January 11, 2010: MANILA, Philippines—South Korea deported 57 Filipino entertainers over fake AIDS tests certificates required by both countries prior to deployment of migrant workers, the Department of Labor and Employment said Monday.
This prompted Labor Secretary Marianito Roque to order an investigation of the recruitment agency that issued the fake certificates. He said the agency will be sanctioned if found violating Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.
He emphasized that to protect OFWs in both the sending and host countries, a strict AIDS test should be made a crucial part of the medical examination required by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration on overseas-bound migrant workers.
“We strongly urge the recruiters to adhere to the stringent requirement and ensure that the credentials and required certificates of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) are in accordance with the international standards,” Roque said.
In 2009, Roque said that of the 57 OPAs, 11 were deported on December 7, 18 on December 4, and 28 from July 12 to 16.
One of the deportees, whose identity the department withholds for privacy reasons, said that her agency in the Philippines prepared and submitted all the required documents, including the AIDS test certificates. She added that she, as well as her fellow entertainers, did not undergo a test in the country because the agency and promoter told them that the AIDS test will be conducted in Korea.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Seoul is in the process of inviting the promoter in Korea to shed light on the incident.
Philippine labor attaché to Seoul Delmer Cruz also recommended that reintegration assistance be extended to the deported entertainers “in consideration of their disadvantaged status” through the department’s National Reintegration Center for OFWs and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. - INQUIRER.net
Showing posts with label Issues at Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Issues at Home. Show all posts
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Placement firm ordered to refund $1.8M to Filipino teachers
NEW ORLEANS – A business that brought hundreds of Filipino teachers to Louisiana to work in public schools has been fined and ordered to refund placement fees that a teacher union estimates will total $1.8 million.
An administrative law judge with the Louisiana Workforce Commission said California-based Universal Placement Inc. operated without the proper Louisiana license. Les Landon, spokesman for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said Friday that the union estimates about 360 teachers are affected and the placement fees averaged about $5,000 per person.
Judge Shelly Dick, who is based in Baton Rouge, also fined the company $500 and ordered the payment of legal fees totaling $7,500.
Dick turned down the teachers’ request that she nullify their contracts with Universal Placement, saying she lacked that authority. Also, she did not order the return of all fees collected from the teachers, such as those for helping them obtain visas and other documents needed to work in the United States.
“Scrutiny of these fees is not within the regulatory authority of this commission,” Dick wrote.
In complaints to state and federal authorities, teachers have complained of fees totaling in excess of $10,000 in some cases.
Dick noted in the ruling that Universal Placement claimed it didn’t need a Louisiana license because it operated in California, placing teachers in various states.
“UPI is splitting hairs,” she wrote, going on to recount evidence of the company’s extensive work in Louisiana.
A telephone call to a spokeswoman for Universal Placement was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers also have filed complaints with the state attorney general’s office and the US Department of Labor about Universal Placement and its sister operation in the Philippines, PARS.
In the federal complaint, the union says Universal Placement and its president, Lourdes “Lulu” Navarro, arranged for one-year-visas, instead of more commonly used three-year visas, and charged visa renewal fees to the teachers, not the school systems. - Associated Press, Posted date at Inquirer.net: April 17, 2010
An administrative law judge with the Louisiana Workforce Commission said California-based Universal Placement Inc. operated without the proper Louisiana license. Les Landon, spokesman for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said Friday that the union estimates about 360 teachers are affected and the placement fees averaged about $5,000 per person.
Judge Shelly Dick, who is based in Baton Rouge, also fined the company $500 and ordered the payment of legal fees totaling $7,500.
Dick turned down the teachers’ request that she nullify their contracts with Universal Placement, saying she lacked that authority. Also, she did not order the return of all fees collected from the teachers, such as those for helping them obtain visas and other documents needed to work in the United States.
“Scrutiny of these fees is not within the regulatory authority of this commission,” Dick wrote.
In complaints to state and federal authorities, teachers have complained of fees totaling in excess of $10,000 in some cases.
Dick noted in the ruling that Universal Placement claimed it didn’t need a Louisiana license because it operated in California, placing teachers in various states.
“UPI is splitting hairs,” she wrote, going on to recount evidence of the company’s extensive work in Louisiana.
A telephone call to a spokeswoman for Universal Placement was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers also have filed complaints with the state attorney general’s office and the US Department of Labor about Universal Placement and its sister operation in the Philippines, PARS.
In the federal complaint, the union says Universal Placement and its president, Lourdes “Lulu” Navarro, arranged for one-year-visas, instead of more commonly used three-year visas, and charged visa renewal fees to the teachers, not the school systems. - Associated Press, Posted date at Inquirer.net: April 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 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
Sunday, December 13, 2009
BSP projections aiding illegal recruiters — FAME
MANILA, Philippines — Recruitment agencies warned the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) against making statements about the expected rise in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in countries where the Philippine government has been negotiating for more job opportunities for them.
The Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (Fame) said the repeated statements announcing new markets in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Japan and Guam as possible sources of dollar remittances was just giving more information to illegal recruitment syndicates that entice jobless Filipinos with the promise of high wages.
“The BSP statements are often misleading and give the impression that there are new markets that are being tapped by the government such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan and Guam,” Fame executive director Lito Soriano said in a statement.
