Overseas Filipino Workers
(OFW) and other Philippine News
News Articles
> PINOY
LEADERS ABROAD VOW TO INVEST IN RP
> RIYAHD BLAST SURVIVOR
RETURNS HOME
> SHOWBIZ FIGURES
DOMINATE RP POLITICS
> DOLE: 2003 WAS FRUITFUL
FOR WORKERS
PINOY LEADERS ABROAD VOW TO INVEST
IN RP
MANILA, December 26, 2003 (STAR) Filipino leaders based in 12 countries
have vowed to invest in the Philippines and promote its tourist
destinations in foreign markets.
This was announced by Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon as he revealed
the contents of a resolution adopted by these visiting overseas
Filipinos during a series of fora in Manila recently.
These sectoral meetings, according to Gordon, were participated
in by delegates to the Second Global Filipino Networking Convention
representing community organizers, businesses and industries from
Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Lao
PDR, Nigeria, Singapore, Taiwan, the United States and the Philippines.
Of the 401 delegates, 229 are based overseas.
They formalized their commitments through resolutions they formulated,
adopted and presented to Malacañang at the end of the convention.
Among their commitments outlined in six separate resolutions (economic,
tourism, youth, social development, health and medical, and media)
are
the following:
• Support the Department of Tourism’s "Volunteer
12" program, which
seeks to encourage each of the eight million overseas Filipinos
to send at
least one tourist to the Philippines a month;
• Support the program of the National Federation of Filipino
American
Associations (NaFFAA) in organizing provincial associations abroad
to
raise capital for investment in micro industries in the towns and
barrios
of their respective home-provinces;
• Devote substantial expertise, knowledge and technology
in enhancing
the competitiveness of Philippine products and services in the
international market;
• Elicit the active support of Filipino communities overseas
in
establishing a cohesive international business network;
• Explore the potentials of new funding and credit models
to develop
small and medium enterprises in rural areas;
• Promote the Philippines as a positive destination for tourism
and
foreign investments; and
• Encourage skills exchange among young professionals based
in the
Philippines and abroad through the institutionalization of the Transfer
of
Knowledge, Skills and Technology Program.
TOP
Riyadh Blast Survivor Returns Home
The overseas Filipino worker, who survived the Nov. 7 terrorist
bombing
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been reunited with her family.
Domestic helper Lolita Montealto, 33, of Sto. Tomas, Davao del
Norte,
was welcomed home by no less than President Arroyo at the Ninoy
Aquino
International Airport (NAIA) at 5 p.m. the other day.
Virgilio Angelo, head of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration
(OWWA), said Mrs. Arroyo personally asked his office to see to it
that
Montealto would be home before Christmas.
Angelo said the OWWA provided Montealto’s plane fare and
facilitated
all the arrangements for her speedy return.
He said Mrs. Arroyo tasked him to extend all possible medical assistance
to Montealto for the speedy healing of her broken right arm as well
as financial or redeployment assistance for her livelihood.
Montealto, along with her employers, was wounded when their home
at the
Mahya compound in Riyadh collapsed during the bombing.
Though wounded, Montealto managed to pinpoint the location of fellow
OFW Reylin Abarra in the ruble during the rescue operation. Abarra,
however, later died.
TOP
SHOWBIZ FIGURES DOMINATE RP POLITICS
MANILA, December 29, 2003 (STAR) Barely three years after actor
turned president Joseph Estrada was deposed, the Philippines seems
poised
to elect another screen celebrity.
Latest surveys put Fernando Poe, "Da King" of Philippine
movies, as
the front-runner in the May presidential elections, even though
the
actor, popularly known as "FPJ," is a high school dropout
with no political
experience.
Veteran politicians like President Arroyo are scrambling to catch
up
with Poe, who has been endorsed by a coalition of opposition groups
even though it is unclear what he stands for.
"He has captured the imagination, not only as a heroic figure
who
will fight our battles against injustice. He invokes the heroism
that is
within all of us who are looking for leadership," said former
agrarian
reform secretary Horacio Morales, now an opposition leader.
Filipinos have been voting showbiz celebrities
into office for decades.
Action stars, lowbrow comedians, matinee heartthrobs, aging
basketball heroes and TV talk show hosts have all used their fame
to get elected as mayors, governors, congressmen and senators.
In 1998 Estrada — a movie star second in popularity only
to Poe — was
elected president despite his lack of education, his drinking, womanizing
and poor work habits.
Half way into his term, Estrada was ousted in 2001 by a popular
uprising sparked by a massive corruption scandal and his own poor
governance.
He is now being tried on plunder charges which could get him the
death penalty if convicted.
Despite Estrada’s failure, many Filipinos, particularly
the poor, are
still ready to cast their vote for movie stars.
Opposition former congressman Miguel Romero, a veteran politician,
defends this trend.
"The public is tired of politicians generally because of
what’s
happening to the country. peace and order are going down, the economy
is in
bad shape," said Romero, the spokesman for the coalition backing
Poe.
"The elections in this country are about popularity and there
is no
doubt about it. FPJ is a vote-getter," he said.
Laura Samson, chairwoman of the sociology department of the
University of the Philippines, said people "tend to vote for
someone they feel
close to and movie personalities and TV personalities have that
kind of
virtual intimacy. They are part of their lives.
"They are desperate and they see people like FPJ as a savior."
