Overseas Filipino Workers
(OFW) and other Philippine News
News Articles
> THE NATION MOURNS THE DEATH OF
A GREAT FILIPINO - GMA
> EDGARDO ANGARA REPORT: U.N.'S BIGGER FIGHT
AGAINST CORRUPTION
> JOBS GREW BY 4.2% IN OCTOBER - DOLE
> HANOI, VIETNAM: RP WINDS UP 4TH OVERALL IN SEA
GAMES, 48 GOLDS
> GMA ON LIGHTNING VISIT TO MEET PINAY MAIDS IN
HONG KONG
> A VOICE FROM AMERICA: WHY DO FILIPINOS FIND
IT EASIER TO SUCCEED ABROAD?
THE NATION MOURNS THE DEATH OF
A GREAT FILIPINO - GMA
MALACANANG, December 14, 2003 (Office of the Press Secretary)
"The nation mourns the death of a great Filipino." Thus
were the words of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the death of
Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople in Taiwan this morning. "We
were awed by the vision and indomitable wit of Secretary Blas F. Ople,"
the President said in a statement released by Malacanang.
President Macapagal-Arroyo described him as "an architect of
Philippine foreign policy in the finest tradition of enlightened and
pragmatic diplomacy, a champion of peace, human rights, collective
security and the rule of law."
"We will miss him and the world will miss him," she added.
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Franklin Ebdalin said Ople was
"very
intelligent." "I would even classify him as genius,"
Ebdalin said. "I
do not hear him saying bad things against anyone. He was very kind
to
people."
Born on Feb. 3, 1927 to working class parents in the fishing town
of
Hagonoy in Bulacan, Ople was a man of numerous talents and a long
chain of achievements. He was a statesman, constitutionalist, legislator,
civil servant, book author, publicist, university lecturer, journalist
and freedom fighter. The President appointed then Sen. Ople as foreign
affairs secretary on July 23, 2002.
Ople was first elected senator for a six-year term in 1992, and
was
reelected in May 1998 for a second term. He was chairman of the Senate
Committees on Foreign Affairs, on Civil Service and Reorganization
and on Education, Culture and the Arts. He was also elected Senate
President Pro Tempore in 1998, and President of the Senate in mid-1999.
Ople successfully steered the Senate passage of some 110
international and bilateral treaties that gave the Philippines wider
access to international trade, investments, employment, cultural exchanges,
worker protection and environment preservation. He also sponsored,
together with then Sen. Macapagal-Arroyo, the ratification of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Uruguay Round creating the
World Trade. He authored one version of the Overseas Voting Bill which
has since been enacted into law.
Then President Ferdinand E. Marcos appointed Ople as Secretary of
Labor in 1967—later renamed Minister of Labor during the martial
law
regime. He held the post until early 1986 following the downfall of
the
Marcos in the historic EDSA Revolt of 1986. The following year, he
was
named a member of the 1987 Constitutional Commission. As labor secretary,
Ople was chief architect of the Labor Code of the Philippines which
Marcos signed into law as Presidential Decree 442. He also launched
a national manpower development program through the National Manpower
and Youth Council which has since been renamed Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority.
As a statesman, Ople lectured at seven high-level symposiums on
politics, economics and finance sponsored by the Financial Times of
London in different world capitals. In 1975, he was elected president
of the 60th International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland,
becoming the first Filipino to hold that post. From 1983 to 1986,
he was recognized doyen and spokesman of the world’s labor ministers.
He was elected assemblyman for Central Luzon, topping the winning
slate of 16 candidates. He was voted Member of the Parliament for
Bulacan in the regular Batasang Pambansa, and sponsored sectoral
representation, the progenitor of the present party list representation
in the House of Representatives.
At age 16, during World War II, he became a first lieutenant in
the
Del Pilar Regiment, Bulacan Military Area. A product of public schools
from elementary to college, Ople considered himself as largely
self-taught. Nonetheless, he received numerous honorary degrees, both
locally and internationally.
In recognition of his sterling achievements, he was conferred the
Order of Sikatuna Award, rank of Datu, by President Macapagal-Arroyo
on Aug. 13, 2003.
