MIGRANT WATCH

Migrants Junk GMA, Ping for President

The biggest alliance of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Migrante International, will field candidates for Congress in the May 2004 elections. The road to Congress will be steered by their party, Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP), said to be the first electoral party for migrant workers.

BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN
Bulatlat.com

Migrants may be physically far away, but they made their presence felt last Dec. 16. More than 600 migrants and their families and allies attended the public launching of the Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP SOLAIR) in Diliman, Quezon City. Connie Bragas-Regalado, newly elected chairperson and MSP’s first nominee, said, “The national, political, or electoral agenda of presidentiables, political parties, and other aspiring national candidates should have (a clear agenda to uplift the plight of migrant workers) if they want to get (our) support.”

Three of seven MSP nominees: (L-R) Monterona, Regalado and Belinan Photo by Arkibong Bayan

She, however, said that they should not base such agenda on “what they think they know or what they feel they should do. They should get it from the migrant Filipinos themselves.”

Regalado was a government social worker in Mindanao before she became a domestic helper (DH) in Singapore from 1983 to 1985. She later worked as a DH in Hong Kong from 1991 to the present.

Guest speakers at the public launching included Ambassador Roy Señeres, Rep. Carlos Padilla, senatorial aspirant Atty. Melanio “Batas” Mauricio, UP Student Regent Gloria Cutab, and presidential aspirant Raul Roco. Presidential contender Fernando Poe Jr. was also invited but was unable to attend.

Sarah Balabagan, a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia who killed her employer in self-defense when he tried to rape her, led the singing of the national anthem. She thanked those who helped her like Señeres and Migrante International.

The party convention started with a multimedia presentation of the overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) struggle. Russel Contemplacion, daughter of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Flor Contemplacion who was hanged in Singapore in 1994, read the statement of dependents and families of OFWs supporting MSP.

Abused OFWs like Joselito Alejo who was tortured and jailed in Saudi Arabia and their dependents joined the launching of the party. They promised to support the group which helped them and, for some, even saved their lives.

Neither GMA nor Ping

The party has yet to decide on who among the presidential contenders it will endorse. “But for sure, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not an option, as well as Ping Lacson who has a bloody track record,” MSP vice chairperson and spokesperson John Monterona told Bulatlat.com.

In fact, OFWs in Hong Kong (HK) led by Migrante declared HK a “no-vote zone for GMA” during the president’s visit there last Dec. 14. According to HK-based organizations, their decision is based on corruption cases at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the President’s anti-migrant policies like the OWWA omnibus policies which commercialize services for migrant workers and their families.

MSP will also not endorse the candidacy of Ping Lacson. Regalado said that if he wins the presidency, he would only continue what he did when he was still director-general of the Philippine National Police (PNP). She said that Lacson is so “dangerous” for the presidential seat.

In an interview with Bulatlat.com, Regalado said Lacson was embarrassed during his visit in HK last Aug. 10 where OFWs held a “silent” protest, carrying only placards around the park where he was giving his speech. Lacson reportedly stopped his speech upon seeing their protest and the crowd booed him when he went down the stage.

Roco’s Commission on Migration

Raul Roco, a former education secretary, promised to create a Presidential Commission on Migration if he wins the presidency.

He boasted his accomplishments, among them the scrapping of the law that mandates double taxation of migrant workers, reducing the expensive processing fees of lost passport in Singapore that cost US$125, and his effort to bring back home 500 teachers in HK who wanted to return to teaching in the Philippines during the Ramos administration.

He also promised the immediate approval of the United Nations Convention for the Protection of the Rights and Welfare of Migrants and their Families. He said that he would lobby to other countries to complete the required 25 signatories. At present, only 14 countries are signatories. He criticized the government’s actions to transfer OFW funds to other services and its possible use for the coming elections.

After his speech, MSP regional and international representatives joined Roco up the stage and raised his hands.

Monterona said that they welcome other presidential aspirants except Macapagal-Arroyo and Lacson to present their platforms.

Parliamentary struggle

After 15 years of lobbying, migrants will be participating in the elections.

However, Regalado said that they consider the parliament as merely another form of struggle. For her, what’s most important is the consolidation of the migrant sector. “We will pursue a charter for migrants where the migrant workers ourselves are involved in its drafting through our national congress,” she said.

MSP has a target of more than one million votes from about 360,000 registered absentee voters. A family of a migrant worker, on the average, is assumed to have three more registered voters, which translates to a little more than one million votes.

MSP’s nominees are Regalado, Monterona, Carol Almeda from the United States, Rowena Flores from Italy, Edgar Cadano from Saudi Arabia, Dominador Olavere from Europe and Flora Belinan from Hong Kong. Bulatlat.com

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