“Technically, it is the government that deploys OFWs,” said Migrante International secretary-general Maita Santiago. “Paalis lang sila nang paalis ng mga Pilipino pero pag kailangan na ng tulong, wala na silang pakialam.” (The government keeps on sending Filipinos abroad but when the latter needs help, it doesn’t seem to care.)

Benefits due to OWWA members

In a statement by Siklab-Ontario, the group said that Pailanan was an active OWWA member at the time of her death.

OWWA, an attached agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), “is the lead government agency tasked to protect and promote the welfare and well-being of OFWs and their dependents.

OWWA, as a membership institution, requires members to pay a US$25 membership contribution either by enrolment upon processing of contract at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or by voluntary registration of a would-be member at job sites overseas. According to the OWWA website, a member is entitled to various benefits and services.

Among these benefits are a life insurance which entitles the member to P100, 000 ($2,232 at an exchange rate of $1=P44.80) in cases of natural death and P200, 000 ($4,464) for accidental death, plus P20, 000 ($446) for burial expenses. Under its Repatriation Program which is part of the Family Welfare and Assistance Program, the OWWA is suppose to provide “services to facilitate immediate repatriation of distressed OFWs, medically-ill OFWs, human remains, etc. like airport assistance, domestic transport, temporary shelter, etc.”

It also has a P100-million ($2,232,142) Emergency Repatriation Fund (ERF)

But with the passage of the “Omnibus Policies of the OWWA,” or Board Resolution No. 038 on Sept. 19, 2003, OFWs can avail of the benefits they are entitled to only up to the time that they have a live contract, even if they have paid the $25 membership fee. Before this policy was implemented, OFWs were entitled to a lifetime membership, said Santiago.

At the time of Pailanan’s death, she was applying for a new working visa under a new employer because her supposed employer was nowhere to be found when she arrived there.

“Now, how can the government say they are providing services? They make the OFWs pay their dues and yet makes it difficult for OFWs to avail of the benefits due to them,” said Santiago, noting that “OWWA funds are from OFWs.”

Filipino community support

Because of the refusal of Consular officials to help, Siklab-Ontario and Migrante International, an international alliance of Filipino migrant organizations, came to the support of the Pailanan family.

Siklab Ontario has set up the Friends of Elenita Pailanan Committee that coordinates with Migrante Interntional in the Philippines to raise funds for the repatriation of the remains of Pailanan and to help the family with their expenses. The funds will go directly to the family in Iloilo.

Donations can be made to the Elenita Pailanan Fund, TD Canada Trust Acct. No. 19682 004 0617 5238312.

Scrap LCP

Meanwhile, Siklab-Ontario called anew for the scrapping of the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada, saying that “the violent and inhumane nature of this program leave Filipino live-in caregivers extremely vulnerable to abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation.”

“For a country that basks itself as a champion of human rights and women’s equality, Canada clearly fails to uphold the fundamental human rights of these women and instead facilitates their modern-day slavery,” said Yolyn Valenzuela, Siklab Canada vice chairperson.

The group said that Canada continues to recruit live-in caregivers, 96 percent of whom come from the Philippines, to provide care for children, people with disabilities and the elderly of middle and upper-class Canadian families; but it is “unwilling to care and provide necessary protection to this group of women and turns a blind eye to the numerous and worsening cases of abuse and neglect perpetuated by this program.”

Siklab Canada called for the removal of the mandatory live-in requirement of 24 months, the temporary immigration status and the employer-specific contract under the LCP. It said the situation of Filipino live-in caregivers will never improve because these conditions “provide the systemic context for their abuse and vulnerability.” It cited the criminalization of live-in caregivers, rape, de-skilling and forced prostitution as some of the harsh impacts of the program to the women, their families, and the community.(Bulatlat.com)

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