Malaysian exec wants illegal immigration in Sabah curbed

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia must quickly solve the problem of illegal Filipino immigrants in Sabah especially in the light of a challenge made by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to contest the ownership of Sabah in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), an official said.

Datuk Wilfred Bumburing (BN-Tuaran), said with so much focus on the Batu Puteh case in the ICJ, it would be wise for the Malaysian government to be seen to be doing something about the problem in Sabah.

“If we are not careful, we will lose a much bigger piece of land than Batu Puteh or the Middle Rocks,” he said when responding to Ibrahim Ali’s (Ind-Pasir Mas) comments about the ICJ’s recent decision when debating the Supplementary Supply Bill.

“Sabah MPs have raised this problem time and again and the government must take note of the immigrant issue,” he said, adding that the Philippine’s claim to Sabah is still there.

Bumburing said that Malaysia was still paying the Sultan of Sulu a certain amount of money every year.

Outside the Dewan, Bumburing said some of the immigrants have become entrenched in Sabah, adding that the number of Filipinos in Sabah was unknown.

“This is why we need a Royal Commission of Inquiry,” he said.

Reports in Philippine online news portals quoted Moro leader Nur Misuari as saying on Saturday that the amount of money paid by Sabah to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu was “pittance.”

Misuari said the Sabah issue should be brought to the ICJ for resolution. The Star-ANN - Asia News Network - Inquirer.net, May 27, 2008

Malaysian wives wary of Chinese maids

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The women's wing of one of Malaysia's ruling parties has urged the government to rethink a plan to recruit domestic helpers from China, arguing they could seduce local married men, state press reported Sunday.

Ng Yen Yen, head of the women's wing of the Malaysian Chinese Association, said wives have complained that Chinese women are wrecking families by having affairs with their husband, the state Bernama news agency said.

After talks with the foreign ministry, she called for it "to halt this plan for the moment.

"We do not want the problem of these 'little dragon ladies' to escalate," Bernama quoted her as saying. "These women are enticing local married men into having affairs with them and are causing family disharmony."

The Malaysian Chinese Association is the second largest political party in Malaysia representing the minority ethnic Chinese and is a part of the ruling coalition.

Ng said that while she did not mean to disparage Chinese women, she had to look into the claims of local women who had complained to the party.

Malaysia's home affairs minister said Friday the government was considering importing maids from China and India to curb a shortage from Indonesia and the Philippines.

The move was criticized by a women's rights group, which said authorities must first tackle the problem of foreign helpers shunning Malaysia because of low pay and other issues.

"We must first address the issue of why foreign domestic workers are not keen to work in Malaysia," Ivy Josiah, executive director of the Women's Aid Organisation, told the Star daily Sunday.

"We have low labor standards, there are no compulsory days off, wages are low and workers are not properly protected," she added.

Malaysia employs 350,000 foreign maids, 95 percent of whom are Indonesian, but the 20,000 Filipino maids are paid almost three times the average because of their English language abilities. - Agence France-Presse - Inquirer.net, May 27, 2007

Malaysian state blasts Philippines on illegal migrants

KUALA LUMPUR -- A Malaysian state has accused the Philippines of hampering efforts to deport thousands of illegal Filipinos as local residents Wednesday said their presence led to crime.

Musa Aman, the chief minister of Sabah state, said Manila was not cooperating in accepting its nationals back, the state Bernama news agency reported.

"What I want to say here is that we will continue to round up the illegal immigrants in Sabah to ensure they are sent back to their home countries," Musa was quoted as saying.

"However, to repatriate them all is not easy because some countries, particularly the Philippines, have failed to give decent cooperation, causing the process to send their nationals back taking a very long time," he said.

Sabah shares a border with Indonesia and is separated by the narrow Sulu Sea from the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines, which shares cultural ties with Sabah.

Officials say there are up to half a million illegals living in Sabah -- mainly Muslim Filipinos and Indonesians who are engaged in local

industries such as fishing, plantation and construction.

Malaysia has launched a number of mass deportations, and in June last year held high-level talks with the Philippines over what both sides said was the growing problem of Filipino migration.

"Police in all districts have carried out operations almost every day to trace and round up the illegal immigrants and hold them at the detention centers pending repatriation," Musa said.

But Patrick Sindu, president of the Consumers Association of Sabah, went further Wednesday, saying that the problem was "very serious" and accused many illegals of criminal activities such as robbery and rape.

"It is clear the Malaysia government has no political will to solve the illegal problem," he said. - Agence France-Presse - Inquirer.net, April 04, 2007

RP, Malaysia rescue Filipina from Sabah brothel

DoJ moving to save more

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine and Malaysian authorities cooperated with each other to rescue an 18-year-old Filipina sold to a Sabah brothel for 15,000 ringgit (around P200,000) last month.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the rescue was undertaken by the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) anti-illegal recruitment task force (AIRTF) and Malaysian authorities.

The victim, a resident of Novaliches, Quezon City, was recruited by her aunt's friend last April 21, supposedly to work as guest relations officer (GRO) at a posh club in Sabah.

That same day, after she signed a contract and the recruited had processed her passport, she was flown to Sabah through the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Pampanga.

On arriving in Sabah, the victim said she was given a day to rest and then forced into prostitution, with male clients paying a man she identified only as "Boss Nick," 3,500 ringgit (almost P50,000) for her services.

The victim said her handler made her take between two to three customers a night, adding that her 20 other companions were not as lucky as they were made to service between five to eight men a night.

She added that the brothel was multi-racial, with Chinese, Thais and Filipinas.

Gonzalez said efforts are now underway to rescue the victim's other companions.

He said he has already ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to hunt down the recruiter.

He also ordered the Bureau of Immigrations (BI) to tighten their watch on all the country's airport to prevent human smuggling.

Gonzalez said he has also ordered the BI attached to the AIRTF to provide the bureau with police powers and enable its operatives to arrest suspected human traffickers and their charges while at the airports.

"It has come to my attention that Filipino women are being recruited by crooked and unscrupulous recruiters, wherein such women end up as prostitutes in brothels in Sabah, Malaysia,” Gonzalez’s order to the BI said.

The usual point of exits for such women are Clark, Pampanga, and Zamboanga. Foregoing considered, your office is directed to strictly implement laws, rules, regulations and procedures relative to departures from the Philippines especially in the above areas to protect our women from prostitution," he said. - Tetch Torres, INQUIRER.net, May 21, 2008

Rising conservatism cast doubts on Malaysia future

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Rising Islamic conservatism in Malaysia, where women were caned under Islamic law for the first time this month, has cast doubt over the future of the multi-ethnic country, commentators say.

The thrashing of three women for sex out of wedlock, a spate of firebombings at places of worship, and a row over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims have shaken Malaysia's reputation as a moderate Muslim-majority nation.

"Malaysia's multi-religious future is uncertain because the government is caving in to the demands of conservative Islamic forces," said sociologist Noraini Othman from pressure group Sisters in Islam.

The religious sharia courts, which operate in parallel with the civil system, have become more muscular in recent years, clamping down on rarely enforced laws that ban alcohol and sex out of wedlock for Muslim Malays.

"The caning of the three women was a clear violation of Malaysia's penal code which does not allow women to be caned," said Noraini.

"So this is a major clash between sharia and civil law in Malaysia, with the government obviously siding with sharia."

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin defended the caning, saying at the weekend that it was "far lighter" than the heavy length of rattan used to flog criminals in the civil justice system for crimes like rape and murder.

