment process, which is traditionally considered a problematic aspect in the migration cycle. The other objective was to obtain better services for migrants from government agencies responsible for handling migrant affairs, in particular by reducing the cost of migration.

It is not simple to monitor the actual implementation of the recommendations because of two reasons:

1) many recommendations are formulated in UN-ese language: they are politically correct, but they are extremely generic.

2) recommendations are somehow decontextualized. Although formulated for the ASEAN context, they could have actually been written in another region of the world, with not much difference.


The role of civil society

Considering the five areas of the 5th AFML, and what civil society has done in the past two years, the following can be mentioned:

1) The World Social Forum on Migration held at the Miriam College in Quezon City was a big event, organized through the leadership of MFA and with the cooperation of other civil society organizations. It attracted several hundred delegates from all over the world who came to discuss migration, its current issues, and look for alternatives. It was an occasion to expose to the whole world the reality of Asian migration.

2) In the area of human rights, civil society in the Philippines was active in the ratification of ILO Convention 189 and the adoption of the Kasambahay Bill. In terms of spreading information on the rights of migrants, the PMRW has printed a series of posters and is preparing a guide booklet to be used when presenting the posters in schools. Booklets will be prepared to present in a summarized and illustrated form the rights of migrants to be given to the migrants themselves so that they know their entitlements.

3) In the area of increasing transparency, civil society has participated in the consultation organized by POEA for the preparation of the new Rules and Regulations.

4) In regard to information sharing, several research and publications have been done recently. First is the Country Migration Report: The Philippines 2013 organized by IOM and implemented by the Scalabrini Migration Center. SMC also published the Asian Migration Outlook 2012. Both reports are available in the Internet. Additional research was done in regard to the pre-departure orientation seminars, youth employment and migration and the phenomenon of brain drain – brain waste.

5) With regard to the meaningful involvement of stakeholders (someone should explain what “meaningful involvement” means) the Overseas Landbased Tripartite Consultative Council was created and civil society is proud to say that it was a development of the Consultative Council on Overseas Filipino Workers, initiated more than ten years ago by civil society in dialogue with the then Secretary of labor.

What to bring to Brunei

Two are the focal aspects to be taken up in the AFML in Brunei: 

1) Data. The Scalabrini Migration Center, with ILO support, has begun in 2007 the Migration Information System in Asia (MISA). It was agreed that ILO would continue this effort within the ASEAN region, ensuring the cooperation of the member governments for a regional database on migration.

2) Legal issues, judicial system and system of complaint mechanism. The suggestion is to consider the UN Migrant Workers Convention as a base to be adapted to the ASEAN context. In particular, arts. 16 to 24 of the convention already contain a comprehensive formulation of judicial safeguards applicable to migrants.

3) Review of previous issues. The concept of regional integration should be taken seriously and extended to the circulation of labor within the region. Perhaps it is too early to advocate for the free circulation of labor (although it should be considered an objective of ASEAN), but some obstacle to that circulation should be eliminated:

a) deployment of migrants within the region should take place without placement fees. Employers should pay for the services provided by recruitment agencies in finding the personnel they need. Likewise, employers should not be charged levies for the employment of migrants, because those levies are actual tariffs on the circulation of labor.

b) some deployment of labor within the region should be handled through government-to-government agreements.

The importance of the regional approach

There are many initiatives occurring on migration in the world, in the regions and in sub regions. The regional approach has a better chance to achieve concrete results, because there are implementing and monitoring mechanisms, although not very strong yet, to oversee it. ASEAN is an area where the Philippine leadership in the migration discourse can make some progress. However, instead of generic recommendations, instruments and guidelines are needed.

A Forum with Stakeholders to Assess the 2013 Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) Exercise

Report from CMA


Last July 10, 2013 Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and supported by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), conducted an assessment forum on the Overseas Absentee Voting exercise in the last election. Of the registered voters abroad, only 15.35% actually voted, the lowest turn-out since the OAV exercises started in 2004. The objectives of the forum were to find out why this happened and to gather recommendations to improve the system.