He said that the BSP statements were mostly based on “old and repetitive” issuances by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Soriano noted that the POEA had not approved any new job orders up to now for Guam and that actual mobilization for the construction of a US military base on the island might only start in July 2010.
To lighten Okinawa’s load, Tokyo and Washington have agreed to relocate about 8,000 US Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014, but the US military says the plan cannot move forward until a new base in northern Okinawa is finished.
Prior to their eventual transfer to Guam, the US Marines are to relocate from the Futenma Air Station in southern Okinawa to Camp Schwab on the northern side. The relocation was agreed to by Japan and the US in 2006 but was later put on hold.
As for Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Soriano said the “real” situation was that the three countries were in recession and job orders had completely stopped.
In East Asia, Soriano said the POEA deployed only 30 caregivers and nurses to Japan on Sept. 27 while the South Korea trainee deployment has not reached even 4,000 in 2009. Taiwan’s special hiring program has only deployed less than a thousand for 2008 compared to the private sector, which deployed more than 40,000 factory worker and caregivers.
“Those markets have dried up and only the Middle East countries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Libya where over two million Filipinos are concentrated are steadily increasing remittances flows,” Soriano said.
The recruitment executive, however, warned that the over 200,000 OFWs in Dubai, the second biggest source of remittances this year, were likely to send less next year because of the emirate’s debt crisis.
The BSP earlier said that in the first three quarters of the year, OFWs sent home through banks a total of $12.789 billion, up $516.62 million or 4.21 percent from the $12.273 billion in the same period in 2008.
The decline in remittances from the US was offset by the $1.38 billion sent by OFWs in Canada and the $588 million from Japan, which, respectively, were 56- and 57-percent higher compared to last year. - By Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 13, 2009
The Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (Fame) said the repeated statements announcing new markets in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Japan and Guam as possible sources of dollar remittances was just giving more information to illegal recruitment syndicates that entice jobless Filipinos with the promise of high wages.
“The BSP statements are often misleading and give the impression that there are new markets that are being tapped by the government such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan and Guam,” Fame executive director Lito Soriano said in a statement.
He said that the BSP statements were mostly based on “old and repetitive” issuances by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
Soriano noted that the POEA had not approved any new job orders up to now for Guam and that actual mobilization for the construction of a US military base on the island might only start in July 2010.
To lighten Okinawa’s load, Tokyo and Washington have agreed to relocate about 8,000 US Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014, but the US military says the plan cannot move forward until a new base in northern Okinawa is finished.
Prior to their eventual transfer to Guam, the US Marines are to relocate from the Futenma Air Station in southern Okinawa to Camp Schwab on the northern side. The relocation was agreed to by Japan and the US in 2006 but was later put on hold.
As for Australia, New Zealand and Canada, Soriano said the “real” situation was that the three countries were in recession and job orders had completely stopped.
In East Asia, Soriano said the POEA deployed only 30 caregivers and nurses to Japan on Sept. 27 while the South Korea trainee deployment has not reached even 4,000 in 2009. Taiwan’s special hiring program has only deployed less than a thousand for 2008 compared to the private sector, which deployed more than 40,000 factory worker and caregivers.
“Those markets have dried up and only the Middle East countries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Libya where over two million Filipinos are concentrated are steadily increasing remittances flows,” Soriano said.
The recruitment executive, however, warned that the over 200,000 OFWs in Dubai, the second biggest source of remittances this year, were likely to send less next year because of the emirate’s debt crisis.
The BSP earlier said that in the first three quarters of the year, OFWs sent home through banks a total of $12.789 billion, up $516.62 million or 4.21 percent from the $12.273 billion in the same period in 2008.
The decline in remittances from the US was offset by the $1.38 billion sent by OFWs in Canada and the $588 million from Japan, which, respectively, were 56- and 57-percent higher compared to last year. - By Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
License of Dubai drivers’ recruiter revoked
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has cancelled the licenses of seven recruitment agencies and suspended the licenses of five others for duping 137 Filipino bus drivers into non-existent jobs in Dubai, it was learned Sunday.
In a 71-page order, POEA acting administrator Hans Cacdac revoked the licenses of CYM International Services and Placement Agency, SGA-Sahara International Manpower Services, Across Universe International Manpower Agency, Jenvic International Manpower Services, BML Worldwide Manpower Services Inc., Richfield Overseas Employment Co., and Al Anwar International Manpower.
Suspended and fined were Vigor International Manpower Services (6 months, P60,000), Bridgewood Human Resources Co. (8 months, P80,000), Expert Placement Agency (13 months, P130,000), Dreams Manpower and Recruitment Agency (18 months, P180,000), and Hana Star Corp. (26 months, P260,000).
Cleared of charges of recruitment violations was Goldmine International Recruitment Agency.
Cacdac said the variation in the penalties depended on the number of would-be overseas Filipino workers the recruiters processed after CYM farmed out the supposed 4,000 job openings for bus drivers at Dubai’s Road Transport Authority.
“Except for those who signed affidavits of desistance, the drivers will get refunds for whatever they have paid or given the recruiter or RJ Lacaba lending agency. The refunds will be charged against the escrow deposits of each agency,” he said.
The bus drivers, mostly from Central Luzon, received flyers distributed in various transport terminals. They were promised hefty salaries in exchange for a placement fee of P150,000. The drivers and their families borrowed money from the lending agency referred to them by the recruiter.