"The punishment is legitimate and in accordance with the law," he said.

The action against the women, who in a carefully managed press conference said they welcomed their punishment as an opportunity to repent, came after a dispute over the word "Allah," which has escalated religious tensions.

Eleven churches, a mosque, and two Muslim prayer halls were attacked with Molotov cocktails, stones, and paint following a December court ruling that overturned a ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God."

The government argues that although the word is commonly used by Christians in the Middle East and in neighboring Indonesia, it is off-limits in Malaysia because it could encourage conversion out of Islam, which is illegal.

The dispute has highlighted fears among Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities that rising "Islamization" is seeing their rights gradually eroded.

"There is probably no country in Asia that is getting the bad press these days that Malaysia is," the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy said in a recent report.

"Islamic activists... are threatening Malaysia’s secular credentials and pushing for a broader Islamization of Malaysia in ways that could deter not only foreign investors but also indigenous groups like ethnic Chinese and Indian business people."

Analysts say the politicization of Islam has escalated since March 2008 elections that saw the long-serving Barisan Nasional coalition lose unprecedented ground to a three-member opposition alliance.

After minority voters deserted the coalition, its lead party the United Malays National Organization (Umno) is now vying with the conservative Islamic party PAS, an opposition member, for the votes of Malays.

"These recent issues of caning and the use of the word 'Allah' are all political rather than religious, in a bid to get greater Malay support at the polls rather than really attempting to resolve any religious issue," blogger and columnist Muaz Omar told AFP.

"For a very long time, Islam in Malaysia has been managed and controlled by a select few," he said.

"In the end, it will be up to the Malays to determine what happens—as the country gets more urbanized it is likely that they will reject such conservative attitudes and Umno unless it changes." - Romen Bose, Agence France-Presse-Inquirer.net, February 22, 2010

Weekly day off for foreign maids in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Foreign maids working in Malaysia will soon get one day off a week as part of a bid to improve working conditions for domestic helpers from overseas, according to a minister.

Human resources minister S. Subramaniam told state media late Tuesday his ministry was amending the Employment Act to make it compulsory for employers to give maids a day off.

He said it was part of moves to prevent the abuse of domestic workers in Malaysia—most of whom are from Indonesia—who are not covered by legislation that protects foreign workers in other sectors like construction.

"The ministry will make it mandatory for all domestic helpers to sign (a) contract of employment containing provisions like salary, the name of employers, their workplaces, and the compulsory one day off a week," Subramaniam was quoted as saying.

"We may be able to implement it this year," he added, but did not give a date as to when the law would be amended.

Subramaniam said the off day would be jointly determined by employer and employee while the domestic helper could forgo the rest day as long as they were compensated for it.

Last month, the government said it was coming out with new laws to protect domestic workers from sexual harassment, non-payment of wages, and poor working conditions.

Malaysia—one of Asia's largest importers of labor—last year hosted an estimated 2.2 million foreign workers, including domestic maids as well as workers in the plantation and manufacturing sectors.

Malaysia has no laws governing working conditions for domestic workers.

Indonesian maids often work long hours, seven days a week, for a wage as low as 120 dollars a month. However, the Philippines insists on contracts stipulating payment and regular days off for its citizens working here.

Philippine government figures as of December 2007 put the number of Filipinos working in Malaysia at about 250,000. - Agence France-Presse-Inquirer.net, June 17, 2009

Family's fatal outing becomes heart of Toyota controversy

Accident involved Filipino siblings

SANTEE, Calif. — The Friday night trip began at the end of a week's vacation, a family outing to a women's college soccer game just days before Mahala Saylor, 13, would begin life as a high school freshman.

The trip ended in August 2009 with a 911 call and the fiery wreck of a loaner Lexus sedan, killing Mahala, her parents, Mark and Cleofe Saylor, both 45, and her uncle, Chris Lastrella, 38.

Even veteran investigators said it was the worst crash they had ever seen.

On Wednesday, Fe Lastrella, mother of Cleofe Saylor and Chris Lastrella and grandmother of Mahala, is to tell members of a congressional committee about her family and question whether a floor mat trapping the gas pedal — as regulators say they believe — is the sole reason for the accident.

Rarely, if ever, has one family's fatal crash had such an impact, forcing the world's largest automaker to admit thousands of sudden-acceleration complaints, recall more than 8 million vehicles worldwide and answer growing questions from Congress and consumers about its safety record.

"They were a solid family. They were quiet people, but their presence was always felt," said Charlotte Fajardo, president of the Bicol Club, a San Diego group for Filipino residents that the Saylors belonged to. "You don't really appreciate it until it's not here."

The Saylor family lived in the sprawling San Diego suburb of Chula Vista, in a house filled with running shoes and soccer balls and scripture.

On the evening of Aug. 28, 2009, the four set out — to the best anyone knows — for the soccer game between the University of Southern California and the University of San Diego women's teams, taking state highway 125 north from their house.

They were in a Lexus on loan from their Toyota dealer, a car they did not know had been reported by its previous borrower as speeding out of control.

They had no way to know their drive would become the epicenter of controversy and questions about Toyota's sudden acceleration scandal.

Mark Saylor, 45, had worked an early shift at the California Highway Patrol safety inspection office in San Diego that day, overseeing reviews of school buses and tow trucks. A back injury had taken him off road patrols years earlier, but he still carried his ticket book and gun.

Cleofe Saylor, 45, was a biochemist and a senior research associate at genetics firm Ambryx in San Diego. A native of the Philippines, she and Mark married 14 years earlier and were regulars in the Bonita Valley Community Church. They wrote Bible verses on note cards, and devotional messages such as: "What I want to accomplish today as a Christian."

Her work involved developing new genetic treatments for cancer and other diseases. The week before the game, she had taken a staycation — using vacation time at home to get Mahala ready for her first year of high school.

Barney Barrett, her co-worker at Ambryx, said Cleofe Saylor was reserved but had a strong bond with her friends.

"She had this way about her that other believers were drawn to her," he said.

Mahala was a forward for the Chula Vista Rangers soccer team. Mark Saylor had been a coach in her previous league, becoming known as the soccer dad — complete with minivan — who stayed for all the games and practices.

Juliet Tengco's daughter played with Mahala in one of her leagues, and she called the Saylors her "soccer family."

"I always saw Cleofe and Mark at the games supporting Mahala and the team," she wrote in a tribute. "You could rely on Mark to have an extra ball, a pump, first aid supplies and anything else needed for the soccer season. They were definitely an involved family."

Mahala wrote messages to herself as well on sticky notes: "Focus," "Be a leader!" and "Take the trash out on Thursdays."

In the backseat next to Mahala was Cleofe's brother, Chris Lastrella, who was living with his sister's family and working at a nearby university while trying to launch a career in voice-over work. He had left his previous career selling mortgages after the real estate bust, but had done well enough to take the extended family on a vacation to Maui.

It's his voice, captured in a 911 call made 49 seconds before the crash, that has been the key evidence so far of why the Lexus ES350 borrowed from a dealer sped out of control.

"Our accelerator is stuck. We're on 125," Lastrella says.

911 Dispatcher: "What are you passing?"

"We're going 120 at Mission Gorge. And we're in trouble. We can't . . . there's no brakes. End freeway a half mile."

Lawyers for families say that by the time Chris Lastrella dialed 911, they believe, Mark Saylor had done all he could to shut down the vehicle. They don't ask dispatchers for help or how they can control the car; Mark Saylor has the vehicle's warning flashers on, and may have been trying to warn other drivers.