Ople was married to the former Susana Vasquez and has seven children,
all of them successful professionals. The family statement said Ople
was on a flight to Bahrain for the President’s state visit when
he
suffered difficulty in breathing, and lost consciousness. The plane’s
captain declared a medical emergency and diverted to Taiwan, but efforts
to revive him proved futile. The family immediately flew to Taiwan
to arrange the return of Ople’s remains to Manila.
"We would like to express our profound appreciation to the
crew of
the flight of the Secretary, the officials of Taiwan, the airport
and
airline officials in Taiwan, the medical staff of the Min-Sheng General
Hospital in Taiwan and most especially the officers and staff of the
Manila Economic and Cultural Office led by Chairman Antonio Basilio
in
Manila and MECO representative Espinosa in Taipei for their efforts
on
behalf of the Secretary," the family said.
Statement of the Family of Secretary Blas F. Ople
We are deeply saddened and regret to announce that Secretary Blas
F.
Ople passed away today of natural causes.
The Secretary was on a flight to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the
State
Visit of H.E. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo coming from the
recently concluded ASEAN-Japan Summit in Tokyo, Japan, when the Secretary
experienced difficulty of breathing, and subsequently lost consciousness.
The Captain of the flight declared a medical emergency and diverted
to Taiwan. Efforts by medical personnel to revive him, on the flight
and in hospital proved unsuccessful. The Secretary died in the service
for his country.
Our family members, led by Mrs. Susana V. Ople, are in Taiwan to
arrange the return of the remains of the Secretary to the Philippines.
We would like to express our profound appreciation to the crew of
the
flight of the Secretary, the officials of Taiwan, the airport and
airline officials in Taiwan, the medical staff of the Min Sheng General
Hospital in Taiwan and most especially the officers and staff of the
Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) led by Chairman Antonio
Basilio in Manila and MECO Representative Espinosa in Taipeh, for
their efforts on behalf of the Secretary. We would also like to express
our deep appreciation for the prayers and kind thoughts for the Secretary
and our family at this most difficult time.
Details on further arrangements will be announced shortly.
TOP
EDGARDO ANGARA REPORT: U.N.'S BIGGER FIGHT
AGAINST CORRUPTION
MEXICO, December 14, 2003 (BULLETIN)
I REPRESENTED the country in a United Nations Convention in Merida,
Mexico, Against Corruption. Given my long and continuing fight against
corruption, I considered this international convention a most timely
and important activity.
Corruption is a global reality. But
it is our country’s high degree
of sleaze that sets it apart from most other countries of the world.
During the Convention, I felt this sense of shame whenever I realized
that Transparency International, the world’s watchdog against
corruption, considers the Philippines as the
3rd most corrupt among 15 Asian countries and 11th out of the 133
countries in the world.
Do we deserve this distinction of infamy?
Something must be done. As
I had pointed out several times before, corruption is so endemic in
our
system that it has been accepted as a way of life. Most instances,
both
the giver and receiver benefit from it. A hundred peso grease money
to
get off a traffic violation is a lighter and more convenient penalty
for the violator. On the other hand, it is additional fodder for the
low-paid but corrupt enforcer.
At the UN Convention, I proposed that member-nations should build
and agree on legal and regulatory infrastructures to fight corruption
on a global scale. As to the Philippines, I believe that we should
strengthen our prosecutorial agencies in charge of corruption-related
crimes. The judicial system must be beyond bribery
itself. Offenders must be sternly punished as slap-in-the-wrist
punishment only emboldens the crooks.
Congress should also use its oversight powers
to ensure that
anti-corruption laws are fully implemented. But as I emphasized
in my UN speech, we can’t do it alone. We need assistance from
the private sector and the developed economies. The private sector
should stop bribing public servants, while bilateral and multilateral
aid as well as official loans to developing countries should not be
encumbered with so many conditions. Loan conditions, aside from being
sources of corruption, are also major sources of waste for development
funds.