In order to survive in Dubai, some as early as January, the drivers were forced to resort to scavenging in dumpsites for recyclable items they can sell. When fellow Filipinos in Dubai learned of their situation, they donated food, water, and other items to them. Many of them have since returned home.- Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, November 08, 2009
In a 71-page order, POEA acting administrator Hans Cacdac revoked the licenses of CYM International Services and Placement Agency, SGA-Sahara International Manpower Services, Across Universe International Manpower Agency, Jenvic International Manpower Services, BML Worldwide Manpower Services Inc., Richfield Overseas Employment Co., and Al Anwar International Manpower.
Suspended and fined were Vigor International Manpower Services (6 months, P60,000), Bridgewood Human Resources Co. (8 months, P80,000), Expert Placement Agency (13 months, P130,000), Dreams Manpower and Recruitment Agency (18 months, P180,000), and Hana Star Corp. (26 months, P260,000).
Cleared of charges of recruitment violations was Goldmine International Recruitment Agency.
Cacdac said the variation in the penalties depended on the number of would-be overseas Filipino workers the recruiters processed after CYM farmed out the supposed 4,000 job openings for bus drivers at Dubai’s Road Transport Authority.
“Except for those who signed affidavits of desistance, the drivers will get refunds for whatever they have paid or given the recruiter or RJ Lacaba lending agency. The refunds will be charged against the escrow deposits of each agency,” he said.
The bus drivers, mostly from Central Luzon, received flyers distributed in various transport terminals. They were promised hefty salaries in exchange for a placement fee of P150,000. The drivers and their families borrowed money from the lending agency referred to them by the recruiter.
In order to survive in Dubai, some as early as January, the drivers were forced to resort to scavenging in dumpsites for recyclable items they can sell. When fellow Filipinos in Dubai learned of their situation, they donated food, water, and other items to them. Many of them have since returned home.- Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net, November 08, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Not an act of God but a sin...
By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:19:00 10/02/2009
MANILA, Philippines — The flood disaster that struck Metro Manila over the weekend was not an act of God but a sin of omission by government and private real estate developers, according to urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox.
The green architect said that a land use plan that took floods into consideration was drawn up as far back as 1977, titled “Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project,” sponsored by the World Bank.
Palafox said that the study had already noted the possibility of heavy flooding in at least three sites of urban growth in the Philippine capital—the Marikina Valley and its northern and southern parts.
“When I saw the damage caused by the floods recently, I realized that these were the same areas that had already been identified,” he told the Inquirer.
“Urban development is spreading into areas which are, in their present state, unsuitable for development—either because they are low-lying and liable to flooding, or because development is without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage (the norm in Manila) and so will continue to contribute to the severe pollution of areas such as Laguna de Bay,” the study said.
But what did government do to mitigate the flooding and other problems identified by the 1977 study?
Nothing, according to Palafox.
Need for spillway
“This is not an act of God, as what people have already said. This is a sin of omission on the part of government and leadership. Practically all the measures outlined in the study could have addressed the flooding we are seeing these days,” he said.
For one, there was little infrastructure to prevent flooding. Palafox cited the need to construct a spillway in Parañaque to drain excess water from Laguna Lake to Manila Bay.
“The Manggahan floodway was constructed to drain floodwater from the mountains flowing through the Marikina River into the Laguna Lake. But what happens when the Laguna Lake is overflowing? That is why there was a need for the Parañaque spillway to direct excess water from the lake into the Manila Bay,” he said.
But he said the government never constructed the spillway. “I don’t know why,” said Palafox, who earned a degree on urban planning from Harvard. “But you don’t need an engineer to understand this.”
Palafox also said that the study proposed desilting the Pasig and Marikina Rivers to accommodate more water. “What should have been done was to use the silt and mud collected from the river to construct ‘green islands’ just like in Holland.”
The green islands should have been constructed at the mouths of the rivers and could be used for “recreational purposes” like parks, arboretums and sports arenas. “You let these islands settle, say after 15 years. Then you can use them for industrial purposes like oil depots.”
Erase parts of capital
If he were to redesign Metro Manila, Palafox said he would take a “big eraser” and wipe out parts of Metro Manila in the east, north and south, where development did not conform to standards, particularly the construction of housing below the flood lines.
“Government knows what the flood lines are. Why did developers of subdivisions allow construction of housing projects below the flood lines?” he asked.
Palafox said corruption might have come into play because it would take the approval of 32 agencies to sign papers for land development and 12 agencies just to do one building.
He recalled that he did some development in the portion of the Nile near Khartoum in Sudan where the construction was done well above the flood lines.
Also, there is a chronic lack of foresight in the land development with developers looking only beyond 25 years of flood history.
“The international standard is to look at the flood history of the past 500 years, like the Khartoum project,” he said.
If he had his way, Palafox said he would have planned out Metro Manila according to plans by American architect Daniel Burnham in 1905.
According to Palafox, Burnham envisioned a Manila designed the same way as Paris, built near the Seine River, and Venice with its waterways.
“In Venice, you work on the first floor and live on the second floor,” he said.
Other recommendations in the plan included the construction of catch basins under buildings that could collect rainwater for recycling or for flowing into rivers.
Also, Palafox recommended the building of houses on stilts to go above the flood lines, just like the Badjaos.
In addition to the lack of foresight, there was also a chronic oversight by government over the years on the issue of garbage and illegal logging.