The call ends with the men saying "hold on" and "pray," before the sound of impact with the bank of a dry riverbed. The car went airborne and rolled twice before landing and catching fire, likely from its white-hot brakes.

The crash hit the Saylors' community hard. More than 200 people came to their memorial service. Twelve Chula Vista Rangers wore white jerseys in their Labor Day tournament, each with a letter made of blue tape that spelled out "MAHALA SAYLOR."

Today, the scene is marked by fading flowers. The two sections of post-and-rail fence replaced after the crash have almost weathered into the rest.

"It's hard to not have her (Cleofe) around," Barnett said. "Still to this day, I expect her to walk in the door." - JUSTIN HYDE, DETROIT FREE PRESSFEBRUARY 23, 2010, http://www.montrealgazette.com

Recruitment scam in Spain uncovered

MANILA, Philippines – A recruitment scam luring overseas Filipino workers to work in Spain has been uncovered, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

The DFA said the Philippine embassy in Spain reported that the company allegedly recruiting OFWs is Previsto Ferrocariel Guiscoanagin, with address at Calle Placentinos 18B, 32005, Barcelona, Spain.

"The public is advised to be wary of job offers from this company and to first check the veracity of any job offer and company with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in the country concerned, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, or the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)," the DFA said.

The embassy added that the syndicate is using the e-mail address espanolconsulate@europe.com.

"This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to communicate with Filipino workers and lead them to believe that this is the email address of the Philippine Embassy in Madrid," the embassy said in a statement.

The Philippine Consulate-General in Barcelona also verified that there is no such address in Barcelona.

"There is a Calle de los Placentinos in the province of Salamanca, while the zip code 32005 corresponds to the province of Ourense, not Catalonia," the Consulate said. - abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/16/2010 3:50 PM

17 Filipino seafarers freed off Seychelles—DFA

MANILA, Philippines—Seventeen Filipino seafarers abducted by Somali pirates have been released Thursday, more than 10 months since they were seized off the archipelago nation of Seychelles, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported on Friday.

The seafarers were freed off the coast of Somalia Thursday afternoon, the DFA said.

The owner of Taiwan-flagged FV Win Far 161 also said the Filipino crew were all in good condition and would soon be repatriated to the Philippines.

FV Win Far 161 was hijacked off Seychelles last April 2009.

"Before it was released yesterday, it was the longest held vessel with Filipino crew," the DFA said.

The DFA said there are 23 Filipinos still being held captive off Somalia onboard three vessels: two onboard the Thai Union 3, three onboard the MV St. James Park and 18 onboard the MV Navios Apollon.

"The DFA-OUMWA (DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs) continues to coordinate closely with the local manning agencies for the early and safe release of all these seafarers," the DFA said. - Abigail Kwok, INQUIRER.net, February 12, 2010

Warning out on Poland jobs

FILIPINO APPLICANTS FOR JOBS IN Poland should think twice before accepting an offer.

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday advised Poland-bound workers, particularly those recruited as “mushroom pickers,” not to proceed there, citing many complaints of low wages and unfavorable working conditions.

“There are approximately 86 Filipino women currently deployed or working as mushroom pickers in Poland. The majority of these workers are not happy with their jobs due to very low wages, unfavorable working conditions and substandard accommodations,” Philippine Ambassador to Poland Alejandro D. del Rosario said in a report.

He said these workers were not directly employed by the mushroom companies but through a Polish recruitment agency that subcontracted their services. The mushroom company, therefore, is not concerned with the welfare of the workers, Del Rosario said.

Workers are paid on a per-kilo basis, which is dependent on the availability of mushrooms for picking and the orders received from customers. Rates per kilo also depend on whether the mushroom is of first-, second- or third-class quality.

In effect, there is no fixed wage for a mushroom picker, with workers’ monthly earnings varying from $150 to $500, the ambassador said.

Some of the workers said they were promised $600 a month by the Polish recruitment firm but ended up with a net pay of only $180 a month.

Del Rosario said Euroconnect, a Polish recruiting agency which works with Javier Manning based in Malate, Manila, were responsible for the plight of 19 mushroom pickers who walked out of their jobs because of unfair labor practices. Cynthia D. Balana - Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 14, 2010

Overseas Pinoys loom larger in developers’ radar

DEVELOPERS, particularly those who have established strong international sales teams and connections abroad, are hearing “ka-ching, ka-ching!” in their minds, especially when 2010 plans involve the overseas Filipino market. Simply put, this year developers are bracing for a surge in demand from overseas.

Francis Roxas, general manager for Ayala Land International Sales, recently revealed this much to Inquirer Property.

Overseas purchases make up about a quarter of total Ayala Land sales. Alveo Land, another Ayala Land company, estimates that almost a fifth of its sales, or 19 percent, come from the overseas Filipinos market, according to Nerissa Josef, vice president for project management of Alveo Land.

“As the world economy recovers from the financial crisis, we foresee increased sales coming from overseas Filipinos both as a result of rising incomes as well as improving confidence and sentiment,” Roxas said.

Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. also believes overseas sales will continue to be strong this year, explaining that most Filipinos working abroad receive competitive salaries.

Benjamarie Therese N. Serrano, director, president and chief operating officer of Vista Land & Lifescapes, said many Filipinos working overseas are professionals with steadily increasing income levels. Seafarers, in particular, are in high demand with high salary rates.

More than 60 percent of Vista Land’s total revenues come from OFW purchases. This is consistent with Camella being a well-known and trusted brand among OFWs, according to Serrano.

Stronghold

Ayala Land has traditionally had a strong presence in North America, where the bulk of its international sales has originated in the past five years. Roxas added that this key market, though, had not been spared by the financial crisis in the past two years, and the numbers have been considerably lower than the years prior to the crisis.

“The bright side is that we purposely developed other markets that before 2007 were not priority areas for us. These were the Middle East and Europe markets where our sales base had been low and where we did not see significant declines in relative incomes of overseas Filipinos.”

Serrano said Vista Land has been “extremely familiar with the OFW market, having been the first to seriously market our products to them.”

Vista Land has a broad range of products that cater to a wide range of budgets. “Our brands and track record, especially the Camella brand, are well-known and trusted by the OFW market.”

“Over the years, we have built a strong marketing network both here and overseas. These relationships proved to be crucial in bringing in sales during difficult periods,” she said.

“ALI’s advantage over many other developers is that it has built a name that clients can trust and a reputation for delivering products of high quality that retain if not increase in value over time,” Roxas said.

According to Roxas, the biggest obstacle to the OFW market is in getting them to commit to pay a significant amount of money based on the promise to deliver made by a company halfway across the world. The client would almost always want to see the product first before paying up. Those that are able to resolve this matter of trust, he said, eventually become clients, many of whom will purchase multiple products over their overseas work assignments.

And amid tried and tested developers, there are still fly-by-night firms that prey on hapless overseas Filipinos, an obstacle that Serrano admitted is hard for the local property sector to hurdle.

Serrano said that developing properties outside of Mega Manila, and thus closer to many overseas Filipinos home provinces, could be advantageous. “Armed with the insight that many OFWs prefer to own property in their hometown provinces, the company has acquired previously identified properties outside of Mega Manila. As such, even far-flung areas where overseas Filipinos claim to have their roots have become areas of opportunity,” she said. - Tessa Salazar, Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 12, 2010

No OFW deployment ban to Somalia—labor chief

MANILA, Philippines—There is no need to ban the deployment of Filipino seafarers to foreign-flagged ships passing by the pirate-infested waters of Somalia because effective interventions are in place, the labor department said in a statement e-mailed to media outfits.

