MANILA, Philippines—At least 6,000 overseas Filipino workers hired by US contractors to work in military camps in war-torn Iraq are expected home by August 9 this year after the United States military ordered their return in time for its own pullout.
In a memorandum dated July 20, US Air Force Colonel Richard Nolan of Central Command’s Contracting Command said contractors who hired people from countries which prohibit work and travel to Iraq must return them home. He noted that eight such people were left behind by their employers in Iraq.
“This letter serves notice that all contractors operating in Iraq have 20 days from the date of this letter to ensure their employees comply with US and international law and understand their redeployment responsibilities under the terms of their contract,” said Nolan, senior contracting officer in Iraq.
He said all the camps in Iraq where the foreign workers are housed will be inspected after the 20-day period expires to ensure compliance. Violating contractors may be blacklisted from future US government contracts.
Aside from the Philippines, Nepal was mentioned by Nolan as among those that ban travel and work to Iraq.
In a related development, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos welcomed the US military order which matches the July 2004 Philippine travel ban to Iraq. The Philippines imposed the ban after Iraqi militants kidnapped OFWs Angelo Dela Cruz and Robert Tarongoy, causing political backlash in the Philippines.
“We’ve always asked [US and other countries] to respect our ban. We have always asked them to please help us because delikado nga sa Iraq (it’s dangerous in Iraq). They’ve never been heeded until now, when they’re winding down their operations,” he said.
Aside from the US, jump-off points to Iraq like Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait have been asked to help the Philippine government enforce the ban, Conejos said.
The DFA official also ruled out the possibility of lifting the ban because “it’s still dangerous there.”
Besides, he said, the thrust of the new government is to create jobs here.
Carmelita Dimzon, administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, said her agency offers returning OFWs a start-up capital loan of P10,000.
She said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration may have to put these OFWs from Iraq on a priority list for redeployment abroad.
“They have upgraded their skills in Iraq, and there are still unfilled job orders in Qatar, for instance,” Dimzon said.
“This is an opportunity for POEA to create of pool of returning workers from Iraq for either redeployment abroad or work or business enterprise here,” she added. - INQUIRER.net, July 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Clinics confirm rise of HIV-AIDS cases among OFWs
MANILA, Philippines -- A group of medical clinics examining hundreds of thousands of prospective overseas Filipino workers applying for jobs in the Midde East confirmed on Sunday a Department of Health report about the rise in the cases of HIV-AIDS among OFWs.
The GCC Accredited Medical Clinics Association-Philippines (GAMCA), in a statement, said its 17 members recorded 19 cases of HIV-AIDs from January to June 2010, compared to just 21 positive cases for the whole of 2009.
GAMCA is tasked by the health ministries of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council—namely Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait—to administer medical examinations for OFWs applying for work visas in compliance with strict GCC medical standards for expatriate workers.
Dr. Rodolfo Punzalan, GAMCA president, said the association has been ensuring the strict observance of the protocol in ferreting out HIV-AIDS cases among OFWs applying for jobs in the GCC countries.
The GAMCA clinics process 12,000 to 15,000 job applicants each month. An HIV/AIDS test costs P2,580, and the result is usually available within three days. A positive test result will be submitted to the GAMCA central laboratory for confirmation, the result of which will take two more weeks.
“The GAMCA central office assures that all our accredited clinics are closely coordinating with the DOH, through our STD/AIDS Cooperative Central laboratory, in strictly implementing the AIDS/HIV testing procedure for all OFWs,” Punzalan said.
The doctor said all cases found to be reactive in the screening method done twice within a span of 14 days were referred to the DOH laboratory for confirmatory tests subject to strict confidentiality rules for those OFWs found to be HIV positive.
“We’re assuring recruitment agencies that OFWs found to be infected with AIDS, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis will be on a ‘watch list” among all Gamca clinics to make sure these workers cannot enter the GCC countries,” PUnzaln said.
The GAMCA president, however, warned that several thousand OFWs by-passed the GAMCA watch list system from October 2009 to April, 2010 through some “rogue clinics” that misrepresented themselves as GAMCA members.
He said this should be addressed by the health and labor departments with the rising cases of HIV/AIDS cases among OFWs.
Punzalan estimated that the 8,000 to 10,000 OFWs were able to work in the GCC countries bypassing GAMCA clinics. He said such OFWs would be sought by local health agencies, given medical exams, and immediately repatriated to the Philippines if detected positive for any infectious disease.
The GCC regulations provide that non-GAMCA medical clinics in the Philippines that produced test results will be fined US$1,000. The clinic and the recruiter would also shoulder the repatriation of sick workers and the costs of recruiting replacement workers, he said. - Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 25, 2010
The GCC Accredited Medical Clinics Association-Philippines (GAMCA), in a statement, said its 17 members recorded 19 cases of HIV-AIDs from January to June 2010, compared to just 21 positive cases for the whole of 2009.
GAMCA is tasked by the health ministries of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council—namely Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait—to administer medical examinations for OFWs applying for work visas in compliance with strict GCC medical standards for expatriate workers.
Dr. Rodolfo Punzalan, GAMCA president, said the association has been ensuring the strict observance of the protocol in ferreting out HIV-AIDS cases among OFWs applying for jobs in the GCC countries.
