INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:07:00 06/04/2009
MANILA, Philippines—The details of how Filipino nurses and caregivers who graduated from Philippine schools can work in Japan will be the subject of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the Philippines and Japan are scheduled to sign tomorrow, June 5.
In a statement, the Japanese embassy here said the MOU is on school courses under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) on the Movement of Natural Persons.
The MOU clarifies the provisions and processes of deployment and acceptance of Filipino candidates for nurses and caregivers. The main processes are: publicity and the recruitment of Filipino candidates and institutions; matching of Filipino candidates with corresponding institutions; finalization of employment contracts; and the entry of Filipino candidates into Japan.
The MOU focuses on a two- to four-year school course for caregiver candidates. All candidates will enroll in a caregiver school in Japan and will be qualified as certified care workers upon completion of the course.
After the signing, both the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (Jicwels) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) will start preparations for sending and receiving Filipino candidates. JPEPA itself has been effective since December 11, 2008.
Takashi Tsunoda, managing director of Jicwels, a public organization related to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and Chairman Emmanuel Angeles of the CHEd are the signatories for the MOU.
Ambassador Makoto Katsura of Japan will witness the signing ceremony at the HEDC Building in the University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saudi raises RP nurses’ salary to 40%
By EDD K. USMAN
July 4, 2009, 7:26pm
Published on Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph)
With the economic crisis still without end in sight, Filipino nurses working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly those hired effective July 1, 2009, will have a fatter take home pay as the Ministry of Health headed by Minister Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rabeeah raised their salary to 40 percent from the old basic rate of Saudi riyal (SR) 2,550.
This increases the affected newly hired Filipino nurses’ monthly pay from SR2,550 to SR3,570, approximately P45,774.54 in today’s exchange rate (SR1=P12.8220), the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Recruitment Office (SRO) Manila headed by Fahad S. Al-Msaibeeh, employment attaché, said.
Covered by the salary increase are those hired effective July 1 and with at least one year working experience after passing the nurses' board examinations.
“I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, granted a 40 percent increase in the salary of nurses. We believe that this increase will help not only the nurses we hire, but also their families and extended relatives left in the Philippines whom they are supporting to meet the demands of the high cost of living due to the economic meltdown,” Msaibeeh said in a statement.
“In behalf of the Ministry of Health, I hope that we are able to make the Filipino nurses happy somehow. Although, no amount of money can compensate their sacrifices, hard work and professionalism,” the SRO Manila official added.
Asked for his reaction, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis welcomed what he described the “very pleasant development.”
Seguis said it is well-deserved “by our nurses for their competence. This is welcomed good news. It is long-deserved.”
At the same time, the official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urged Filipino nurses who want to work in the kingdom to make sure their documents are in order and contain no fraudulent records because the Saudi government is very strict in applying their laws.
Much earlier this year, Saudi Ambassador Mohammad Ameen Wali revealed his government’s plans to hire about 5,000 Filipino nurses as new medical facilities are being constructed in the kingdom as well as filling the manpower of existing facilities.
The embassy had relayed this to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) under Secretary Marianito Roque for a government-to-government hiring of the nurses.
A delegation from the Saudi health ministry visited the Philippines recently and interviewed thousands of nurses for immediate hiring.
Nurses to be assigned to Makkah and Madinah must be Muslim, while other Saudi areas accept both Muslim and non-Muslim workers.
Saudi Arabia remains the top destination of Filipinos going abroad to work.
July 4, 2009, 7:26pm
Published on Manila Bulletin (http://www.mb.com.ph)
With the economic crisis still without end in sight, Filipino nurses working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly those hired effective July 1, 2009, will have a fatter take home pay as the Ministry of Health headed by Minister Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rabeeah raised their salary to 40 percent from the old basic rate of Saudi riyal (SR) 2,550.
This increases the affected newly hired Filipino nurses’ monthly pay from SR2,550 to SR3,570, approximately P45,774.54 in today’s exchange rate (SR1=P12.8220), the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Recruitment Office (SRO) Manila headed by Fahad S. Al-Msaibeeh, employment attaché, said.
Covered by the salary increase are those hired effective July 1 and with at least one year working experience after passing the nurses' board examinations.
“I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, granted a 40 percent increase in the salary of nurses. We believe that this increase will help not only the nurses we hire, but also their families and extended relatives left in the Philippines whom they are supporting to meet the demands of the high cost of living due to the economic meltdown,” Msaibeeh said in a statement.
“In behalf of the Ministry of Health, I hope that we are able to make the Filipino nurses happy somehow. Although, no amount of money can compensate their sacrifices, hard work and professionalism,” the SRO Manila official added.
Asked for his reaction, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis welcomed what he described the “very pleasant development.”
Seguis said it is well-deserved “by our nurses for their competence. This is welcomed good news. It is long-deserved.”