This is in contrast to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recommendation for a total ban on such deployment.

“We do not recommend the banning of our Filipino seafarers from working in foreign vessels that ply pirate-infested waters in Somalia as interventions on how to deal with the piracy problem have been identified during the anti-piracy summit,” said Labor Secretary Marianito Roque.

He noted that the proposed ban would result in Filipino seafarers losing their jobs which would affect their families as well as the Philippine seafaring industry and the economy.

The issues identified by the DFA in its recommendation are being addressed in the implementation of a joint communiqué or agreement forged between the labor department and seafarers groups, manning and shipping sectors, the International Labor Organization, and the International Maritime Organization.

Roque said the communiqué was signed during the Anti-Piracy Summit for Filipino Seafarers held last January 8 at the Amosup Seamen’s Center in Intramuros, Manila.

As provided for by the joint communiqué, three measures are now being implemented for the protection of the Filipino seafarers against sea piracy covering the formulation of anti-piracy regulations, and the conduct of anti-piracy training and psycho-social counseling for seafarers.

Roque said that more than 200 agencies out of 350 manning firms have already submitted their anti-piracy training modules to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The final approval of the said modules will be based on the standard training module which the POEA is preparing in coordination with the Maritime Training Center (MTC).

Based on the POEA Memorandum Circular 02, Series of 2010, “all manning agencies must require seafarers to undergo training on practical measures to avoid, deter, or delay piracy/ attacks prior to deployment.” The anti-piracy training is separate and in addition to the regular pre-departure orientation seminar (PDOS) conducted for departing seafarers. In addition, manning agencies will have to submit to POEA a list of all the trainees each month indicating the name, date of training, and name of company.

Aside from the anti-piracy training, the POEA has also approved a resolution allowing the deployment of Filipino seafarers on board vessels transiting in pirate-infested areas provided that the ship owners, principals, managers, or manning agencies will ensure that the vessel will pass within the maritime security patrol area.

The ship owner and manning agencies will also submit appropriate security measures such as security escorts or joining convoy to all ships passing through known pirate-infested areas.

Meanwhile, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration is providing psycho-social counseling and other support services for families and their kin who could become victims of piracy. - INQUIRER.net, February 14, 2010

Remittances grew 5.6% to $17.35B in ’09

MANILA, Philippines--REMITTANCES SENT TO THE PHILIPPINES grew faster than expected in 2009 in what monetary officials said was proof that demand for Filipino labor did not shrink despite the worst of the global crisis.

Money sent by Filipinos abroad reached $17.35 billion last year, registering a 5.6-percent growth from the $16.43 billion the previous year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday.

The growth in remittances outpaced the BSP’s own forecast of only 4 percent. It also proved wrong earlier predictions that money from Filipinos overseas would shrink by as much as 30 percent because of layoffs and company closures in countries that fell into a recession, including the United States.

In December alone, remittances amounted to $1.58 billion, up 11.4 percent from the $1.41 billion recorded in the same month of 2008.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. earlier said remittances managed to grow despite the crisis because layoffs in some countries were offset by hirings by companies in alternative labor markets.

Bernardo Villegas, economics professor at the University of Asia & the Pacific, earlier said Filipinos who lost their jobs because of the crisis did not go home but instead sought new jobs offshore.

The behavior of Filipinos was unlike other migrant workers who immediately went back to their home countries after being laid off. Villegas added that some foreign companies prioritized Filipinos in deciding which of their employees to retain.

Remittances are a closely watched economic indicator as these largely fuel household consumption that, in turn, serves as a key driver of the economy.

Economic managers said the sustained rise in remittances was one reason the Philippines avoided a recession last year. The Philippine economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), grew 0.9 percent in 2009.

For this year, the BSP expects remittances to grow 6 percent from the 2009 level. - By Michelle Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 15, 2010

Remittances go mostly to food—ADB study

MANILA, Philippines—Even as last year’s remittance rose 5.6 percent to a record $17.3 billion, a study by the Asian Development Bank showed that monies overseas Filipino workers send to their families here are spent more on food than on education, health care, and durable goods.

“The results show that it is only for food share that the coefficient of the remittance is statistically significant,” said the study entitled “Remittances and Household Behavior in the Philippines.”

While 2009 remittances from abroad accounted for 10.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, the study which was released last month said they did not contribute to creating domestic demand.

“These flows may also contribute to the creation of new social assets and services and community physical infrastructure such as schools, health centers, roads, and other community projects,” the study said.

With the global financial crisis, these fund transfers were seen as possible sources of increasing domestic demand and rebalancing economic growth.

“Unlike the previous studies however, our estimations show that remittances to the Philippines do not have a significant influence on other items of expenditure, particularly investment spending on education, health care, and durable goods,” the study said.

“In other words, the analysis in this paper does not support evidence of remittances contributing toward rebalancing growth by creating domestic demand,” it added.

This study, which used 2000, 2003, and 2006 data from the Family Income and Expenditures Survey to analyze the role of remittances in household consumption, investment, and poverty reduction, showed that about 20 percent of all Filipino households receive remittances.

“And this fraction has been rising over time,” it said.

The study shows that richer households receive more remittances.

“While less than 10 percent of lower income households receive remittances, the proportion increases with income. These flows from abroad contribute as much as 15 percent to the incomes of the highest income quintile but just over 1 percent for the poorest quintile,” it said.

The study also shows that receiving households tend to be bigger with fewer employed members compared to households that don’t receive remittances.

This reflects “higher dependency ratio as a factor in attracting remittances,” it said. - INQUIRER.net, February 16, 2010

8 Filipina ‘sex slaves’ flee Sabah; victims finally home

MANILA, Philippines -- Eight Filipino women who were promised decent and good paying jobs in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah but ended up as sex slaves arrived in Manila Thursday night, eight days after escaping from a prostitution den.

The women, aged 17 to 24, who arrived in Manila via a connecting flight through Cebu City at around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, broke into tears upon seeing the woman who helped arrange their flight home, Dory Villanueva, wife of Evangelist Brother Eddie Villanueva.

“Maraming salamat ma’am ... Maraming salamat ma’am [Thank you very much ma’am... Thank you very much ma’am],” the women said in broken and muffled voices as they hugged Villanueva’s wife.

Their return was considered nothing short of a miracle by leaders of the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Movement, which provided the women shelter in the Malaysian city for eight days after their escape.

“This should serve as an eye opener for our government. So many women fall victims to trafficking. We hope the government directs the embassies to protect the rights of our women,” Villanueva said.

JIL Pastor James, who declined to divulge his surname, said the women were recruited along with dozens of others by a Filipino with ties to a big-time trafficking syndicate in Malaysia. They were promised a salary of P6,500 a day for jobs in karaoke bars and restaurants.

JIL leaders are working with the police to track down the recruitment agency and stop the trafficking of women for sex trade in Malaysia.

The same agency is believed to be shipping at least 100 more Filipino women to Malaysia before Christmas, said the pastor.

“When they got there, they were sold three times,” the pastor told reporters at the airport. “They were locked up and were made to have sex with four to eight men a day. One of them even got pregnant, but she was forced to have an abortion,” Pastor James said, fuming as he related what the women had told him.

The women were virtually held prisoners in a Kota Kinabalu condominium where they were housed. They were forced every night to have sex with clients against their will.