In her opening remarks Karen Gomez-Dumpit, Director of Government Linkages of CHR, said that the Commission also covers Filipinos residing and working abroad. She concluded with a commitment of creating  an enabling environment for all the Filipinos to practice their right to vote within and outside the country. CHR Chairperson and principal author of OAV, Etta Rosales, was also there to welcome the participants.

Berthold Leimbach, the FES resident representative, stressed that the assessment is a timely and important initiative, also reiterating that voting is a civil right. He encouraged the participants to make suggestions for OFWs to participate in the exercise and in improving the exercise as a whole.
 Assessment of OAV 2013

CMA Executive Director Ellene Sana relayed feedbacks from OFWs all over the world. The trending reasons for the low turn-out are the following: Disillusionment and Apathy, Inaccessibility of Polling Precincts, Aggravating Circumstances, Wrong Addresses on Postal Packets, Lack of Information, Weak FSP-FILCOM Collaboration, Outdated Comelec Registration Records, and Limited Suffrage and Limited Stakeholding.  Addressing these issues OFWs made recommendations: online voting, field voting in industrial areas, free transportation for far away precincts, less complicated registration process, improvement of Comelec infrastructure, improvement of information campaign and the amendment of the OV law.

Daphne Ceniza-Kuok, representative of ICOFVR in Hong Kong, offered some positive feedback. In Hong Kong, the voter turn-out increased by 10,000 votes. The consulate was able to devise creative ways to encourage Filipinos to vote despite the lack of funding. The utilization of social media for information dissemination worked and because of the support of Philippines business entities and volunteers, OAV in Hong Kong went relatively smoothly.  She concluded that “the flaws in OAV are a reflection on how the government fails to provide for OFWs”.


Atty. Henry Rojas, the CMA legal counsel, was the next speaker to assess the recently concluded OAV exercise.  According to him, the first OAV in 2004 had a 65% turn-out. In 2007, a resident electoral board was created. Field and mobile registrations were introduced and there was a transition from personal voting to postal voting. Atty. Roxas proposed additional aspects to be raised for further changes like issues in postal voting, effectivity of different registration processes, Comelec budget for information dissemination, and community involvement. Further research and studies on these aspects, he states, might help in improving the exercise.

Response

Representatives from Comelec and DFA were invited to respond on the issues raised by the OFWs. The Comelec representative failed to attend but was able to send a PowerPoint presentation for their assessment of OAV 2013. According to the presentation, every stakeholder contributed to the low-turn-out; the voters’ apathy and disillusionment, and their failure to give correct and complete addresses, Comelec’s administrative and operational limitations, minimal information campaign and limited budget, DFA’s OAV arm’s administrative and operational limitations, and their post’s limited manpower and support, and finally, the NGOs’ waning support.

DFA-OAVS’s Edgardo Castro recognizes the importance in making others understand that OAV is a work in progress and is still in its infancy. For him, the low turn-out, is attributed to OFW’s mobility, political apathy, distance and cost, non-presidential election, complicated voting instructions, unreliable postal service, and OFWs’ change in citizenship. He also explained  that election management is not DFA’s core competencies. It also doesn’t help that DFA operates on a limited budget and a limited number of personnel which hasn’t been increased in 20 years. Among the participants comments were: the turn-out was also affected by the weak relations of Comelec and DFA, OAV exercises in other countries have a less complicated process thus resulting to positive outcomes (e.g. Italy), the OAV is not a work in progress but actually a work in regress.

Steps Forward 2016

Imelda Apostol, Foreign Affairs House of Representatives, gave a review of amendatory provisions of RA 10590 (an act amending republic act no. 9189). CMA’s Ellene Sana presented the PMRW 10-pt migrant agenda for the 16th congress. In the open forum several suggestions and recommendations were given by the participants.


In response to the agenda, Atty. Eulogia, Angkla Partylist counsel, presented their own plans.  A house bill is proposed that will make Marina the agency for maritime labourers, part of this is creating a special program for seafarers and creating a maritime high school adhering to the K-12 educational program. Angkla is also currently working on seafarers’ registration and certification, a seafarer bank and the Magna Carta for seafarers.

Demand for Government Help to Deported Filipinos

On August 27, 2013, a dialogue with government agencies was organized to probe on the case of the 75 Filipino deported from Japan last July 6, 2013. The dialogue was facilitated by the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (ECMI-CBCP) in partnership with the Catholic Commission of Japan Migrants, Refugees and People on the Move (JCARM) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ).  