Corruption not only destroys the moral fiber
of our people. We remain
an underdeveloped country because of it. The Department of
Budget and Management says that about R22 billion is lost annually
to corruption, mostly in the government’s procurement of goods
and services. That yearly loss is enough to build 63,000 more classrooms
or acquire millions of textbooks for our school children. It is twice
the country’s annual health budget. And it can build a total
of 1,500 kilometers of farm-to-market roads!
However, corruption is not limited to government
offices. It also
happens even in some private companies.
Some private companies also bribe public officials to get contracts.
Reports show that about 30 percent of contracts between government
and private companies are tainted.
In my own small way, I had tried to contribute my share in the fight
against corruption by filing relevant legislation that will attack
it
at its roots.
Last year, I authored the Government Procurement Reform Law that
Overhauled the rules from procurement of supplies, to hiring of consultants
and bidding and awards for government infrastructure projects. This
is to ensure transparency and promote genuine competition in public
biddings for goods and services. It also seeks to avoid delays in
the procurement process to prevent opportunities for graft and corruption.
Electronic bidding is one of the law’s main features.
As elections draw near, I am sad that my Campaign Finance Reform
and
Political Party Act’s are still stalled in the legislature and
am afraid it can no longer be passed and applied to the current political
season. These measures seek to cleanse our politics and strengthen
our political systems.
The first measure seeks to limit both individual and corporate
contributions to political parties while the other seeks to transform
political parties into public institutions and provide penalties against
political turncoatism. I believe that state subsidy to political parties
for
electoral and partybuilding efforts will prevent sinister vested
interests from controlling political parties and state power.
Reforms to curb corruption can no longer be postponed. Only a strong
leadership with moral ascendancy can carry the much needed changes.
Let us not squander the opportunity when we choose our next set leaders
in the May 2004 elections.
E-mail: edgard_angara@hotmail.com.
JOBS GREW BY 4.2% IN OCTOBER - DOLE
MANILA, December 14, 2003 (STAR)
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday
that 1.273 million new jobs were generated as
of October this year, representing a 4.2 percent increase in
employment levels.
The service sector generated the largest number of new jobs at 633,000,
followed by the agriculture, fishery and forestry sectors with 384,000
new jobs, and the industry sector with 272,000, according
to results of the latest Labor Force Survey conducted by DOLE.
DOLE attributed the increase in employment levels to a 4.4 percent
growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the
third
quarter, which it said was higher than expected.
The GDP is the local output of the country’s economy. Growth
of the
GDP could mean an increase in the output of various businesses, the
expansion of existing businesses or the establishment of new ones
—
creating the demand for more workers.
"The employment performance is expected to remain buoyant until
the
final half of 2004, given the improved performance of the agricultural
sector and the steadfast growth in personal consumption," DOLE
said in a statement coursed through Malacañang.
It added that the increased economic activity prior to the May 2004
elections and the continued rise in job opportunities
abroad will continue to boost employment.
DOLE said it expects that the government’s efforts to provide
more jobs will contribute to the continued improvement of the country’s
employment performance.
Some of the government’s programs to generate employment include
the intensified implementation of the Kabuhayan
program, job matching
through the Public Employment Service Office, and strengthened Poverty-Free
Zones programs in every region to ensure the steady increase in employment.
The quality of employment also improved during this period since
more
people found full-time jobs, according to DOLE.
"Persons in full-time work rose by 7.9 percent, additional
1.471 million, while (the number of) persons in part-time employment
declined by 1.4 percent or 188,000. Moreover, wage and salary employment
also grew by 10 percent or (more than) one million," the agency
said.
DOLE noted that the country’s labor force also expanded by
4.2
percent to reach 36.078 million workers.
The unemployment rate, however, declined by a "modest"
0.1 percent
from 10.2 percent in October last year.
TOP
HANOI, VIETNAM: RP WINDS UP 4TH OVERALL
IN SEA GAMES, 48 GOLDS
HANOI, December 14, 2003 (STAR) By Gerry Carpio (via Globe Telecom)
— The world-class bets from the ancient Chinese martial art
of wushu,
the surprisingly tough rowers in traditional boat race and the fancied
basketball and chess teams delivered the last golds and the coup de
grace on archrival Malaysia as the Philippines claimed fourth overall
with 48 gold medals at the close of the 22nd Southeast Asian Games
yesterday.