On December 5, after a chance meeting with a JIL member in the same building where they stayed, the women mustered the courage to flee.

Circumstances of their escape were unclear as they refused to talk to media, but by Pastor James’ account, the women fled the building that same night.

“They jumped from the first floor [elevated level] of the condominium and ran to cars that JIL members [in Kota Kinabalu] sent to fetch them,” the pastor said.

The women were brought to the JIL outreach church in Kota Kinabalu, their sanctuary while gangs tried to track them down, said Pastor James. To ensure their safety, the church was kept locked.

JIL eventually contacted the Philippine embassy through Pedro Chan, the Philippine Consul General in Italy, who told Philippine officials in Malaysia about the women’s plight. Sought out by Villanueva, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn also got in touch with the Kota Kinabalu mayor to help out.

After a few days, Pastor James finished arranging for their travel documents since the women’s passports were seized by the syndicate.

Hagedorn paid for their flight from Kota Kinabalu to Cebu City. JIL then shouldered their fare to Manila. - Tarra Quismundo, Inquirer, December 14, 2007

Sabah issue dead, says Malaysian exec

MANILA, Philippines—In a rare policy statement on the Philippines’ long-standing but dormant claim on Sabah, Malaysia’s top foreign official said that as far as he was concerned, there was no need for further negotiations.

“I think the question of negotiation should not arise as we resolved this matter in 1963 when Malaysia was formed,” Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri was quoted as saying by the pro-government daily, The Star, on Friday.

Rahim, however, conceded there were mechanisms to amicably settle disputes such as the Sabah claim within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), of which both the Philippines and Malaysia are members.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to comment on Rahim’s statement, which was also posted on The Star’s website (thestar.com.my).

Part of Sulu

Sabah is currently counted among the 13 states of Malaysia. The Philippines has a claim to the territory based on the contention that it was once part of the Sultanate of Sulu and had been merely leased to Sabah’s former colonizer, Great Britain, in 1878.

According to the article, Rahim was interviewed in Sabah’s capital, Kota Kinabulu, during the launch of the foreign ministry’s nationwide “Information Dissemination and Public Diplomacy” program there.

Rahim was asked to comment on calls by a local political group, Parti Bersatu Sabah (Sabah United Party), to include state leaders in a negotiating team to get Manila to drop the claim “once and for all.”

Rahim said the Philippine claim was based on a “civil agreement” that was “superseded” by the desire of the people of Sabah to join the Malaysian federation. Malaysia was formed by the union in 1963 of the Federation of Malaya and the then British crown colonies of North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak.

The official was apparently referring to the lease agreement between Britain and the Sultanate of Sulu, in accordance with which the heirs of the last sultan continue to received “cession,” “rent” payment, now about 5,300 Malaysian ringgit (P77,000) a year.

Rahim said that in 1963, the Cobbold Commission, formed by the British and Malayan governments, determined that about two-thirds of Sabah residents wanted to join Malaysia. A United Nations mission sent to Borneo held a poll and made a similar finding. The Federation of Malaysia was established soon after.

Feud between heirs

The Philippine government, then under President Diosdado Macapagal, questioned the inclusion of Sabah in the new federation.

The issue has continually been a sore point in Philippine-Malaysian relations.

The Philippine government’s claim has been complicated by feud between the Sabah heirs. There are at least three claimants to the sultan’s throne.

In 2002, President Macapagal-Arroyo met with one faction of the feuding heirs and instructed the DFA to help them establish their “proprietary rights” over Sabah.

In the 1960s, President Ferdinand Marcos created a military face composed of Muslim youths to forcibly take the island. The invasion did not go through after the Muslims were killed by their own commanders after the young men discovered the true objective of their training. - Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 15, 2008

Valedictory Address of an OFW in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia- Ophel Belo is the valedictorian for 2007 at the recently concluded graduation ceremonies of the Filipino Workers' Resource Center Skills Training Program (FWRC-STP) here in Kuala Lumpur. Although she never became my student at FWRC-STP, I was fortunate enough to work with her during the center's numerous events. She's quiet but efficient, unassuming yet smart. Despite her brilliance, she is working as a domestic helper here in KL.

In her valedictory address, Ophel had a lot to say about the sad state our country is in. - Myrna Ordonez

VALEDICTORY ADDRESS by Ms. Ophelia A. Belo

Excellencies, Ambassadors Lecaros and Brillantes, Mrs. Lecaros, Labatt JBJ and Mrs. Jimenez, Faculty Advisers, Embassy Officials, Filcom Leaders, Malaysian Nationals, Princess Becky, Datu Lim Sun Hoe and Datu Sunny Lim, Honorees, Guests, Fellow Students and Graduates, Friends Countrymen and Visitors, Good Afternoon,

I thank God for this honor and I express gratitude to my country and government for this opportunity. I accept this distinction with both joy and sadness. There is joy in my heart right now because once again I have proven that there is a reward for hard work, dedication, and excellence. But I am sad right at this moment, I am sad for our country and for our people. I am sad for you fellow graduates. And I am sad for myself.

I am sad that the Philippines, the homeland of brilliant, highly skilled and very articulate people, is now becoming the number one supplier of cheap labor including domestic helpers into the booming world of global markets. We can kid ourselves by saying there's nothing wrong in being a domestic helper. Oh come on! I am a domestic helper myself and I'm not ashamed to be so. But then, what?

I am looking at the big picture and I am looking at our country and I am disappointed that there is not much hope if we remain there. I am regretful that every single day, no less than 3,200 Filipinos are leaving the Philippines, many of them for good, in the hope of finding jobs that can send our children to school, buy medicines for our sick, repair our dilapidated shanties or pay for all our indebtedness.

What happened to the Philippines?

Our country is supposed to be the Pearl of the Orient Seas. In 1961, many Malaysians used to envy the Filipinos. They dreamt of study in UP, La Salle or Ateneo. Today, Malaysians are the employers of Filipino domestic helpers. They have sent an astronaut into space, while the Filipinos are still quarrelling about government contracts and alleged rigging of elections.

We, the OFWs must begin the process of the renewal for our country. The FWRC is our center of excellence to be able to compete globally and turn around our country.

The global labor markets are unforgiving. The avalanche of rising demands for quality comes rushing every single moment and the standards of excellence keep on rising without pause. Only those who never stop learning will survive in this crazy and mind-boggling competition for skills.

Filipino engineers and technicians in IT who surf the cyberspaces for emerging opportunities find themselves competing with highly competent Indian computer wizards. Indians are also emerging as our OFW's top competitors in the global labor markets.

Our oil and gas engineers are still preferred by Malaysian employers because the local chemical and mechanical engineers prefer to work in UK and in the Middle East. This is the result of globalization of human capital.

Our domestic helpers from the Philippines are still the preferred ones by Malaysian royalty, high government officials and top businessmen. But the Filipino domestics represent only a miniscule 2% of the entire DH market in Malaysia, Indonesia commands more than 90% of the 500,000 household service providers in this country.

The Philippine government is aiming for QUALITY employment, however. We frown upon QUANTITY or high volume of 5 D's: the jobs that are DIRTY, DIFFICULT, DANGEROUS, DEMEANING and DECEPTIVE.

Even if the Filipina DHs are only few, they enjoy superior benefits. They enjoy Sunday day-offs every week or at least every another week with the two Sundays paid for when they are not allowed to go. They have much higher pay and better terms and conditions of employment. They are allowed to study in the FWRC Skills Training Program.