“The pressures for development in areas unsuitable for development exist and will continue to exist, and without action, high and unnecessary environmental, social and economic costs will be incurred,” the study said.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:19:00 10/02/2009
MANILA, Philippines — The flood disaster that struck Metro Manila over the weekend was not an act of God but a sin of omission by government and private real estate developers, according to urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox.
The green architect said that a land use plan that took floods into consideration was drawn up as far back as 1977, titled “Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project,” sponsored by the World Bank.
Palafox said that the study had already noted the possibility of heavy flooding in at least three sites of urban growth in the Philippine capital—the Marikina Valley and its northern and southern parts.
“When I saw the damage caused by the floods recently, I realized that these were the same areas that had already been identified,” he told the Inquirer.
“Urban development is spreading into areas which are, in their present state, unsuitable for development—either because they are low-lying and liable to flooding, or because development is without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage (the norm in Manila) and so will continue to contribute to the severe pollution of areas such as Laguna de Bay,” the study said.
But what did government do to mitigate the flooding and other problems identified by the 1977 study?
Nothing, according to Palafox.
Need for spillway
“This is not an act of God, as what people have already said. This is a sin of omission on the part of government and leadership. Practically all the measures outlined in the study could have addressed the flooding we are seeing these days,” he said.
For one, there was little infrastructure to prevent flooding. Palafox cited the need to construct a spillway in Parañaque to drain excess water from Laguna Lake to Manila Bay.
“The Manggahan floodway was constructed to drain floodwater from the mountains flowing through the Marikina River into the Laguna Lake. But what happens when the Laguna Lake is overflowing? That is why there was a need for the Parañaque spillway to direct excess water from the lake into the Manila Bay,” he said.
But he said the government never constructed the spillway. “I don’t know why,” said Palafox, who earned a degree on urban planning from Harvard. “But you don’t need an engineer to understand this.”
Palafox also said that the study proposed desilting the Pasig and Marikina Rivers to accommodate more water. “What should have been done was to use the silt and mud collected from the river to construct ‘green islands’ just like in Holland.”
The green islands should have been constructed at the mouths of the rivers and could be used for “recreational purposes” like parks, arboretums and sports arenas. “You let these islands settle, say after 15 years. Then you can use them for industrial purposes like oil depots.”
Erase parts of capital
If he were to redesign Metro Manila, Palafox said he would take a “big eraser” and wipe out parts of Metro Manila in the east, north and south, where development did not conform to standards, particularly the construction of housing below the flood lines.
“Government knows what the flood lines are. Why did developers of subdivisions allow construction of housing projects below the flood lines?” he asked.
Palafox said corruption might have come into play because it would take the approval of 32 agencies to sign papers for land development and 12 agencies just to do one building.
He recalled that he did some development in the portion of the Nile near Khartoum in Sudan where the construction was done well above the flood lines.
Also, there is a chronic lack of foresight in the land development with developers looking only beyond 25 years of flood history.
“The international standard is to look at the flood history of the past 500 years, like the Khartoum project,” he said.
If he had his way, Palafox said he would have planned out Metro Manila according to plans by American architect Daniel Burnham in 1905.
According to Palafox, Burnham envisioned a Manila designed the same way as Paris, built near the Seine River, and Venice with its waterways.
“In Venice, you work on the first floor and live on the second floor,” he said.
Other recommendations in the plan included the construction of catch basins under buildings that could collect rainwater for recycling or for flowing into rivers.
Also, Palafox recommended the building of houses on stilts to go above the flood lines, just like the Badjaos.
In addition to the lack of foresight, there was also a chronic oversight by government over the years on the issue of garbage and illegal logging.
“The pressures for development in areas unsuitable for development exist and will continue to exist, and without action, high and unnecessary environmental, social and economic costs will be incurred,” the study said.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The SHOW-UP
Published on ABS-CBN News Online Beta (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com)
by Carmela Fonbuena, Newsbreak
with research assistance from
Victoria Camille Tulad, Newsbreak
09/14/2009 7:56 PM
Aileen was chosen from a bevy of young girls who showed up in a hotel and was married off to a Korean, more than twice her age, the next day.
It was Lovi, a co-worker in a cheese stick factory in Fairview, Quezon City (Where is this factory?) who introduced 19-year old Aileen to Annie, a marriage broker.
As a single mother, Aileen was at her wits’ end trying to raise a son who was born out of wedlock from a rape committed by a former co-worker. Her weekly income of P700 at the cheese sticks factory was hardly enough for herself, much less for her son and her grandmother.
Aileen, who hails from a province in southern Luzon, comes from family a of 16 children, so poor and destitute that when she was six months old, her parents gave her up to an aunt who has no family. Three other siblings live with relatives in Laguna. Four others died young.
Like many Filipinos, she dreamt of working abroad to help her family and provide her son a good future.
“Lovie talked to me. She offered me a job abroad, in Korea. I asked, 'What kind of job?' She said it's factory work. The salary is good but before I can go to Korea, I should marry a Korean,” she said.
Aileen dismissed the idea, but Lovie persuaded her and other co-workers at the factory to give it a try.
Aileen recognized an opportunity to get her family out of poverty and eventually gave in to Lovie’s urgings. In November 2007, she was introduced to Annie and appeared in her first show-up. She was not chosen.