Arvin Ting, whose exploits included wins in the world championships
early this year, showed class act anew in the broadsword with a runaway
score of 9.33, relegating to second Vietnamese bet Truong Quoc Chi
(9.26), who defeated Myanmar’s Aung Si Thu (9.26) in the tiebreak.
The Filipinos won the last five golds staked in the final day of
competitions and, counting the two wushu golds late Friday through
Eduard Folayang and Dolly Andres, Team RP finished four golds ahead
of Malaysia, which had 44.
The Filipinos had a total gold-silver-bronze count of 48-54-75 as
they regained some measure of respect after finishing fifth —
the nation’s worst — two years ago in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
with 31 golds.
Host Vietnam emerged the region’s new sports super power with
158
golds, followed by Thailand with 90 and Indonesia with 55.
Ting, at 16 the youngest on the wushu team, emerged as the fifth
double gold medalist in the RP contingent after having won the cudgel
event earlier.
The national team of grandmasters Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio, Bong
Villamayor, international master Mark Paragua and national master
Ronald Dableo delivered the third gold for chess at the expense of
Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh.
The win also made Paragua the only three-gold medal winner in the
448-strong Philippine contingent following wins in rapid chess (individual
and team).
The basketball team claimed its fourth and last victim, Malaysia,
90-61, and retained its basketball title with little opposition this
side
of Asia.
"Despite the difficulties that our athletes went through in
their
preparations, they competed with dignity and honor," said Philippine
Olympic Committee president Celso Dayrit. "This only proves to
everybody that Filipinos deserve no less than respect and admiration."
"From the start, the Filipinos gave their best, and they showed
they
can improve," he added.
At the West Lake in Hanoi, the RP men’s team won the 500-m
traditional boat race for the first time in the SEA Games. The team
had a clocking of two minutes, 17.02 seconds, beating silver medalist
Myanmar by only one-tenth of a second.
Of 28 sports the Philippines participated in, only fencing was able
to regain overall supremacy with four gold medals against three of
Vietnam.
The wushu team was second best with six golds behind Vietnam which
corrnered 12. Willy Wang, also a gold medalist in the World Championships
in Macau this year, was the second double gold medalist in wushu,
winning the swordplay and spear play events
The other double gold medalists for the Philippines were Rexel Ryan
Fabriga in 10m springboard diving (single and syncrhonized), Marcus
Valda in wrestling (Greco Roman under 96 kg and freestyle under 96kg),
Lee Van Corteza in billiards ((8-ball pool singles and 9-ball pool
doubles) and Lenita Garcia in fencing (individual and team foil).
The wushu team emerged as the second winningest sport with six after
athletics (eight). Taekwondo contributed five, fencing and wrestling
four each, judo and chess three each, swimming, diving, billiards,
and
gymnastics two apiece and archery, boxing, cycling, basketball, shooting,
karate, and traditional boat race one each.
TOP
GMA ON LIGHTNING VISIT TO MEET PINAY MAIDS
IN HONG KONG
MANILA, December 14, 2003 (STAR)
President Arroyo is due to arrive in Hong Kong today on a lightning
visit to meet overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there in what critics
say is a bid to shore up support for next year’s elections.
Mrs. Arroyo will be in Hong Kong for just three hours to speak to
the
Filipino expatriates, mostly women working as live-in maids who number
about 128,000, Philippine consular official Domingo Lucenario said
yesterday.
The President flies to Hong Kong less than 24 hours after she arrived
in Manila from Tokyo, Japan where she attended a two-day summit. It
was her fifth visit to Japan since she assumed office in January 2001.
From Hong Kong, she will proceed to Bahrain for an overnight state
visit.
Lucenario said Mrs. Arroyo will explain to the workers "what
her
government is doing to advance the interests of Filipinos overseas."
He did not elaborate.
Wealthy Hong Kong has about 128,000 Filipino maids, who support
family members back home with their earnings.