The GAMCA clinics process 12,000 to 15,000 job applicants each month. An HIV/AIDS test costs P2,580, and the result is usually available within three days. A positive test result will be submitted to the GAMCA central laboratory for confirmation, the result of which will take two more weeks.
“The GAMCA central office assures that all our accredited clinics are closely coordinating with the DOH, through our STD/AIDS Cooperative Central laboratory, in strictly implementing the AIDS/HIV testing procedure for all OFWs,” Punzalan said.
The doctor said all cases found to be reactive in the screening method done twice within a span of 14 days were referred to the DOH laboratory for confirmatory tests subject to strict confidentiality rules for those OFWs found to be HIV positive.
“We’re assuring recruitment agencies that OFWs found to be infected with AIDS, tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis will be on a ‘watch list” among all Gamca clinics to make sure these workers cannot enter the GCC countries,” PUnzaln said.
The GAMCA president, however, warned that several thousand OFWs by-passed the GAMCA watch list system from October 2009 to April, 2010 through some “rogue clinics” that misrepresented themselves as GAMCA members.
He said this should be addressed by the health and labor departments with the rising cases of HIV/AIDS cases among OFWs.
Punzalan estimated that the 8,000 to 10,000 OFWs were able to work in the GCC countries bypassing GAMCA clinics. He said such OFWs would be sought by local health agencies, given medical exams, and immediately repatriated to the Philippines if detected positive for any infectious disease.
The GCC regulations provide that non-GAMCA medical clinics in the Philippines that produced test results will be fined US$1,000. The clinic and the recruiter would also shoulder the repatriation of sick workers and the costs of recruiting replacement workers, he said. - Jerome Aning, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 25, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
DTI recommends virtual poultry farming to OFWs
INVESTORS are assured of real poultry products and real income from the virtual poultry farming program that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is currently pushing for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), a DTI official said.
"This is not just a computer simulation game like Facebook's very popular (game) Farmville," DTI Zamboanga Peninsula Director Nazrullah Manzur said.
Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency [1]
The Virtual Poultry Program, according to Manzur, came as an offshoot of the trade and investment mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia organized by the DTI in 2005.
Manzur said the program was conceptualized to put into productive use the OFWs' hard-earned savings in a project that offers a high return on investment yet at the same time relatively safe.
OFWs can invest as low as P50,000, Manzur said.
As investors, Manzur said they become part-owners of profitable poultry production without them having to be physically present or engaged in the day-to-day farm operations.
Said investments will be utilized to expand the operation of the Davao-based poultry farms owned by Maharlika Agro-Marine Ventures Corporation, a reputable contract grower of chicken for San Miguel Corporation, he said.
As investor, he said the OFWs can actually be also called Overseas Filipino Investors (OFI).
He said that through these investments infused by the OFWs, more poultry farms will be built all over the country generating employment and economic activities in the countryside.
As such, Manzur said they become active partners in the country's poverty alleviation program.
Manzur said that through the use of the internet, the OFW-investor can do real-time monitoring of the status of the project by merely going online.
He said a dedicated website featuring the poultry farms also provides periodic financial statements thereby allowing the OFWs access to crucial information.
He said the internet makes it possible to monitor the poultry operations anytime of the day, any day of the week.
Interested OFWs may contact the Overseas Workers Welfare Adminitration or any DTI field office for more information about the program, Manzur said.
They may also call directly Maharlika Agro-Marine Ventures Corporation at telephone numbers (082)235-2685 or 234-0501, he added. (Bong Garcia)
Zamboanga Local News
Source URL: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/dti-recommends-virtual-poultry-farming-ofws
"This is not just a computer simulation game like Facebook's very popular (game) Farmville," DTI Zamboanga Peninsula Director Nazrullah Manzur said.
Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency [1]
The Virtual Poultry Program, according to Manzur, came as an offshoot of the trade and investment mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia organized by the DTI in 2005.
Manzur said the program was conceptualized to put into productive use the OFWs' hard-earned savings in a project that offers a high return on investment yet at the same time relatively safe.
OFWs can invest as low as P50,000, Manzur said.
As investors, Manzur said they become part-owners of profitable poultry production without them having to be physically present or engaged in the day-to-day farm operations.
Said investments will be utilized to expand the operation of the Davao-based poultry farms owned by Maharlika Agro-Marine Ventures Corporation, a reputable contract grower of chicken for San Miguel Corporation, he said.
As investor, he said the OFWs can actually be also called Overseas Filipino Investors (OFI).
He said that through these investments infused by the OFWs, more poultry farms will be built all over the country generating employment and economic activities in the countryside.
As such, Manzur said they become active partners in the country's poverty alleviation program.
Manzur said that through the use of the internet, the OFW-investor can do real-time monitoring of the status of the project by merely going online.
He said a dedicated website featuring the poultry farms also provides periodic financial statements thereby allowing the OFWs access to crucial information.
He said the internet makes it possible to monitor the poultry operations anytime of the day, any day of the week.
Interested OFWs may contact the Overseas Workers Welfare Adminitration or any DTI field office for more information about the program, Manzur said.
They may also call directly Maharlika Agro-Marine Ventures Corporation at telephone numbers (082)235-2685 or 234-0501, he added. (Bong Garcia)
Zamboanga Local News
Source URL: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/dti-recommends-virtual-poultry-farming-ofws
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