The JCARM organized a fact finding mission headed by Rev. Fr. Resty  Ogsimer, Cs, with  some lay missionaries, and  leaders of migrant NGOs in Japan due to the alarming reports they received  of the  inhumane treatment during the deportation.  Particularly, they wanted to understand the protocols in the deportation processes from-and-to the country; especially because this is the first ever mass deportation from Japan unannounced to the deportees so they were caught unprepared. The 9-man team or fact-finding mission would also want to ensure that welfare services are available and provided to the deportees.
Under the new regulation of Japan, migrants who stayed for more than three years without valid and acceptable documents cannot circumvent the required fine, imprisonment, or worst, deportation.   Once deported, one has to wait after five years for the possibility of going back, and be accepted once more in Japan. 

The 75 Filipino deportees from Japan were held as undocumented migrants. These Filipinos were tormented by fears when Japanese government started to implement the new immigration law. Most of them were incarcerated for months others for years before their mass deportation. 

Allegedly, male deportees have experienced being dragged, and handcuffed like case-hardened criminals when dispatched to the chartered plane.  Most of the 75 deportees have lived, and established their lives in Japan for more than two decades, and some do not have immediate family in the Philippines.  Others have children left behind in Japan, and worst, without preparation, they have nothing to start with in the Philippines in terms of their economic needs.   

The Department of Foreign Affairs’ office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) were the government agencies represented in the dialogue. Also present were representatives from local migrant NGOs like Development Action for Women Network (DAWN), Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW), BATIS, Balik Buhay Service Cooperative, and some representatives of the 75 deportees.   

The DFA-OUMWA said that the deportation was confirmed to them two days prior to the scheduled date.   Allegedly, within that short period, the agency has managed to negotiate with the Japan authorities to exclude in the deportation those Filipinos with established family ties in Japan, resulting to the reduced number of deportees.  From the initial listings of 100 individual deportees, it was reduced to 75 individuals accounting to 54 males, 13 females, and 8 children.    

On the issue of rights violation and inhumane treatment of deportees, DFA-OUMWA explained that handcuffing is part of the Japan process of deporting foreign nationals. Moreover, it assured the Church and the NGOs that the agency has haggled with the Japan authorities to observe humane and dignified protocols on deportation, and have asked to exempt from handcuffs the women and children; and that handcuffs of the males be removed when the plane entered the Philippine air space, which was contrary to the claims of other deportees that cuffs were only removed 30 minutes before their landing.

The DSWD was in-charge to receive and assist, de-brief, counsel, and provide medical assistance to the deportees, and to facilitate their safe travel back to their respective homes.  Although the initial assistance were delivered, the fact-finding team demanded for a more pro-active and relevant response. The team found out that after more than a month, deportees have not yet receive any form of economic assistance.   Other government agencies present have also committed to look into the possibilities that their agency could assist the deportees in terms of employment, and economic reintegration.
With the utmost desire not to repeat the same ordeals narrated by many of the Filipino deportees, since there are still more than a hundred undocumented Filipinos inside the Japan immigration detention centers,  the JCARM of the CBCJ thru its 9-man team, together with the ECMI-CBCP has issued a joint statement underscoring the following: 


WE DEMAND that the Japanese government 
1) Respect the deportees’ rights to access family and legal assistance before deportation; 2) Prohibit excessive use of handcuffs to manage the deportees because it is an act of torture and humiliation; 3) provide proper medical attention with a reference to the hospitals in the Philippines. 


WE also DEMAND that the Filipino government     
1) extends its support to fulfil urgent needs of the 75 undocumented migrants; 2) help those undocumented who wish to remain in Japan  acquire legal status; 3) provide an accessible and tangible reintegration program designed for undocumented workers. 

WE CALL ON BOTH GOVERNMENTS TO  SUSPEND THE  

INHUMANE FORCED MASS DEPORTATION.