At the same time, the official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urged Filipino nurses who want to work in the kingdom to make sure their documents are in order and contain no fraudulent records because the Saudi government is very strict in applying their laws.
Much earlier this year, Saudi Ambassador Mohammad Ameen Wali revealed his government’s plans to hire about 5,000 Filipino nurses as new medical facilities are being constructed in the kingdom as well as filling the manpower of existing facilities.
The embassy had relayed this to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) under Secretary Marianito Roque for a government-to-government hiring of the nurses.
A delegation from the Saudi health ministry visited the Philippines recently and interviewed thousands of nurses for immediate hiring.
Nurses to be assigned to Makkah and Madinah must be Muslim, while other Saudi areas accept both Muslim and non-Muslim workers.
Saudi Arabia remains the top destination of Filipinos going abroad to work.
OAV amendments sought to woo overseas voters
JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, GMANews.TV
Article posted July 10, 2009 - 06:51 PM
MANILA, Philippines - To entice more participants in the absentee voting exercise, a lawmaker is calling for amendments to the law on overseas voting, including bringing registration centers closer to overseas Filipinos.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. want to encourage more Filipinos abroad by putting up mobile registration centers in areas with huge concentration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and conducting pre-departure registration in international airports and seaports in the country.
Villar is a known OFW advocate and has come out with a series of public advertisements detailing his assistance to distressed migrants. He is said to be hoping for the OFW vote to help him in his presidential bid next year. [See: Months before campaign, politicians test the power of 'advocacy ads']
The bill aims to set up mobile voter registration centers in provinces and cities that are too far away from designated Philippine posts where a Filipino could sign up.
In filing Senate Bill 2333, Pimentel hopes registration centers would be set up in countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Canada and the United States where Philippine posts are few despite a high concentration of Filipinos.
Robert Tan, an OFW in Edmonton, Canada wrote GMANews.TV to complain that thousands of Filipinos there find it difficult to register for the 2010 polls because the nearest registration center is in Vancouver, which is some 800 kilometers away.
“I was so excited when I read about this OAV," Tan said, “but to my dismay, the Consul told me they do not accept voter registration in our area where a few thousand Filipinos are living."
A similar problem faces Filipinos in Saudi Arabia where only three posts – Riyadh, Al Khobar and Jeddah – were assigned to process an estimated 1.3 million qualified absentee voters.
On top of that, the Department of Foreign Affairs' OAV Secretariat admitted that there are less than 12 functioning data capturing machines that could process the applicants.
Since the OAV was signed into law in 2003, figures have not been encouraging. In the 2004 elections, only 360,000 of the more than 4 million qualified overseas Filipinos registered. Of this figure, only 65 percent or 233,092 cast their votes.
In the 2007 elections, Pimentel cited records that showed only 503,000 overseas Filipinos registered with a mere 21 percent or 81,732 casting their ballots.
“The sharp decline in the actual voting was partly explained by the fact that the last political exercise did not entail voting for the president and vice president," Pimentel added.
As of Friday, only 130, 686 overseas Filipinos have registered to vote for the 2010 polls, a far-cry from the 1 million new absentee voters targeted by the government.
But even if the DFA meets the target, the Comelec would still trim down the number of voters after a rigorous screening process.
With over eight million of them scattered throughout the globe, overseas Filipinos could help decide the result of national elections. But after the dismal turnout of registrants, Pimentel is worried that the OAV will be nothing more but an expensive exercise.
Doubtful Pinoy voters
In his recent trip to the Netherlands, Pimentel noted the “prevailing apathy" among Filipinos toward Philippine elections.
“I had the opportunity to talk with a good number of overseas Filipinos. The response to registration for absentee voting for the purpose of computerized elections was very depressing," the minority leader said.
Aside from fears of jeopardizing their dual citizenship status, Pimentel said many Filipinos are doubtful whether their votes will be counted following the “Hello Garci" controversy in 2004.
“I had to tell them that their votes can actually make a difference. If only a significant proportion of overseas Filipinos will exercise their voting right, they can be a swing vote in the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial elections," he said.
Beyond the perceived lack of interest in Philippine politics, overseas Pinoys who don’t want to vote seem simply uninspired.
Greg Macabenta, a syndicated journalist and national chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, said Filipino migrants have yet to realize that they are a powerful force to be reckoned with in Philippine politics.
“Right now, overseas Filipinos still see no one in the Philippines who can inspire them with respect to the 2010 elections," he told GMANews.TV just after Barack Obama won the 2008 US elections. [See: Obama's victory showed overseas Pinoys the power of the vote]
The essential principles of electoral participation as well as equality before the law were held by Filipino migrants in high esteem, said a recently published study by German researchers Dr. Christl Kessler and Stefan Rother.