But a few weeks later, Annie called her again for another show-up. Apparently, a Korean wanted to marry her after viewing her video in the Internet. Aileen remembered the video was taken when she was inside the van on her way to the show up.
She told Annie she was no longer interested to be matched, but she wouldn't hear any of it. When she didn't appear at the show-up―and the Korean had to choose among the women present―Annie was furious. Annie stormed her house and pressured her and her family to pay for what they had already spent on her. She threatened to call her police contacts if she didn’t.
“She was telling my grandmother to tell me to appear in the show-up because they’ve spent so much on me. My grandmother said to me, ‘What can you do? They spent on you. I said, ‘I don’t know. Let’s just see. (Sabi ng lola ko, e ano magagawa mo dyan e marami ka na raw nagastos sa kanila. Sabi ko, bahala na. Gumanon na lang ako).”
On December 15, Aileen was persuaded to appear in another show up. It was there that she met Ji-Wong.
“Put on some make up, Aileen. How will you get picked? Make yourself beautiful,.”Annie told her during the show-up in a hotel in Cubao, Quezon City..
Annie called a girl to work on Aileen's face with powder, blush and lipstick. In a short while, she and five other young girls paraded before Ji-Wong and Mr. Soon and answered the Koreans’ questions.
All five girls, simply dressed in jeans and shirts, were either high school graduates or college dropouts.
“I felt a bit like a prostitute. I don’t like wearing make up,” Aileen told Newsbreak
“The other girls were all so pretty. They really looked like sales ladies. They were so excited,” she added. But Ji-Wong had his eyes on the simple and reluctant Aileen and chose her.
How did it feel knowing she was going to marry Ji-Wong? “I planned to escape. But I said, never mind. (Balak ko tumakas. Pero sabi ko, bahala na nga),” she related.
The following day, Dec. 16, 2007, they were wed in a restaurant. Aileen's grandmother, her uncle, and her cousin stood as witnesses to their wedding vows and first kiss.
Also present at the wedding were two people who played important roles in the lives of the new couple—Mr. Lee, the Korean contact and translator and Annie, his Filipino counterpart who made sure that Aileen would behave appropriately
“You are very lucky, Aileen,” a delighted Annie kept repeating to Aileen on her wedding day. Lucky because Ji-Wong, according to the business card he gave Aileen, is a “manager.”
They didn't know what business he was engaged in but “manager” sounded good enough for them. Annie promised her he would agree to regularly send money to her family in the Philippines.
But Aileen couldn’t stand Ji-Wong. “Ayoko nga mapasubo dyan kasi ang baho ng hininga. Sabi ko, parang hindi ako natunawan a. Sana umuwi na sila.” (His breath smelled so bad, I just wanted him to go home.)
“Sabi sa amin ni Ate Celia, pag mag-asawa na kayo wala na kayong magagawa. Pumayag na kayo kasi wala namang mawawala. Asawa mo naman e. Sabi ko, kahit na may anak ako. Iba pa rin yun.),” Aileen said. ( My Ate Celia told me that I cannot do anything anymore because he is already my husband. I know I already have a son but this just did not feel right.)
She played along anyway. It didn't matter how she felt for Ji-Wong. Annie had her by the throat. If she escaped, she knew Annie would not stop hounding her.
Besides, she did want the money. With the promise of regular remittances to her family, she resigned herself to her fate.
Ji-Wong returned to Korea four days after the wedding. Mr. Lee promised him Aileen would soon join him there. But Aileen reported Annie’s operations to the Commission on Overseas Filipinos (CFC). The case is now pending at the Quezon City regional Trial Court.
Aileen admitted she still thinks of her husband Ji-Wong, who continues to wait for her in Korea. Aileen said Ji-Wong doesn’t know about the legal case in the Philippines because Mr. Lee, the Korean recruiter, is supposedly telling him the paperwork is delaying her departure.
Aileen said she is thankful that CFO saved her. “I could have been killed and brought home in a coffin (Baka mapatay na lang ako dun tapos pag-uwi, kabaong na),” she told Newsbreak.
But Aileen continues to live in fear. Since the case, Aileen had left her home in Quezon City for fear that the recruiters would continue to hound her and her family, who had blamed her for dragging them in her problems. Her aunt refuses to give up her son. They wouldn’t even let her talk to him anymore.
“Maybe when I find a good job and be able to help them, they will welcome me again,” she lamented.
While Ji-Wong remains to be her husband, Aileen has started a new life with another man with whom she already has a second son. “He’s a nice guy. He takes care of me,” Aileen said.
At the same time, she feels sorry for Ji-Wong and thinks of him as a victim of the recruiters.
“Sometimes I want to call him. But I am always overtaken by fear. I want to call him right now (Balak ko nga tawagan na lang sya. Pero nauunahan ako ng takot. Sabi ko, wag na lang. Gusto ko nga tawagan ngayon e).” – Newsbreak
by Carmela Fonbuena, Newsbreak
with research assistance from
Victoria Camille Tulad, Newsbreak
09/14/2009 7:56 PM
Aileen was chosen from a bevy of young girls who showed up in a hotel and was married off to a Korean, more than twice her age, the next day.
It was Lovi, a co-worker in a cheese stick factory in Fairview, Quezon City (Where is this factory?) who introduced 19-year old Aileen to Annie, a marriage broker.