The Filipino household service workers, along with other OFWs do study in FWRC. They learn word processing, spreadsheet, Internet, illustration, Photoshop, Autocad and multiple computer applications.

They study Commercial Baking, Advanced Cake Decorating, Western Food Cooking, Basic Nursing, Reflexology and Arts and Crafts. They even learn the Art of Communication, Composition and Correspondences, Business and Social Correspondences, Financial Management, Business Development and Entrepreneurship.

The Labor Attache and top Embassy Officials teach BLAWSFIL (Basic Labor Laws for Filipino, a subject created by Labat JBJ as a means for empowerment, to arm the OFWs with fundamental knowledge of the labor and family laws, immigration and even contract laws and criminal statutes. The migrant workers from the Philippines are aware of their rights as well as obligations to employers and host government. They have less chance of being arrested and detained and they are more confident when confronted with legal issues.

OFWs from Malaysia who are now venturing to UK like Lyn dela Rama and Gene Sarmiento, both outstanding FWRC alumnae, have better chances of survival and even excellence in more challenging work environments. Former FWRC resource persons like Dang Penarubia who migrated to Canada have better probability of success than others who went without

FWRC KASH (Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits).

Today, the 21st of October, here in the Grand Ballroom of Crown Princess Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, few shall graduate those among the 490 who enrolled in January survived the grueling holistic training in FWRC. Today, the word GRADUATION should be understood as a process, not an end, a process of enhancing elevating, improving and developing the KASH positions of the OFW who made the correct decision to study in FWRC.

Today also a COMMENCEMENT, a starting point, a beginning, a point of embarkation to a higher level of consciousness, to a better perspective in life, a much improved point of view and a stronger, higher quality of qualification, a better state of readiness, an empowered new beginning of the rest of our lifetime journey.

The quest for excellence, the drive to win the global labor markets, the hunger for bigger challenges, the thirst for learning – an insatiable yearning to learn more -- these are the hallmarks of men and women who are geared and programmed for success in life.

The next motto of FWRC is "ON TO THE MARCH FOR EXCELLENCE," both in skills and in Character. Both committed and competent. Thus, today is indeed a day for celebration. But after the celebration, we need to do something for our country.

And so today, ladies and gentlemen, what are we going to do to create a meaningful difference in the future of our country? Evil triumphs because good men do nothing. Let us all do something, no matter how small.

FIRST, let us not remit everything that we earn here. Let us save at least 50% through the Samahang Impok Bayan and keep it until we go home for good.

SECOND, let us all take courses in the FWRC that will help us in our reintegration like Business Management, Entrepreneurship Accounting, Basic Laws and other relevant courses. Indeed it is only when we bring EXCELLENCE THAT WE CAN TO THE GLOBAL WORLD.

THIRD, let us all write to our congressmen, let us write to our newspaper, let us e-mail jour opinions and let us be active in denouncing the abuses of our political leaders.

FOURTH, let us rally behind honest and hardworking officials and staff in government but let us denounce and expose and charge all those who violate their oaths as public servants.

FIFTH, let us help in the FWRC. Whatever honor we receive today should provide us an inspiration to share our knowledge with other OFWs.

SIXTH, let us discipline our families at home. They should learn to value our remittances and not squander them in luxuries. Let us let them learn that we worked hard for the money and we should not tolerate extravagances.

SEVENTH, let us all be aware of all the economic, social and political developments in our country. Let us monitor what are the trends and programs of our country's future. And let us share our thoughts with those who spend our remittances.

AND lastly number EIGHT, let us all be aware that all that were, all that are and all that will be in the Philippines are driven by economic realities, high population growth, labor excess economy, cheap labor, globalization without safety nets, insufficient social services. All these are exacerbating the pain and suffering of our people.

These are the reasons why the joy of my success today is eclipsed by the sadness in our situation as a nation and as a people.

We've got to feel the pain so that we will do something about it. We cannot continue deluding ourselves. We have to face realities and bite the bullet.

According to a great social scientist: THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE DISCONTENTED. The Filipinos should start to be discontented with our situation and tell our leaders of our discontentment.

According to a Chinese Philosopher: IT IS CRAZY TO EXPECT DIFFERENT RESULTS IF WE CONTINUE TO REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKES. The Filipinos should accept that there are for too many mistakes and we have to correct them.

And according to Dr. Jose Rizal in his NOLI ME TANGERE, recorded in the history of human sufferings is a cancer of so malignant a character that the least touch irritates it.

Since the time of Rizal until now more than a century after, the cancer is still here -- a SOCIAL CANCER, AN ECONOMIC MALADY.

The only difference is that we can do something about it. Yes we can. And we should. “No matter how strait the gate and how charged with punishment the scroll, we are the masters of our fate. We are the captain of our souls,” to borrow from Invictus.

Kaya mga kababayan, dapat umpisahan na ang pagbabago, umpisahan sa ating sarili. Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa? Kung hindi tayo and mag-uumpisa, sino pa? Bahala tayo sa ating kinabukasan at bahala tayo sa kinabukasan ng ating bansa Pakaisipin ninyo ito. Huwag kayong masyadong magsaya. Dapat magkaroon din kayo ng lungkot, upang magsikap kayong magbago. Dahil ang mga problema ay hindi nakakatuwa.

Marami pong salamat.

Forwarded by Alfredo Roces

INQUIRER.net, November 07, 2007

Malaysia bans hiring of foreign workers

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia has banned the hiring of foreign workers in factories, stores and restaurants to protect its citizens from mass unemployment amid the global economic downturn, a government official said Thursday.

The government has also ordered companies to lay off foreign employees first if they must slash their work force, a Human Resources Ministry official said.

The Cabinet has approved an indefinite hiring ban for the key manufacturing and services sectors, which currently employ nearly half of the 2.1 million legal foreign workers in Malaysia, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.

The official was confirming a decision announced late Wednesday by Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam.

Local media reported the minister as saying Malaysia "can put a stop to hiring" foreign workers if they are not needed.

Foreigners currently working in both sectors can continue until their contracts expire or until they are laid off, but no new non-Malaysian workers will be approved, the official said.

"We want to make sure that all locals who have been [laid off] can get a new job," he said.

The official said exemptions might be given to skilled foreign workers who are needed for some of country's service industries and factories, most of which produce electronic and electrical goods, textiles and furniture.

More than 10,000 Malaysians and 3,000 foreigners lost their jobs between October and January because of a slowdown in Malaysia's export-dependent economy. The government has predicted another 45,000 Malaysians could be out of work by the end of the year.

Foreigners can still be hired in sectors such as plantations and construction, where it is tough to find Malaysians to employ because of the low salaries and arduous work, the official said.

Eka Suripto, an official at the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said Indonesia expects one-third of its 300,000 nationals working in Malaysia's manufacturing industry to lose their jobs this year.

"Certainly what they will sacrifice first are the foreign migrants," he said.

Adding to the number of legal foreign workers, there are an estimated one million illegal migrants employed mainly at plantations, construction sites and restaurants. Most come from poorer Asian nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

Malaysia's government has struggled to assure the public that the country won't slip into recession. Authorities have forecast that Malaysia's economy will expand by 3.5 percent in 2009, but some economists have warned that growth could fall below 2 percent. - Associated Press (inquirer.net), January 22, 2009

Anti-human traffic pact with Malaysia sought

MANILA, Philippines—A non-government organization advocating migrant workers' welfare urged the government on Thursday to forge an anti-human trafficking agreement with Malaysia following the rescue of Filipino women forced to become prostitutes in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

The Blas F. Ople Policy Center quoted recent media reports from Malaysia relating how the eight Filipino women, allegedly recruited from Zamboanga about three months ago to work as waitresses, were forced to work as prostitutes upon their arrival in arrival in Sabah.