However, when they asked 1,000 overseas Filipino worker (OFW) returnees from the Middle East and East Asia, they discovered that while migrants are determined to exercise their democratic right to vote, they also become more critical of the Philippines after having been abroad.
Filipinos who come from states, which the Freedom House Index identifies as democratic – Japan and Taiwan – and authoritarian – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong - often feel alienated.
“I myself am a Filipino, but I don’t give a damn about this country," a 24-year-old Dubai respondent was quoted saying.
Article posted July 10, 2009 - 06:51 PM
MANILA, Philippines - To entice more participants in the absentee voting exercise, a lawmaker is calling for amendments to the law on overseas voting, including bringing registration centers closer to overseas Filipinos.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. want to encourage more Filipinos abroad by putting up mobile registration centers in areas with huge concentration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and conducting pre-departure registration in international airports and seaports in the country.
Villar is a known OFW advocate and has come out with a series of public advertisements detailing his assistance to distressed migrants. He is said to be hoping for the OFW vote to help him in his presidential bid next year. [See: Months before campaign, politicians test the power of 'advocacy ads']
The bill aims to set up mobile voter registration centers in provinces and cities that are too far away from designated Philippine posts where a Filipino could sign up.
In filing Senate Bill 2333, Pimentel hopes registration centers would be set up in countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Canada and the United States where Philippine posts are few despite a high concentration of Filipinos.
Robert Tan, an OFW in Edmonton, Canada wrote GMANews.TV to complain that thousands of Filipinos there find it difficult to register for the 2010 polls because the nearest registration center is in Vancouver, which is some 800 kilometers away.
“I was so excited when I read about this OAV," Tan said, “but to my dismay, the Consul told me they do not accept voter registration in our area where a few thousand Filipinos are living."
A similar problem faces Filipinos in Saudi Arabia where only three posts – Riyadh, Al Khobar and Jeddah – were assigned to process an estimated 1.3 million qualified absentee voters.
On top of that, the Department of Foreign Affairs' OAV Secretariat admitted that there are less than 12 functioning data capturing machines that could process the applicants.
Since the OAV was signed into law in 2003, figures have not been encouraging. In the 2004 elections, only 360,000 of the more than 4 million qualified overseas Filipinos registered. Of this figure, only 65 percent or 233,092 cast their votes.
In the 2007 elections, Pimentel cited records that showed only 503,000 overseas Filipinos registered with a mere 21 percent or 81,732 casting their ballots.
“The sharp decline in the actual voting was partly explained by the fact that the last political exercise did not entail voting for the president and vice president," Pimentel added.
As of Friday, only 130, 686 overseas Filipinos have registered to vote for the 2010 polls, a far-cry from the 1 million new absentee voters targeted by the government.
But even if the DFA meets the target, the Comelec would still trim down the number of voters after a rigorous screening process.
With over eight million of them scattered throughout the globe, overseas Filipinos could help decide the result of national elections. But after the dismal turnout of registrants, Pimentel is worried that the OAV will be nothing more but an expensive exercise.
Doubtful Pinoy voters
In his recent trip to the Netherlands, Pimentel noted the “prevailing apathy" among Filipinos toward Philippine elections.
“I had the opportunity to talk with a good number of overseas Filipinos. The response to registration for absentee voting for the purpose of computerized elections was very depressing," the minority leader said.
Aside from fears of jeopardizing their dual citizenship status, Pimentel said many Filipinos are doubtful whether their votes will be counted following the “Hello Garci" controversy in 2004.
“I had to tell them that their votes can actually make a difference. If only a significant proportion of overseas Filipinos will exercise their voting right, they can be a swing vote in the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial elections," he said.
Beyond the perceived lack of interest in Philippine politics, overseas Pinoys who don’t want to vote seem simply uninspired.
Greg Macabenta, a syndicated journalist and national chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, said Filipino migrants have yet to realize that they are a powerful force to be reckoned with in Philippine politics.
“Right now, overseas Filipinos still see no one in the Philippines who can inspire them with respect to the 2010 elections," he told GMANews.TV just after Barack Obama won the 2008 US elections. [See: Obama's victory showed overseas Pinoys the power of the vote]
The essential principles of electoral participation as well as equality before the law were held by Filipino migrants in high esteem, said a recently published study by German researchers Dr. Christl Kessler and Stefan Rother.
However, when they asked 1,000 overseas Filipino worker (OFW) returnees from the Middle East and East Asia, they discovered that while migrants are determined to exercise their democratic right to vote, they also become more critical of the Philippines after having been abroad.
Filipinos who come from states, which the Freedom House Index identifies as democratic – Japan and Taiwan – and authoritarian – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong - often feel alienated.
“I myself am a Filipino, but I don’t give a damn about this country," a 24-year-old Dubai respondent was quoted saying.
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