STAR columnist Teodoro Benigno said electing movie stars was one
way
for poor Filipinos to flex their muscles against the wealthy, educated
sectors whom they perceive as indifferent to their suffering.
"They make use of this electoral democracy to stuff this
democracy
into our throats and so the people elect their populist idols like
FPJ,"
Benigno wrote in The STAR. — AFP
TOP
DOLE: 2003 WAS FRUITFUL FOR WORKERS
MANILA, January 2, 2004 (STAR) By Mayen Jaymalin - The year 2003
has
been considered a fruitful one for the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) in terms of promoting overseas and local employment.
Even as the year started with the pre-war tensions between the
United
States and Iraq, followed by the seemingly borderless epidemic caused
by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), DOLE managed to
record
a substantial growth in employment and pull down the number of jobless
Filipinos in the last quarter of 2003.
Results of the Philippine Labor Force Survey
undertaken by the
National Statistics Office (NSO) show that the number of employed
Filipinos
grew to 31.3 million from 30.2 million during the same period a
year
ago.
The national unemployment rate, on the other
hand, dropped to 10.1
percent from 10.2 while underemployment was placed at 15.7 percent.
Labor officials regarded the drop in the national unemployment
rate
as significant since it reached its record high at 12.7 percent
or a
total of 4.3 million jobless in July.
Last April, DOLE launched Kabuhayan 2003 program and Kasama Ka
Kabataan project with the aim of generating two million local jobs
before
President Arroyo’s term ends.
With the Kabuhayan program, DOLE reported that a total of 1.30
million local jobs were generated as of December. The figure included
857,214
jobs generated through government intervention and 450,539 jobs
through
private sector assistance.
"Year 2003 was a productive year for (DOLE) since we were
able to
meet most of our targets," DOLE Undersecretary Manuel Imson
said.
Imson said DOLE has already accomplished 65.4 percent of the
Kabuhayan program’s target.
Overseas Deployment
Imson said DOLE also facilitated the deployment of 849,998 overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) to over 140 countries that resulted in high
dollar remittances amounting to $5.66 billion as of September.
Although the figure was short of the one million new overseas
jobs
targeted by the government, Imson maintained that the overseas deployment
was good enough considering the problems that beset many countries
hosting Filipino migrant workers.
"There was a drop in overseas deployment compared to last
year but it
was not substantial despite the SARS, US-Iraq war and the global
economic slump that affected many countries," Imson said.
In the first quarter of last year, the government took steps for
the
possible evacuation of many Filipino workers in the Middle East,
particularly in areas that would be affected by the theater of operations
of
the US-led military forces against Iraq.
The pre-war preparations in the Middle East heightened fears of
a
spillover of the military conflict that would displace thousands
of
Filipino workers.
But the fears turned into hope that more Filipinos will be hired
to
help out in the reconstruction of post-war Iraq.
An initial batch of 120 Filipino workers left the country in
September to participate in the initial reconstruction of Iraq.
The government is still expecting at least 30,000 more Filipinos
would be hired to help out in the reconstruction of infrastructures
destroyed in the effort made by US-led coalition forces to oust
Iraqi
strongman Saddam Hussein.
Filipino workers in Iraq are expected to stay for at least a year,
based on the contracts they signed with the Dubai-based Prime Project
International Limited. The workers would be receiving a monthly
salary of
$615 on top of their overtime pay and other benefits.
The SARS Epidemic
While the country was still reeling from the effects of the US-Iraq
conflict that initially pulled down the hiring of OFWs in the Middle
East, a mysterious illness later identified as SARS broke out affecting
the whole of Asia and as far as Canada.
A total of nine Filipinos fell prey to the mystery illness, including
two deaths recorded among Filipino workers in Hong Kong. Sixteen
other
cases, mostly medical workers, were reported among Filipinos in
Singapore.
The deaths of the Filipino workers prompted DOLE to order the
suspension the deployment of Filipino workers to Hong Kong.
Aside from the SARS concern, the government also suspended the
deployment of an estimated 150,000 Filipino maids to the former
British Crown
colony because of the wage cut issue.
A complaint was filed before the Hong Kong High Court and the
International Labor Organization (ILO) questioning the legality
of wage cut
order.
Demand for Filipino maids in other countries also declined.
Records from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
showed
the number of Filipinos leaving the country for employment abroad
declined by 5.7 percent as of Nov. 17.
Consolations
Despite the significant drop in overseas employment, OFWs continue
to
be the source of inspiration for the national government in terms
of
their dollar remittances.
To show government’s appreciation, the Overseas Welfare
Administration (OWWA) has increased the benefits of OFWs.
DOLE also reinvigorated the reintegration program of OFWs through
the
formation of OFW family circles. Special services and various
facilities for the socio-economic reintegration of OFWs are being
provided by
the OWWA program.
On the local industrial peace, DOLE reported 93.8 percent
conciliation success rate from January to November, with only 38
actual strikes
recorded.
The number of workers affected and working hours lost due to work
stoppages decreased by 19.8 percent and 49.2 percent, respectively.
As of the end of 2003, 71.2 per cent of 17,677 of the total
commercial establishments inspected were found to have complied
with general
labor standards.
For the coming year, Imson said DOLE will continue to intensify
various programs to promote overseas and local employment.
Again, DOLE is hoping to generate 3 million new jobs for Filipinos
TOP
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