Gearing up for MOF 2013

Preparations are going well for the Inter-agency Council (IAC) for the Month of Overseas Filipinos 2013 chaired by Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) and co-chaired by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) that serves as the Council’s secretariat. The Council is composed of several government agencies that have programs and services for overseas Filipinos such as the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), Pag-IBIG Fund, Social Security Systems (SSS), PhilHealth, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), Presidential Communication Operations Office,  National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and civil society groups like the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) and the Philippine Migration and Research Network (PMRN).

The theme for this year is Balik Pinas: Empowering Returning Overseas Filipinos and their Families. The aim is to highlight government programs, international organizations and civil society initiatives for returning migrants and their families, the mainstreaming of the concept of migration and development in the local level; and highlighting success stories and contributions of migrants in the development of their local communities.

Three monthly meetings were held for the quarter. Several events are being lined up to celebrate the month of overseas towards the end of the year. A regional forum will be held in Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City that is scheduled for November 22, 2013. Another regional forum is being planned for La Union set for November 29, 2013. And to commemorate the International Migrants Day the national forum will be held on December 18, 2013 at the RM hall of the Social Security System head office in East Avenue, Quezon City. Culminating the forum will be the CFO’s awarding of winners for the 2013 Migration Advocacy and Media Awards and the cultural presentation by the NCCA.

The calendar of activities for the month-long celebration of MOF 2013 is being readied. Among the activities include PhilHealth sponsored Yeba! a fun  original Filipino workout based on Philippine folk dance steps that is set to original Pilipino music. Included also are cultural events and film showing.

Demand for Government Help to Deported Filipinos

by Ediza A. Pumarada, SLA

On August 27, 2013, a dialogue with government agencies was organized to probe on the case of the 75 Filipino deported from Japan last July 6, 2013. The dialogue was facilitated by the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (ECMI-CBCP) in partnership with the Catholic Commission of Japan Migrants, Refugees and People on the Move (JCARM) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ).  

The JCARM organized a fact finding mission headed by Rev. Fr. Resty  Ogsimer, Cs, with  some lay missionaries, and  leaders of migrant NGOs in Japan due to the alarming reports they received  of the  inhumane treatment during the deportation.  Particularly, they wanted to understand the protocols in the deportation processes from-and-to the country; especially because this is the first ever mass deportation from Japan unannounced to the deportees so they were caught unprepared. The 9-man team or fact-finding mission would also want to ensure that welfare services are available and provided to the deportees.

Under the new regulation of Japan, migrants who stayed for more than three years without valid and acceptable documents cannot circumvent the required fine, imprisonment, or worst, deportation.   Once deported, one has to wait after five years for the possibility of going back, and be accepted once more in Japan. 

The 75 Filipino deportees from Japan were held as undocumented migrants. These Filipinos were tormented by fears when Japanese government started to implement the new immigration law. Most of them were incarcerated for months others for years before their mass deportation. 

Allegedly, male deportees have experienced being dragged, and handcuffed like case-hardened criminals when dispatched to the chartered plane.  Most of the 75 deportees have lived, and established their lives in Japan for more than two decades, and some do not have immediate family in the Philippines.  Others have children left behind in Japan, and worst, without preparation, they have nothing to start with in the Philippines in terms of their economic needs.   

The Department of Foreign Affairs’ office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) were the government agencies represented in the dialogue. Also present were representatives from local migrant NGOs like Development Action for Women Network (DAWN), Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW), BATIS, Balik Buhay Service Cooperative, and some representatives of the 75 deportees.   

The DFA-OUMWA said that the deportation was confirmed to them two days prior to the scheduled date.   Allegedly, within that short period, the agency has managed to negotiate with the Japan authorities to exclude in the deportation those Filipinos with established family ties in Japan, resulting to the reduced number of deportees.  From the initial listings of 100 individual deportees, it was reduced to 75 individuals accounting to 54 males, 13 females, and 8 children.   

On the issue of rights violation and inhumane treatment of deportees, DFA-OUMWA explained that handcuffing is part of the Japan process of deporting foreign nationals. Moreover, it assured the Church and the NGOs that the agency has haggled with the Japan authorities to observe humane and dignified protocols on deportation, and have asked to exempt from handcuffs the women and children; and that handcuffs of the males be removed when the plane entered the Philippine air space, which was contrary to the claims of other deportees that cuffs were only removed 30 minutes before their landing.