As a single mother, Aileen was at her wits’ end trying to raise a son who was born out of wedlock from a rape committed by a former co-worker. Her weekly income of P700 at the cheese sticks factory was hardly enough for herself, much less for her son and her grandmother.
Aileen, who hails from a province in southern Luzon, comes from family a of 16 children, so poor and destitute that when she was six months old, her parents gave her up to an aunt who has no family. Three other siblings live with relatives in Laguna. Four others died young.
Like many Filipinos, she dreamt of working abroad to help her family and provide her son a good future.
“Lovie talked to me. She offered me a job abroad, in Korea. I asked, 'What kind of job?' She said it's factory work. The salary is good but before I can go to Korea, I should marry a Korean,” she said.
Aileen dismissed the idea, but Lovie persuaded her and other co-workers at the factory to give it a try.
Aileen recognized an opportunity to get her family out of poverty and eventually gave in to Lovie’s urgings. In November 2007, she was introduced to Annie and appeared in her first show-up. She was not chosen.
But a few weeks later, Annie called her again for another show-up. Apparently, a Korean wanted to marry her after viewing her video in the Internet. Aileen remembered the video was taken when she was inside the van on her way to the show up.
She told Annie she was no longer interested to be matched, but she wouldn't hear any of it. When she didn't appear at the show-up―and the Korean had to choose among the women present―Annie was furious. Annie stormed her house and pressured her and her family to pay for what they had already spent on her. She threatened to call her police contacts if she didn’t.
“She was telling my grandmother to tell me to appear in the show-up because they’ve spent so much on me. My grandmother said to me, ‘What can you do? They spent on you. I said, ‘I don’t know. Let’s just see. (Sabi ng lola ko, e ano magagawa mo dyan e marami ka na raw nagastos sa kanila. Sabi ko, bahala na. Gumanon na lang ako).”
On December 15, Aileen was persuaded to appear in another show up. It was there that she met Ji-Wong.
“Put on some make up, Aileen. How will you get picked? Make yourself beautiful,.”Annie told her during the show-up in a hotel in Cubao, Quezon City..
Annie called a girl to work on Aileen's face with powder, blush and lipstick. In a short while, she and five other young girls paraded before Ji-Wong and Mr. Soon and answered the Koreans’ questions.
All five girls, simply dressed in jeans and shirts, were either high school graduates or college dropouts.
“I felt a bit like a prostitute. I don’t like wearing make up,” Aileen told Newsbreak
“The other girls were all so pretty. They really looked like sales ladies. They were so excited,” she added. But Ji-Wong had his eyes on the simple and reluctant Aileen and chose her.
How did it feel knowing she was going to marry Ji-Wong? “I planned to escape. But I said, never mind. (Balak ko tumakas. Pero sabi ko, bahala na nga),” she related.
The following day, Dec. 16, 2007, they were wed in a restaurant. Aileen's grandmother, her uncle, and her cousin stood as witnesses to their wedding vows and first kiss.
Also present at the wedding were two people who played important roles in the lives of the new couple—Mr. Lee, the Korean contact and translator and Annie, his Filipino counterpart who made sure that Aileen would behave appropriately
“You are very lucky, Aileen,” a delighted Annie kept repeating to Aileen on her wedding day. Lucky because Ji-Wong, according to the business card he gave Aileen, is a “manager.”
They didn't know what business he was engaged in but “manager” sounded good enough for them. Annie promised her he would agree to regularly send money to her family in the Philippines.
But Aileen couldn’t stand Ji-Wong. “Ayoko nga mapasubo dyan kasi ang baho ng hininga. Sabi ko, parang hindi ako natunawan a. Sana umuwi na sila.” (His breath smelled so bad, I just wanted him to go home.)
“Sabi sa amin ni Ate Celia, pag mag-asawa na kayo wala na kayong magagawa. Pumayag na kayo kasi wala namang mawawala. Asawa mo naman e. Sabi ko, kahit na may anak ako. Iba pa rin yun.),” Aileen said. ( My Ate Celia told me that I cannot do anything anymore because he is already my husband. I know I already have a son but this just did not feel right.)
She played along anyway. It didn't matter how she felt for Ji-Wong. Annie had her by the throat. If she escaped, she knew Annie would not stop hounding her.
Besides, she did want the money. With the promise of regular remittances to her family, she resigned herself to her fate.
Ji-Wong returned to Korea four days after the wedding. Mr. Lee promised him Aileen would soon join him there. But Aileen reported Annie’s operations to the Commission on Overseas Filipinos (CFC). The case is now pending at the Quezon City regional Trial Court.
Aileen admitted she still thinks of her husband Ji-Wong, who continues to wait for her in Korea. Aileen said Ji-Wong doesn’t know about the legal case in the Philippines because Mr. Lee, the Korean recruiter, is supposedly telling him the paperwork is delaying her departure.
Aileen said she is thankful that CFO saved her. “I could have been killed and brought home in a coffin (Baka mapatay na lang ako dun tapos pag-uwi, kabaong na),” she told Newsbreak.
But Aileen continues to live in fear. Since the case, Aileen had left her home in Quezon City for fear that the recruiters would continue to hound her and her family, who had blamed her for dragging them in her problems. Her aunt refuses to give up her son. They wouldn’t even let her talk to him anymore.