Acting on an informant’s tip, the police raided an apartment in Penampang, a small town adjacent to the capital city of Kota Kinabalu, where the women, aged between 18 and 25, were kept.

“The illegal recruitment and trafficking of Filipino women to Malaysia is fast becoming a thriving enterprise and we call on the Malaysian and Philippine governments to forge a bilateral pact against human trafficking,” the center's president Susan Ople said in a statement.

Ople said that based on the information gathered by the Center, previous victims of human trafficking were promised decent jobs in either Kuala Lumpur or Sabah by their recruiters who turned out to be receiving P3,000 per head from a syndicate in Malaysia.

“With mere P3,000, the recruiter turns a blind eye on whatever fate awaits the recruit bound for Malaysia,” she said.

The former labor undersecretary said local governments must also work together with other NGOs and relevant government agencies in a grassroots public information drive against human trafficking.

“The recruitment is now done door-to-door in both urban and rural areas and the only way to stop this is through active public vigilance leading to higher arrest and conviction rates,” she added.

The center said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has been doing its best to help human trafficking victims and other Filipinos detained for lack of work permits “but the tide of human misery keeps rising.”

The NGO called on the government to focus on job creation and livelihood training particularly in the countryside in order to provide viable options for economic survival.

“We must fight as one country against human traffickers who deploy our women as modern slaves not only to Malaysia but to nearly every nook and corner of the globe,” Ople said. - Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 21, 2008

3 OFWs forced into prostitution in Malaysia

Victims seek repatriation

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines -- Three female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who alleged that the owner of a reflexology center in Malaysia forced them to take drugs and have sex with clients, have sought the help of a Bohol lawmaker for their repatriation.

Through text messages sent to the office of Bohol First District Representative Edgar Chatto, the three OFWs said they wanted be repatriated "as soon as possible" as they feared that they "might not be able to return home alive" because of their dangerous situation in Malaysia.

They claimed that their well-connected employer threatened to torture them if they refused to take drugs or have sex with clients.

In her latest text message, one of the OFWs disclosed that they had not received their salary.

One of the three OFWs also recalled that she and her two friends entered Malaysia as "tourists" although they were assured that they could work there.

However, the owner of the reflexology center did not process their working permits when they entered Malaysia.

They gave their full names and addresses in the Philippines but they asked that their identities be kept confidential to protect their honor and that of their respective families. They also gave their roaming mobile numbers.

They also gave the full name of their Malaysian boss and his business address but they also asked that the information be kept off the record for now.

Chatto, who is currently in the United States, has started contacting the Philippine Embassy in Malaysia, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the families of the three migrant workers.

He said he would check with the Department of Labor and Employment to trace the deployment of the three OFWs.

Chatto authored House Bill 5649, a measure seeking to improve standards of protection and assistance for migrant workers, and House Bill 4898, a legislation creating an OFW pension fund. - Kit Bagaipo, Inquirer Visayas, April 20, 2009

Filipino seamen still rule the seas, for now

The money sent home by overseas Filipino sailors rose by $108 million to a new record of $2.501 billion in the first nine months of 2009, an increase of or 4.51 percent from $2.393 billion over the same period in 2008, according to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

TUCP secretary general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera said the rise in remittances from sea-based migrant Filipino workers is due to increased enlistment by ship owners in Europe and Asia.

“A growing number of European and Asian shipping firms is disbanding their multinational crews, and replacing them wholesale with all-Filipino personnel that are younger and more able,” says Herrera.

“Foreign employers find Filipino sailors quick learners, and easier to train compared to other nationals. This may be due to their superior instruction here, apart from their ability to understand English,” he adds.

About 229,000 Filipino sailors are on board merchant shipping vessels around the world at any given time, data from the Department of Labor and Employment show.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reports that in 2007 – the year for which the most recent data are available – Filipino seafarers were employed by 1,157 registered/accredited manning agencies, up from 869 in 2006.

The Philippines, says POEA, has been the world’s leading supplier of seafarers since 1987, making it the manning capital of the world.

Overseas assignments

Data in 2007 showed that Filipino seamen were scattered aboard vessels bearing various flags of registry: Panama – 51,614; Bahamas – 29,681; Liberia – 21,966; Singapore – 10,308; Marshall Islands – 9, 772; United Kingdom – 8,172 ; Malta – 7,513; Cyprus – 7, 052; the Netherlands – 7,017; and Norway – 6, 975.

By vessel type, here are the 2007 statistics on Filipino seamen: passenger-type – 47, 782; bulk carriers – 42, 356; containers – 31, 983; tankers – 25,011; oil/product tankers – 14, 462; general cargo ships – 10,754.; chemical tankers – 7,502 ; tugboats – 6,610; pure car carriers – 5,742; and gas tankers – 3,471.

By type of work, the 226,900 local seafarers deployed overseas in 2007 were assigned as follows: seamen – 31,818; oilers – 19,491; ordinary semen – 17,355; mess men – 7,810; chief cooks – 7,778; bosuns – 7,737; third engineers – 7,056; third mates – 6,599; and waiters – 6,388.

Global crisis

In late 2008, even as the global financial crisis was wreaking havoc on virtually every major economic sector, the manning industry suffered minimal setback in terms of job losses.

“The bulk of the seafaring industry is not as affected as people might think,” says Miguel Angel Rocha, vice-president for business development of CF Sharp Crew Management, Inc., one of the country’s leading manning companies. His firm is now the major business of CCF Sharp, a port agency business began in the late 1930s by his grandfather and business partner CF Sharp. It is also the first Filipino manning company to be certified as compliant with ISO 9000 Standards.

“The manning industry is a trailing indicator,” Rocha tells Planet Philippines in an interview. “Only after an event will it be affected. Lately, ships had been 15% laid up, or out of service, and by 2009 the figure was 30%. But jobs were not lost because of the `hot’ or `warm’ nature of the industry – a ship always needs engineers and crew to operate, maintain and mobilize it.

“Chinese factories stopped ordering raw materials and so bulk ships were the first to get affected. By November 2008 there was a decrease in daily chartering from $180, 0000 per day to $3,000-5,000 per day in September. After Christmas [of 2008] and New Year [of 2009], there were no more orders and container ships were down. We don’t see a significant loss of jobs but we do see slower growth.”

Prospects

Rocha is optimistically guarded about the prospects in 2010.

“Even if the global economy gets better, it will take a long time before we see a recovery in our industry,” he stresses.

He warns that if the market worsens, jobs will be harder to find.

“Also, seafarers now working might have to work less and stay on vacation longer. There is no growth as ship owners try to maintain their pace of work where they have 15 persons on board for the 10 actually needed.”

But then, Rocha explains, the shipping industry is cyclical. “A new ship means new crew in boom times. Now this is going to change and so they’re laying vessels but not selling them for scrap, and giving the crew longer shore leave. But then again, things might turn around and it will be boom time again.”

Poaching of officers

Rocha is actually more concerned about the poaching of senior officers, from master officers and chief mates to chief and second engineers, which could have a more dramatic impact on the industry.

The global shortage of officers is oftentimes remedied by a greater-rotation-cum-shorter-vacation solution. The problem is only a recent development, according to Rocha. Officers and ratings used to be available, mostly from the West.