The DSWD was in-charge to receive and assist, de-brief, counsel, and provide medical assistance to the deportees, and to facilitate their safe travel back to their respective homes.  Although the initial assistance were delivered, the fact-finding team demanded for a more pro-active and relevant response. The team found out that after more than a month, deportees have not yet receive any form of economic assistance.   Other government agencies present have also committed to look into the possibilities that their agency could assist the deportees in terms of employment, and economic reintegration.

With the utmost desire not to repeat the same ordeals narrated by many of the Filipino deportees, since there are still more than a hundred undocumented Filipinos inside the Japan immigration detention centers,  the JCARM of the CBCJ thru its 9-man team, together with the ECMI-CBCP has issued a joint statement underscoring the following: 

WE DEMAND that the Japanese government 

1) Respect the deportees’ rights to access family and legal assistance before deportation; 2) Prohibit excessive use of handcuffs to manage the deportees because it is an act of torture and humiliation; 3) provide proper medical attention with a reference to the hospitals in the Philippines.

WE also DEMAND that the Filipino government     

1) extends its support to fulfil urgent needs of the 75 undocumented migrants; 2) help those undocumented who wish to remain in Japan  acquire legal status; 3) provide an accessible and tangible reintegration program designed for undocumented workers. 

 WE CALL ON BOTH GOVERNMENTS TO  SUSPEND THE INHUMANE FORCED MASS DEPORTATION.

 

Initial Recommendations of Civil Society and OFW Advocates to the Senate Blue Ribbon and Labor committees

Initial Recommendations of Civil Society and OFW Advocates to the Senate Blue Ribbon and Labor committees, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment, from civil society groups and individual OFW advocates regarding complaints versus overseas personnel:

Background:

Prior to the convening of a series of hearings in the Senate on the alleged sex-for-flight complaints against certain labor officials, a group of OFW advocates belonging to various organizations sought civil society’s involvement in the investigative panel. This suggestion was politely declined by the DFA, while the DoLE through the Office of the Secretary failed to even acknowledge our letter.

Despite this initial setback, our collective call for reforms in the delivery of onsite protective and welfare services to our OFWs continues. Our group is composed of the following:

Philippine Migrant Rights Watch (PMRW) led by Ms. Carmelita Nuqui

Blas F. Ople Policy Center led by Ms. Susan V. Ople

Filipino Migrant Workers’ Group (FMWG) led by Mr. Jun Aguilar

Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards (PEBA) led by Mr. Kenji Solis

LBS Recruitment Solutions (LBS) led by Mr. Lito Soriano

KAMPI and Kabalikat ng OFWs led by Mr. Luther Calderon

Our recommendations are the following:

1.     To Prevent Ticket Anomalies:

o   Proper orientation of OFWs particularly to those in Bahay Kalinga shelters re government procedures in the availment of air tickets for distressed OFWs;

o   All departing OFWs must have a full briefing on the coverage of their mandatory insurance policies as paid for by the recruitment agencies;

o   The POEA and Insurance Commission must ensure that all departing OFWs have a copy of their insurance policy as paid for by their recruitment agency and that such policy should be in the OFW’s name; there should be a dedicated hotline that these workers can call in case such information/copy of policy was not given;

2.     For the Empowerment of OFWs especially Household Workers:

o   Stiffer penalties for PDOS providers and recruitment agencies that encourage and even facilitate non-appearance of departing OFWs, by issuing bogus certificates of attendance.

o   All personnel to be assigned overseas particularly in countries with a high concentration of Filipino domestic workers must undergo gender sensitivity classes, learn basic counseling skills, and victims’ assistance training geared specifically towards promoting the rights and welfare of abused women particularly those engaged in domestic work and/or victims of human trafficking;

o   All rape and sexual harassment cases involving domestic workers must be immediately reported by the POLO to the Head of Post and Assistance-to-Nationals Unit and vice-versa, with regular case conferences to be convened until such cases are deemed resolved; moreso if such cases involve an embassy staff regardless of which agency/department he or she came from.

o   That the entire Section 40 covering Repatriation Procedures as contained in Administrative Order No. 168 Series of 2013 on the Manual of Operations, Polices and Guidelines for the POLO be included in the PDOS and all other related seminars for OFWs conducted by DOLE and its attached agencies.

o   That a special PDOS for overseas personnel including ambassadors due for posting in the Middle East and other countries with a high number of welfare cases be developed and conducted to include topics about sexual harassment, gender sensitivity, and other women’s concerns.