“Maybe when I find a good job and be able to help them, they will welcome me again,” she lamented.
While Ji-Wong remains to be her husband, Aileen has started a new life with another man with whom she already has a second son. “He’s a nice guy. He takes care of me,” Aileen said.
At the same time, she feels sorry for Ji-Wong and thinks of him as a victim of the recruiters.
“Sometimes I want to call him. But I am always overtaken by fear. I want to call him right now (Balak ko nga tawagan na lang sya. Pero nauunahan ako ng takot. Sabi ko, wag na lang. Gusto ko nga tawagan ngayon e).” – Newsbreak
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
‘Don’t marry Filipinas for human organs’
ALIENS TOLD
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:42:00 08/10/2009
MANILA, Philippines—Foreigners who offer marriage to Filipino women in exchange for their kidneys or other human organs risk running afoul of Philippine criminal laws, Cotabato Representative Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza warned in a statement.
"Foreigners cannot procure kidneys from Filipino women in return for marriage. They will definitely be held to account for violating Philippine statutes against the trafficking in persons or their human organs, and/or our laws banning mail-order brides," Taliño-Mendoza said.
Taliño-Mendoza made the statement not long after a Saudi Arabian man married a Filipino woman to mask his buying her kidney, in a bid to dodge the Philippines' rigorous new rules against human organ trafficking,
Philippine authorities prevented the man’s transplant.
The Saudi man sought a kidney transplant at a Philippine government-run hospital, listing his new wife as his voluntary donor.
Suspicious Philippine authorities ruled that the transplant was not a valid donation, but an effective human organ sale, considering the couple had married only recently and did not speak a common language.
Last week, Taliño-Mendoza urged the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to run after human organ smugglers preying on impoverished women in her province.
In the Cotabato town of M’lang alone, human organ traffickers have already illicitly acquired kidneys from at least a dozen women, each lured with P200,000, according to Taliño-Mendoza.
"This is one of the most repulsive forms of exploitation of women," she added.
On Saturday, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, a member of the IACAT, responded to Taliño-Mendoza's call and vowed to pin down foreigners and their local intermediaries engaged in the illegal human organ trade.
According to the World Health Organization, the Philippines has emerged as the No. 5 global hotspot for human organ trafficking. The criminal trade involves mostly kidneys, since humans can survive with only one kidney.
The Philippines’ Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 penalizes the buying and selling of human organs. Those found guilty of engaging in the unlawful trade face 20 years in prison plus a fine of up to P2 million.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law forbids persons or entities from matching Filipino women for marriage to foreigners either on a mail-order basis or via personal introduction for a fee. Offenders face from six to eight years in prison plus a fine of up to P20,000.
Congress passed the law in 1990, after dozens of Filipino women lured by mail-order bride advertisements were found forced into prostitution overseas. Others ended up as battered wives or enslaved domestic laborers.
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:42:00 08/10/2009
MANILA, Philippines—Foreigners who offer marriage to Filipino women in exchange for their kidneys or other human organs risk running afoul of Philippine criminal laws, Cotabato Representative Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza warned in a statement.
"Foreigners cannot procure kidneys from Filipino women in return for marriage. They will definitely be held to account for violating Philippine statutes against the trafficking in persons or their human organs, and/or our laws banning mail-order brides," Taliño-Mendoza said.
Taliño-Mendoza made the statement not long after a Saudi Arabian man married a Filipino woman to mask his buying her kidney, in a bid to dodge the Philippines' rigorous new rules against human organ trafficking,
Philippine authorities prevented the man’s transplant.
The Saudi man sought a kidney transplant at a Philippine government-run hospital, listing his new wife as his voluntary donor.
Suspicious Philippine authorities ruled that the transplant was not a valid donation, but an effective human organ sale, considering the couple had married only recently and did not speak a common language.
Last week, Taliño-Mendoza urged the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to run after human organ smugglers preying on impoverished women in her province.
In the Cotabato town of M’lang alone, human organ traffickers have already illicitly acquired kidneys from at least a dozen women, each lured with P200,000, according to Taliño-Mendoza.
"This is one of the most repulsive forms of exploitation of women," she added.
On Saturday, Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, a member of the IACAT, responded to Taliño-Mendoza's call and vowed to pin down foreigners and their local intermediaries engaged in the illegal human organ trade.
According to the World Health Organization, the Philippines has emerged as the No. 5 global hotspot for human organ trafficking. The criminal trade involves mostly kidneys, since humans can survive with only one kidney.
The Philippines’ Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 penalizes the buying and selling of human organs. Those found guilty of engaging in the unlawful trade face 20 years in prison plus a fine of up to P2 million.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Anti-Mail-Order Bride Law forbids persons or entities from matching Filipino women for marriage to foreigners either on a mail-order basis or via personal introduction for a fee. Offenders face from six to eight years in prison plus a fine of up to P20,000.
Congress passed the law in 1990, after dozens of Filipino women lured by mail-order bride advertisements were found forced into prostitution overseas. Others ended up as battered wives or enslaved domestic laborers.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Recruiters vs new ‘low-skilled’ OFW category
Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:07:00 07/07/2009
MANILA, Philippines—Licensed recruiters have expressed strong opposition against the new classification of “low- and semi-skilled” overseas Filipino workers, arguing that the series of series of orders of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration would deter employment of OFWs.