For the first time, overseas Filipinos will have the right to vote
in
the May 2004 elections, and 88,677 of them in Hong Kong have registered
to vote.
The Philippines has millions of workers and professionals working
abroad, sending home billions in foreign currency remittances each
year, contributing substantially to the nation’s gross national
product.
In February, Mrs. Arroyo passed a law to allow about 7.9 million
overseas Filipinos to vote, accounting for about 18 percent of the
electorate.
The United Filipinos in Hong Kong — a group representing the
domestic
workers — said they will launch a "no vote" campaign
against the
President, claiming she did not support them enough when local authorities
cut their minimum wage.
Earlier this year amid an economic slowdown, foreign domestic
workers’ minimum wage was reduced by HK$400 or US$51to HK$3,270
or US$419.
"We have no faith in her leadership, that under her presidency,
the
plight of migrant workers will be taken care of," Eman Villanueva,
the
group’s secretary general, said.
After leaving Hong Kong, the President will visit the Middle East,
where more than one million Filipinos work.
The President said she is going to the oil-rich emirate of Bahrain,
promising that the state visit "shall widen the range of our
diplomacy
to reinforce our domestic policies and programs to uplift the lives
of
our people."
"Ours is an administration that has been working across continents
to
bring the message of Filipino pride and price in the Filipino’s
bright
future," she added.
Mrs. Arroyo, who is seeking a full six-year term in next year’s
polls, sought to highlight the importance of her official trips abroad
as
part of her campaign platform of reform and reconciliation.
"This is part of reform and reconciliation as we bring all
Filipinos
worldwide and at home together behind the sustained march for peace,
progress and prosperity," she said.
The President said that during her trip to Japan, she "worked
for a
better deal for our Overseas Filipino Worker (OFWs) and marked more
gains for peace and development in Mindanao."
Before she left Manila for Japan, she vowed to pursue in Tokyo her
desire to bring more jobs and other economic gains for Filipinos.
She
also accused opposition leaders of being engaged in a "flurry
of partisan activities" for next year’s polls.
"I am glad the opposition is moving towards unity so we can
get down
to the business of threshing out the issues of the campaign,"
Mrs.
Arroyo said in the arrival statement she issued yesterday.
She will still be in Bahrain tomorrow, the first day for the filing
of certificates of candidacy for next year’s synchronized national
and
local elections.
Deputy presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo said the President
will
meet with the King of Bahrain and the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW)
community there. – Marichu Villanueva
A VOICE FROM AMERICA: WHY DO FILIPINOS FIND
IT EASIER TO SUCCEED ABROAD?
MANILA, December 15, 2003 (STAR) A VOICE FROM AMERICA By Ernie D.
Delfin -
On a typical business day, I deal mostly with predominantly non-Filipinos
and my mindset is very much different whenever I conduct business
with a Filipino. It’s an inexplicable reality that Filipinos
who have lived in America for decades have to deal with.
We laugh at the joke that Filipinos are indeed confused for having
lived in the convent for over 300 years under the Spaniards, who subjugated
the people with a Bible on one hand and a sword on the other, and
another 50 glitzy years in Hollywood under the Americans. The effect
of these two experiences on Filipinos is somewhat parallel with what
descendants of black slaves from Africa experience to this day –
their shackles may have been removed since the abolition of slavery
but their psychological chains still exist.
For most American employers, dealing with African-Americans requires
a
distinct management paradigm because many blacks often raise the "race
card" whenever some degree of discipline is imposed on them.
The US government’s misplaced affirmative action gives blacks
and other minorities "extra but unearned points" in matters
of employee hiring, promotion or some set-aside programs on government
contracts.
In an environment where freedom to excel is
not curtailed but rewarded, Filipinos become successful. Unfortunately
in the Philippines, the colonizers’ practices are still being
reinforced by centuries-old institutions like the Catholic Church,
and sectarian or exclusive schools which subliminally practice social
segregation in many facets of public or private endeavors.
