Migrant Watch 

Singers, Not OFWs, To Have GMA’s Ears in Japan

Organized migrant Filipino workers in Japan have asked for a dialog with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she visits Tokyo this December. With their request rejected by the Philippine embassy, OFW leaders say the President would rather watch song and dance extravaganza than listen to their grievances.

By Bulatlat.com

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would rather watch an extravaganza of songs and dances than meet overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to discuss their problems when she flies to Japan for a state visit this December.

Groups of OFWs in Japan, through the Filipino Migrant Center in Nagoya-shi, found this out last week when they were refused an audience with the Philippine president by the Philippine embassy.

Virgie Aquino-Isihara, executive director of the Filipino Migrant Center, said in a statement sent to Bulatlat.com this weekend that OFWs in Japan have received “cold treatment” from Philippine embassy officials. Requests for a dialog with the visiting president have been rejected, she said.

In a letter addressed to Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo herself, Aquino-Ishihara said that despite the OFWs’ desire to have their problems heard, the “(Philippine) office prefers to represent us through dance and songs…We have no chance to dialog with you on issues affecting us.”

OFWs in Japan, the center’s executive director said, have questioned the onerous fees charged by the Philippine embassy for standard services, such as passport fees (16,000 yen) and travel affidavit (4,000 yen). Organized migrant Filipinos are asking the President to lower the fees so as to lessen their financial burden.

They are also pressing Philippine officials to ask the Tokyo government to revise its rules and policies on trainees, entertainers and domestics by allowing them to file complaints with the Japan Labor Standard Office. They asked Macapagal-Arroyo to urge Tokyo to form a grievance and conciliation agency that would ensure the protection of migrant Filipino workers especially entertainers and trainees in construction companies.

Aquino-Ishihara also urged that the Tokyo government stop using immigration policies that prohibit undocumented Filipinos from returning to Japan.

“There are mothers of Japanese-Filipino children who would lose their chance to fight for their rights of their children once they are sent back home,” she said. “There are many undocumented workers whose employers are willing to take them as regular staff. But the 5-year ban provision prohibits sponsoring the undocumented workers.”

The letter of complaint was co-signed by representatives of Filipina Circle for Advancement and Progress-Nagoya, Filipino Migrants Union, Philippine Society of Japan, San Lorenzo Society, League of Filipino Seniors Kalipunan ng mga Filpino na Nagkakaisa and Ecumenical Filipino Fellowship, among others. Bulatlat.com

We want to know what you think of this article.