The POEA imposed the additional requirements for the deployment of female OFWs in 33 job categories (except to Canada) and of male OFWs in 11 job types (to Bahrain) with consulting them, said the recruiters under the umbrella organization of the Federated Associations of Manpower Exporters (Fame).
POEA’s new classification, which is aimed at strengthening protection mechanism for OFWs, is contained in Memorandum Circular 5 and 6, dated June 15. The new rules provide that the deployment of OFWs hired under this expanded category will not be processed until the individual employment contracts are verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and authenticated by the Philippine embassy in the host country.
The recruitment industry is already over-regulated, “strangulating the sector with more rules that are not conducive to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s thrust to create more jobs abroad, said federation president Eduardo Mahiya.
“What is the use of all these marketing missions which the President herself attends if after coming home, we, the direct providers of overseas employment opportunities are prevented from deploying more?” he asked.
The recruiters also bewailed the lack of a transition period, especially for job orders already in the pipeline. They said those renewing their job orders would also be affected.
“The MCs were issued last June 15 and implemented right away (July 1). It was formulated without due consultation, and there is not even a transition period to allow the stakeholders to prepare,” he said.
The new rules would result in a maze of forms and certifications from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), labor attaches, valid visas/work permits, individual employment contracts, said recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani.
These would frustrate foreign recruitment offices, especially in the Middle East, 40 percent of whose deployment are under these categories, he said, foreseeing a massive drop in deployment starting the third quarter of 2009.
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:07:00 07/07/2009
MANILA, Philippines—Licensed recruiters have expressed strong opposition against the new classification of “low- and semi-skilled” overseas Filipino workers, arguing that the series of series of orders of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration would deter employment of OFWs.
The POEA imposed the additional requirements for the deployment of female OFWs in 33 job categories (except to Canada) and of male OFWs in 11 job types (to Bahrain) with consulting them, said the recruiters under the umbrella organization of the Federated Associations of Manpower Exporters (Fame).
POEA’s new classification, which is aimed at strengthening protection mechanism for OFWs, is contained in Memorandum Circular 5 and 6, dated June 15. The new rules provide that the deployment of OFWs hired under this expanded category will not be processed until the individual employment contracts are verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and authenticated by the Philippine embassy in the host country.
The recruitment industry is already over-regulated, “strangulating the sector with more rules that are not conducive to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s thrust to create more jobs abroad, said federation president Eduardo Mahiya.
“What is the use of all these marketing missions which the President herself attends if after coming home, we, the direct providers of overseas employment opportunities are prevented from deploying more?” he asked.
The recruiters also bewailed the lack of a transition period, especially for job orders already in the pipeline. They said those renewing their job orders would also be affected.
“The MCs were issued last June 15 and implemented right away (July 1). It was formulated without due consultation, and there is not even a transition period to allow the stakeholders to prepare,” he said.
The new rules would result in a maze of forms and certifications from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), labor attaches, valid visas/work permits, individual employment contracts, said recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani.
These would frustrate foreign recruitment offices, especially in the Middle East, 40 percent of whose deployment are under these categories, he said, foreseeing a massive drop in deployment starting the third quarter of 2009.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Oversupply of nurses plagues RP
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines has oversupply of nurses this year as “world-class schools” in the country continue to produce thousands of nurses and some diploma mill schools churn out countless of practical nurses.
University of the Philippines College of Nursing Dean Dr. Josefina Tuazon and Philippine Nurses Association National President Leah Paquiz disclosed that the oversupply of nurses is fast becoming the country’s problem even as deployment abroad may be the “first choice” for these graduates.
Tuazon explained that due to the numerous nursing graduates this year at 67, 728, hospitals have to get volunteer nurses -- a lot better because they are not paid -- to accommodate the fresh graduates.
High number of graduates of Practical Nursing, a two-year course that focuses on the basics of nursing, aggravates the unemployment problem, Tuazon stressed.
“There is no local demand or positions for practical nurses within the Philippine Health Care Delivery system particularly in the light of the oversupply of nurses and subsequent unemployment of graduate nurses,” PNA’s Paquiz revealed in a written statement distributed to the media recently.
Schools offering Practical Nursing have mushroomed in the country overnight as they promise overseas employment that may await the graduates of this two-year non-degree course. The promise of work abroad, however, is not true as foreign employers prefer the four-year college-degree nurses who passed the Licensure Board Exams, Paquiz added.
The farthest thing that these practical nurses can reach is become nurse assistants, Tuazon noted.
The PNA likewise asked the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) of the Department of Education to put a stop to other schools’ offering the Practical Nursing program.
The PNA “strongly objects to the institution of the Practical Nursing program and vehemently rejects the proposed ladderization of the nursing curriculum,” the PNA statement said.
The PNA president also disclosed that United States, home to almost 250,000 Filipino nurses in the past years, stopped issuing work visas this year because the quota requirement for migrant workers has already been reached. There were 21,000 Filipino nurses seeking employment in the US in 2007.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration deployed a total of 13, 525 licensed nurses around the world in 2006. Of this number, 12, 263 are females and 1, 261 are males.
Saudi Arabia employed some 5,600 Filipino nurses, the highest so far of all Middle East countries in 2006.
Japan has 1.1 million Filipino nurses and licensed caregivers in 2005. - Gloria Esguerra Melencio, Asia News Network Inquirer.net, April 03, 2008
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