“But as more ships were built in the ‘90s and today, as the economy of the West expands, British, German and Norwegian officers can earn as much or even more on land. They have left and have been replaced by officers from Poland and Ukraine.”

The vacuum could have been filled up by the local manning industry but unfortunately, there are not enough Filipinos with the required skills and training.

Lack of training

“There are 80 to 100 maritime schools offering BS Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering courses with a curriculum of three years in the classroom and 12 months on board a ship prior to state board exams, but less than 20 percent of the students get on board,” he laments.

Rocha cites two top maritime schools in the Philippines where slightly under 15% of the most recent graduating class have trained on a ship. Their graduates got certificates of academic equivalency but they are not on board because the majority of ship owners do not make a provision for cadets on board, who would also have to be paid.

“The problem is no one is willing to challenge ship owners,” he continues. “Some 280,000 students graduate each year. That seems a lot of seamen who could get a higher income for their families. But people don’t see the uphill battle in getting the license, and educators prey on seamen. Going abroad is not always pleasant experience and can be very daunting.”

But Rocha notes that there is a bit of positive news on the horizon as ship owners have lately invested in training. For one, the Norwegian Shipowners Association has a program for cadets.

But without support from POEA and the Commission for Higher Education (CHED), Rocha fears that maritime schools might not participate or offer enough slots in the training and development of seafarers.

It remains to be seen if the government and the manning industry could come up with policies and measures to address the problems and challenges. Unless there is a serious effort to meet them head-on, less and less Filipino seafarers may find their way into the open seas. - Perla Aragon Choudhury, 02 February 2010, http://planetphilippines.com

Comelec’s indifference to overseas Filipinos

UNITED STATES—When Maritess Salientes Bloom, a dual citizen from Boston, Massachusetts, appeared before the members of the Philippine Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila on January 14, 2010 for a hearing, she was hopeful that the commissioners would grant her petition to extend the voter registration period for overseas Filipinos.

There was, after all, no opposition to her petition and the commissioners who heard her lawyer’s arguments expressed no reservations and actually seemed sympathetic to the plight of overseas Filipinos. Loida Nicolas-Lewis, a New York resident and long-time advocate for the suffrage rights of overseas Filipinos who accompanied Maritess to the hearing, called me right after the hearing to tell me “the good news.”

“There will be an en banc hearing of all the Comelec commissioners on Tuesday, January 19, but it is all but certain that the Comelec will extend the voter registration period for overseas Filipinos,” she announced.

I was attending a meeting in South San Francisco when Loida called so I placed her on my speaker phone and all the overseas Filipinos in the room heard her announcement and her cry of “Hallelujah!” which everyone in the room joined in chorus.

It seemed too good to be true. For the last several months, I have written articles advocating for the extension of the registration period for overseas Filipinos and I had personally e-mailed each of the Comelec commissioners but all my e-mails went unheeded. Not one of them bothered to even give me the time of day.

Then on December 8, 2009, the Philippine Supreme Court unexpectedly granted the petition of Roberto Palatino to extend the registration period for Philippine voters after his petition was denied by the Comelec. After reviewing the Palatino decision, Loida and I concluded that our best hope for securing the extension of the registration period for overseas Filipinos was with the Supreme Court.

Our Philippine lawyers, headed by lawyer Jose Amor Amorado, informed us that we first had to file a petition with the Comelec, which I was virtually certain the Comelec would reject, before we could take the matter up the high tribunal.

So our lawyers prepared the petition on behalf of Maritess Bloom, an overseas Filipino who had not been able to register before the August 31, 2009 deadline but who wanted to do so. Her petition to the Comelec was filed on January 11, 2010 and the hearing was set for three days later.

At the January 14 hearing, Atty. Amorado argued that the deadline for overseas registration should be extended by 28 days because the Comelec’s August 31, 2009 deadline was 28 days shorter than the deadline set by the Philippine Congress when it approved the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 (Republic Act 9189).

The shortened deadline, Bloom’s petition asserted, “effectively deprived millions of the voting population twenty-eight (28) days of opportunity to register provided to them by the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003, thereby actually amending the statute’s provision on the system of continuing registration of overseas absentee voters.”

Despite the early optimism, on January 19, 2010, the Comelec commissioners voted unanimously to reject Bloom’s petition by declaring that the 280-day "prohibitive period" applied only to the 2004 elections because Congress explicitly stated that "for the succeeding elections, the Commission shall provide for the period within which applications must be filed."

What the Comelec failed to comprehend is that when the Philippine Congress passed the Overseas Absentee Voting Law in 2003, it set a 280-day “prohibitive period” because Congress anticipated that it would take a longer time to get the voter registration mechanisms in place for overseas elections as it would be the first time it was being done.

After the basic mechanisms were set in place, Congress believed that it would take a considerably shorter time in future elections to register overseas voters so it left it up to the Comelec to set future deadlines. Instead of the shorter period anticipated by Congress, the Comelec went in the opposite direction.

In denying Bloom's petition, the nine-page Comelec decision explained that it would take a longer time for overseas voting because "for the first time, the Commission shall be implementing the nationwide automated election system." But overseas voting will be manually tabulated and not automated so this was totally irrelevant.

To explain why it didn’t have enough time to extend the registration for overseas voters, the Comelec cited examples of what it had to do to prepare for the May 2010 elections like “project precincts” and "Board of Election Inspectors" and listing the candidates for local elections. But all of these examples don’t apply to overseas absentee voters who can’t vote for local candidates and who don’t require “Inspectors” or “project precincts” as consular officials will supervise the voter registration and the actual voting.

In its decision, the Comelec boasted that it had “done its best in ensuring the success of the overseas absentee voting system” by taking credit for all the actions of the consular officials to register overseas Filipinos with their limited resources without any financial assistance from the Comelec.

The Comelec defensively insisted that it “did not sleep on its job” of registering overseas Filipinos but the commissioners’ loud snores belie this empty claim. They’re all still asleep.

In its conclusion, the Comelec stated its duty "to balance the interest of the electorate with the end in view of ensuring that the right of suffrage of our people is not deprived of them." This is actually the key to understanding the attitude and mentality of the Comelec commissioners towards overseas Filipinos.

By “our people,” the Comelec is really only referring to the Filipino voters in the Philippines. It is only their “right of suffrage” that the Comelec cares about, reflecting a callous and total indifference to the suffrage rights of overseas Filipinos.

The Comelec decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com or mail them to the Law Offices of Rodel Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or call (415) 334-7800. - Rodel Rodis, INQUIRER.net, January 31, 2010

New Philippine labor rep in Saipan

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine consulate general in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands has a new labor representative, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Carmelina Velasquez, who arrived in her new assignment on January 26, 2010, replaced Joan Lourdes Lavilla, who finished her four-year tour of duty.

Velasquez was the Director IV of Funds and Investment Management Office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration before her assignment in Saipan. She was also labor attaché to Brunei Darussalam from June 2003 to March 2005.

Velasquez participated in the Regional Policy Dialogue on Harnessing the Development Potentials of Remittances in Italy on May 9, 2009. She also participated in the Marketing Mission in Canada on August 2008.

Born on November 11, 1952 at Baliuag, Bulacan, Velasquez is married to Danilo Velasquez and blessed with three children. She obtained her sociology degree from the University of Sto. Tomas, as well as masters degree in public administration from the Development Academy of the Philippines. - INQUIRER.net, February 01, 2010