MIGRANTS YEARENDER

RP Risking the Lives of OFWs to Save the Economy
(First of two parts)

Deployment of overseas Filipino workers abroad, even in danger zones, has been the response of the government to the ballooning unemployment rate and worsening poverty situation. But despite their valuable contribution in propping up the ailing economy, the “modern-day heroes” do not get what is due to them.  In times of crisis, they are left to fend for themselves without the assistance of the government that reaps the benefits of their labor.

BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN
Bulatlat

Unable to achieve its target of creating one million jobs a year, the Arroyo government is aggressively pushing its labor export policy.

As of Nov. 18, the country has deployed 991,461 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) across the globe. Of this, 751,974 are land-based migrant workers while the remaining 239,487 are seafarers.

In 2005, the $10.7 billion of OFW remittances kept the economy afloat by providing the much needed dollar reserves and financing consumer expenditures of families of OFWs.  In fact, the promotions and sales campaigns of the housing sector are targeted at the families of OFWs. 

This year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projects remittances to go as high as $13.4 billion. During the first ten months of 2006, remittances had already reached $10.3 billion. BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo projects that OFW remittances for 2007 could surpass the 2006 figures at $14.1 billion.

Despite the heaping praises from government, Connie Bragas-Regalado, chair of Migrante International, said that OFWs do not receive the services “modern-day heroes” deserve.

Worse, in spite of the government’s policy to “allow our citizens to work only in safe places,” she said OFWs are still working in and are being deployed to danger zones all over the world (SEE TABLE).

Escaping poverty

Being the poorest island in the country, Mindanao has the highest deployment of women workers abroad over the last three years, with Region 12 or Soccsksargen leading over the island's six regions. The Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines (CMA-Philippines) revealed that four out of 10 OFWs come from Mindanao. CMA also said that out of the 135,000 OFWs from the island 66.2 percent are women while only 34.8 percent are men. Confirming the report, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said that in 2005 six out of 10 OFWs coming from Mindanao are women, compared to only four out of ten in Luzon and Visayas.

Some local governments have come up with various schemes to facilitate the deployment of OFWs.  The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) opened a One-Stop Processing Center (OSPC) inside the special economic zone.  With the said scheme, the various government agencies involved in the issuance of permits and licenses, and the processing of the papers of OFWs are housed inside the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ).

In Barangay Culiat in Quezon City, a Muslim community called Salam has become a transit point for several women from Mindanao who are hoping to be deployed to Middle East countries. In Salam, Muslim agents help the women process their requirements with recruitment and government agencies, and provide free board and lodging. The cost incurred in the processing of papers and the board and lodging are computed and deducted from the salaries of OFWs once they start working abroad.

Risks

Ironically, OFWs who have escaped the war and poverty in Mindanao found themselves in the crossfire in war-torn countries.

The U.S. invasion of Iraq made it risky for OFWs to work in that country, especially since most available jobs revolve around the war and reconstruction activities of the U.S. armed forces.  Three Filipino truck drivers were killed and several others wounded in different bombing incidents inside U.S. military camps or while transporting supplies for U.S. troops. For a salary of around $2,000 to $4,000 a month, some Filipinos even accept mercenary jobs providing security to U.S. troops, supply convoys, and strategic installations.   

In Saudi Arabia, OFWs Abel Monterela and Felix Llorando, along with three others, died in February after being wounded in a shootout between Saudi police and militants.

Twenty Filipino seafarers were seized by Somali rebels who held them hostage for 108 days last March 29. 

Recently, more than 250 OFWs working at Betchel Oil Refinery in Tengiz, Kazakhstan found themselves at risk after a riot between Turkish workers and Kazakhs who accused migrant workers of taking over their jobs.  The OFWs have likewise received threats from the Kazakhs. 

Despite the threats to their lives, many OFWs choose to stay in their jobs rather than risk dying of hunger and poverty at home. Thus, OFW deployment to these danger zones continues. (see table)

Lebanon

The crisis in Lebanon was a glaring example of the type of response and services the Arroyo government provides to OFWs.  It took ten days, after Israel started bombing Lebanon last July 12, before the Philippines was able to repatriate the first batch of OFWs.  The government cited the difficulties and obstacles created by the war as the reason for the delays.  But France was able to bring home its nationals on the third day.

Quoting a “top level source” at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) who claims to have “first-hand knowledge” regarding the evacuation plans for OFWs, Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) spokesperson Garry Martinez disclosed that the government planned to repatriate only 10 percent or about 3,400 of the 34,000 OFWs in Lebanon. Martinez also said that the government has no crisis management plan in case the war escalates in the region.

For their part, Migrante helped the distressed OFWs in Lebanon thru Task Force Ligtas (Task Force Safety), which was formed much earlier than the government’s Oplan Sagip OFW sa Lebanon (Oplan Save OFWs in Lebanon). After Migrante announced the formation of the task force and the hotline number on the third day of the bombing, they were flooded by calls and text messages from families of stranded OFWs in Lebanon.

The evacuation efforts of the Arroyo government was even marred by squabbles over funding involving officials from the Philippine embassy in Lebanon, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the OWWA. The bickering started when Ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bichara said on national television that they would be constrained to stop the evacuation of OFWs for lack of funds.

In a news briefing in Malacañang, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr., countered that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released $150 million to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on July 20.  He further claimed that of the said amount, $150,000 was disbursed to the Philippine embassy in Lebanon to augment the latter’s funds which amounted to only $200,000.

Martinez also learned through his caregiver wife in Kadima, Israel that the government had no evacuation plan for OFWs in Israel in case the war escalated. To cope with this, Migrante organized its own safety and security plans, and spread it to OFWs through Martinez’s wife. 

Bragas-Regalado said that the Philippine government should have a contingency plan in place since the Lebanon-Israel conflict is a recurring situation.

It was even the International Organization for Migrants (IOM) which shouldered the repatriation costs of more than 4,000 OFWs from among the 6,000 migrant workers it repatriated.

Miserable life back home

The travails of OFWs from Lebanon did not end with their repatriation.  For days, the repatriated OFWs from Lebanon filled the lobby of the OWWA center waiting and begging for the release of their plane ticket to their respective provinces. They were also burdened by the fact that they had become jobless when they had to pay the debts they incurred to be able to work in Lebanon and their family had to survive. 

The government promised the repatriated OFWs that they could avail of trainings, livelihood support, scholarships and other forms of assistance upon their return to their respective provinces. Somehow, these promises provided a tinge of hope but the repatriated OFWs could not wait forever to be able to avail of the promised assistance. 

Thus, despite the trauma they experienced, most if not all are willing to leave the country again for another job in order to uplift their deplorable lives.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo, in her 2006 state of the nation address, announced that one of the thrusts of her administration is the upgrading of skills and knowledge of Filipino domestic helpers who are planning to work abroad so that they could become what the president described as “supermaids.” She explained that the training of “supermaids” would increase the value of OFWs who work as domestic workers abroad and eventually compensate for the economic dislocation repatriated OFWs experienced.

Migrant leader Bragas-Regalado said that this move is not the answer to the needs of the OFWs, in particular, and the Filipino people, in general. She said this only shows that the government could not provide the much-needed jobs locally.  Thus, it had to rely on the export of the country’s human resources to prop up the economy and provide gainful employment to Filipinos. Bulatlat 

OFWs Battle to Save their Own Lives (Conclusion)

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