3.     To Promote Accountability and Transparency at Posts:

o   Amend Administrative Order No. 168 Series of 2013 on the Manual of Operations, Policies and Guidelines for the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) to reflect the following:

a.       Under Section 5 entitled “One Country Team Approach”, we recommend that the last paragraph be amended to read: “In cases involving criminal and/or police matters and procedures, the POLO shall render assistance at the initial contact with the concerned worker but it shall immediately endorse such cases to the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) section of the Philippine Embassy/Consulate.

b.      That POLOs must include in their monthly report on MWOFRC any complaints emanating from its wards against any embassy personnel and actions taken by the POLOs to report such complaints to the head of post;

o   That the DFA, DoLE and DSWD come up with a joint mechanism onsite and here at home to promote better coordination in handling sensitive cases involving trafficked women, abused domestic workers, and sexual harassment complaints involving embassy personnel; such mechanisms could include regular case conferences, information sharing, and well-coordinated reintegration services for said victims.

o   That all local hires be carefully screened and evaluated on the basis of performance at work and behavior towards overseas Filipino workers; that a common criteria for hiring be adopted by all agencies concerned, alongside a unified compensation package as set by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

o   Inter-agency accounting and reporting of tickets bought, sent, and used as part of repatriation efforts with a unified report to be submitted as part of the requirements of the oversight congressional committees;

o    The DFA and DOLE to jointly come up with Performance Standards, which may include benchmarks on time periods required to resolve cases or complaints or come up with appropriate actions.

o    Institute a feedback and exit evaluation mechanism in government shelters in order to solicit and document OFWs' experience in the shelters and their recommendations for improvements

4.     Reforms Through Legislative-Executive Actions:

o   Increase the number of personnel in so-called “hardship posts” to narrow the gap between embassy staff and clientele particularly in the Middle East; also, review where the funds saved due to the closure of 10 foreign posts went considering the lack of dramatic increase in the number of personnel serving our OFWs in the Middle East.

o   Ensure availability of funds in the 2014 GAA to operationalize the provisions of the law on the assignment of pyshcologists, social workers, and a Shari’a or human rights lawyer in highly problematic countries as categorized by the DFA and DOLE and where there is a high concentration of Filipino migrant workers;

o   Ensure that all ambassadors and other diplomatic personnel to be nominated for confirmation by the Commission on Appointments have undergone a prescribed gender sensitivity course and is duly informed about the anti-sexual harassment act, expanded trafficking in persons law as well as other pertinent laws involving women’s rights;

o   For the executive to have a clearer definition of the One Country Team Approach in operational terms particularly in relation to the handling of cases involving rape and human trafficking victims as well as those abused/maltreated/exploited/harassed by embassy personnel.

o   For the passage of a law or amendment of existing ones specifically on victims’ assistance delineating the roles of every agency/department from deployment to onsite services and finally on reintegration with corresponding budget allocations and staff training components;

o   For amendments to the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act to include acts committed by foreign service personnel including local hires against Filipino overseas workers; and,

o   For all agencies with staff overseas to agree on a Code of Ethics in relation to the delivery of services to overseas Filipino workers particularly those who have sought refuge in Philippine embassies and consulates around the world.

o   For the oversight legislative labor committee to review the operations of the POLO especially in light with the additional powers to be given to it under the revised rules of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

We also call on the Secretaries of the DFA and DOLE to harness the experience and desire of civil society groups and OFW advocates to contribute and encourage reforms in onsite delivery of services through dialogue and the crafting of a sweeping reform agenda for the benefit of our modern-day heroes.

Carmelita Nuqui, PMRW                   Susan Ople, Blas F. Ople Center

Luther Calderon, KAMPI                  Jun Aguilar, FMWG

Kenji Solis, PEBA                               Lito Soriano, LBS Recruitment Solutions