The Philippines still practices blatant
discrimination, especially in hiring, which is unconstitutional in
America. Consider the classified ads you see in newspapers for, say,
an administrative secretary (permit me to exaggerate): "Must
be 24 to 34, female, at least 5’ 4" in height,
no more than 119 lbs., long hair, beautiful face, fair complexion,
must talk like an Ateneo or Assumption graduate, must live in Forbes
Park or Bel-Air and whose parents are also graduates of exclusive
schools."
As the personnel departments are often headed by graduates of these
schools, graduates of the University of Batanes or Tawi-Tawi Colleges
seldom get the chance to be hired by blue-chip companies.
Ironically, these rejected applicants who are
talented and ambitious
are the ones dissatisfied with a country that puts a cap on their
potential because they were born on the wrong side of the tracks.
They migrate to America and other countries that give them a chance
to work. It really does not matter how they arrive in America,
the path is almost the same. The newly arrived immigrant faces challenges
but he knows that he has better employment opportunities
here than in the Philippines. America is a great equalizer
for people like him – it disregards what your last name is,
where you come from, simply because America is historically a land
of frustrated immigrants from all over the world.
The typical Filipino immigrant works hard to
prove himself in the eyes
of his new employer. It is easy to excel in his first job as he is
normally over-qualified. For instance, a CPA graduate becomes
an accounting clerk where he competes against high school graduates
instead of competing against American CPAs who are entirely in a different
ball game. Soon, the boss gives the newly arrived Filipino a promotion
because he doesn’t say no to overtime.
Many immigrants, including Filipinos, rise to become department heads,
managers and executives of their employers with whom they stay for
decades. Very few Filipinos, unfortunately, take the risks –
which the
Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese take – to become entrepreneurs.
These are all the modern day "Victors" of America as documented
by Professors Danko and Stanley in their best-selling book Millionaires
Next Door, where they concluded that the first-degree immigrants in
America have l6 times more chances to become a millionaire than the
average natural-born American. Quite impressive. But this is the downside
according to the authors: The first-degree immigrants make the wealth,
the second generation enjoys it, and then the third generation squanders
it. And the cycle begins.
In America, there is dignity of labor whereas
in the Philippines during
my time it was considered embarrassing to be seen by one’s former
classmates to be holding a janitorial or waitressing job. In the US,
working part-time is encouraged among high school or college students
whereas the attitude in the Philippines is the opposite. When
students from the provinces go to Manila to study, they often gravitate
toward each other because they experience discrimination if not prejudice.
Words like promdi (from the province) and Waray-waray carry subtle
prejudice by many in the A society, especially those from exclusive
schools.
I know this because I was subjected to it in my first few years in
Letran as a working student.
As Filipinos are talented and resilient, there
is really no reason why
they cannot succeed in our homeland. We only need to learn the lessons
of more progressive countries and adapt them to our own culture.
Our cultural flaws are being influenced greatly by the education
bulimia in the Philippine system. Our curricula
must be revamped and
overhauled not only because of massive graft but also because what
is being taught to schools is soon forgotten by students as it is
not relevant in the real world. Students parrot words and memorize
theories just to get passing grades. Like bulimics, students throw
away useless knowledge.
Filipinos may hold college degrees but fewer
and fewer are really
educated.
It is not entirely the fault of the students
but the schools as well.
Students must not only enjoy their classes but must be taught things
they would find useful. Like parents going through prenatal lessons,
all
students must be educated and be made mentally, physically, socially
and psychologically prepared with what transpires in the real world
where grades and school nepotism are no longer important.
F. Landa Jocano wrote in his book Anthropology of the Filipino People,
"The notion of value in the Filipino culture has not yet been
clarified. Even a cursory glance at what has already been written
about it reveals the absence of working definition of the concept
in the context of Filipino culture in terms of local knowledge and
practices."
I also highly recommend the excellent book The Lexus and the Olive
Tree by Thomas Friedman about the dramatic changes in our world due
to globalization and the wonders of the information society and the
Internet.
Check Out For More "MUST READ"
News Articles
TOP
********************************************
Source : PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE (PHNO)
http://www.newsflash.org
Copyright©2003
All Rights Reserved
********************************************
