Pinoy teachers take Washington (http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080803120)

By Jose Katigbak STAR Washington bureau
Monday, August 4, 2008
WASHINGTON – The Philippines is an increasingly popular source of manpower for US school systems.

In Prince George’s county in metropolitan Washington the number of Filipino teachers has skyrocketed from 30 in 2004 to about 400 in the current school year.

The starting teacher’s annual salary in the county is $43,481 (P1.9 million), many times what the same teacher would make in the Philippines, but many Filipinos earn much more because of their years of experience, said The Washington Post Sunday magazine in a cover story entitled “Outsourcing Our Schools.”

Salaries for teachers with 20 years experience and a master’s degree can be more than $80,000 (P3.6 million).

More important than salaries, the teachers get a shot at becoming Americans.

If they do well for three years, Prince George’s county will sponsor them for a green card or permanent residency. Although it takes at least five more years to actually obtain the coveted card, for Filipino teachers it is a much easier path to the United States than that of many other immigrants, said the article written by Phuong Ly.

They don’t have to come illegally. They just have to do their jobs.

The 400 Filipino teachers in the county, which has an unusually high crime rate, comprise less than one percent of the school system’s teaching staff but they have made a huge difference simply by staying, the magazine article said.

Just 11 Filipino teachers have quit whereas usually one-third of new teachers nationwide leave the profession within three years, it said.

Many of the Filipino teachers in Prince George’s county are recruited by Arrowhead Manpower Resources, Inc, a private employment agency in Libis, Quezon City.

The recruits pay the agency about $12,000. In return, the agency sets up interviews with school officials and provides a package of services that includes filing visa applications, buying plane tickets and setting them up in furnished apartments.

Mabel Ventura, a teacher profiled in the article said all her life she had worried about not having enough money.

To come to the United States she left behind three children and a husband telling them: “This is the best way. My move is not for me. It’s for all of us.”

As life-changing decisions go Ventura, 46, who previously taught at the exclusive Assumption College in Manila, didn’t agonize that much about going overseas for more money, the article said.

About 10 percent of the country’s 89 million citizens live abroad known collectively as overseas Filipino workers and they remit about $14 billion in foreign exchange to the Philippines annually.

In Ventura’s case, three of her relatives are nurses in Britain and four others work in telecommunications or office jobs in Dubai.

She said what surprised her about the elementary school where she was first assigned to in Prince George’s county was the number of computers in each classroom and the textbooks, picture books and curriculum guides that lined the shelves.

Teachers received a laptop from the school system and they didn’t have to buy their own markers and colored paper. Everything was provided.

“If only we had these materials in the Philippines, we would have the best schools. We wouldn’t be in the Third World anymore,” she said.

But all is not wine and roses.

The stress of their new lives, loneliness, cultural isolation and the bitter cold in winter can be overwhelming.

Last November Irenea Apao, a 41-year-old mother of two and a high school math teacher in Baltimore hanged herself in her apartment after two years away from home.

She was separated from her husband and fellow teachers said she was struggling financially.

In May 2007, 26-year old Fe Bolado, a Baltimore middle school teacher also hanged herself.

She was newly married and had brought her husband with her but friends said their relationship had been falling apart.

The magazine article said the Philippines was rich in good teachers, a legacy left over from its time as a US colony.

“In the early 1900s shiploads of American teachers arrived in the Philippines to set up free primary schools and teacher training institutes. Today the tide has turned the other way,” it said.

Manila recruiters threaten boycott
By Joe Avancena
Saudi Gazette (http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2008081314309)

DAMMAM/MANILA – Philippine recruiting agencies said they will stop sending Filipino workers to Saudi Arabia from next month if the new law on employment contracts is not abolished.

The new law, titled “unified contract”, took effect on Aug 1 and requires all employment contracts of Saudi-bound Filipinos to be routed through the Saudi National Recruitment Committee (SANARCOM). The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Manila said it will not issue visas to local recruitment agencies unless they provide a copy of a contract from SANARCOM.

Victor Fernandez, president of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI), said if the “unified contract” will not be abolished by the Saudi Ministry of Interior, licensed recruitment agencies in the Philippines will stop recruiting Filipinos for Saudi Arabia.

“The 750-strong members of PASEI will not sign the unified contract with SANARCOM,” he said.

Fernandez said other recruitment agencies such as the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME), ASPRO (agencies dealing with professionals), the Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines (OPAP) have joined PASEI in seeking abolition of the unified contract.
Fernandez said the new law is totally unfair as Filipino workers will not have the opportunity to seek help of the Philippine labor representative. It disallows services of mediators or any parties in settling disputes of Filipino workers with their employers.

He said under the new law, employment contracts approved by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and attested by Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah will be of no value to SANARCOM.

Recruitment agencies also said Arab-owned local recruitment agencies will grab the Saudi labor market with their ties to SANARCOM.

Lito Soriano, consultant for the recruitment industry, and Ezekiel Alunen, former board member of POEA, said many local agencies have partnered with Arabs through marriages or as business partners but most of these agencies were mere “dummies”. Ian Rey Malagapo, an Al Khobar-based representative of a Philippine recruitment agency, said the new rule will increase costs to Saudi companies, and eventually Filipino workers will be required to shoulder the additional costs.

“If the letter from a Saudi company to a Saudi recruiting agency, and the letter of authority from the Saudi recruiting agency to a Philippine recruiting agency to recruit workers are passed through SANARCOM before being submitted at the Saudi Embassy in Manila, certainly SANARCOM will stamp the approval with another layer of fees,” Malagapo said.

This will be additional fees apart from the fee charged by the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to companies recruiting Filipino workers, Malagapo said.
He said companies recruiting Filipinos pay SR.100 per visa. “The burden of the recruiting companies will be pushed on to the workers and eventually the additional costs will be added to the costs of the workers.”

The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) disclosed that there are over 400,000 job vacancies overseas and locally. The POEA also has pending job offers for 150,000 skilled workers in many Gulf countries, which have not been filled yet.

Philippine recruiting agencies fill up only about 40 percent of their total job orders due to the lack of skilled workers and insufficient training programs.

More Filipino prisoners to be released in Ramadan
Rodolfo Estimo Jr. I Arab News

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=113044&d=19&m=8&y=2008&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

RIYADH: A number of Filipino workers serving time in Saudi jails for various offenses will be released in Ramadan as part of a general amnesty, according to Ezzedin H. Tago, the Philippine consul general in Jeddah.

Speaking by phone from Manila where he is on an official mission, Tago said that the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed him that some more Filipino workers would be pardoned during the holy month.

Saudi Arabia pardons hundreds of people, both citizens and expatriate residents, jailed for minor crimes at the advent of the holy month of Ramadan every year.

Tago made the statement after confirming a report issued by Vice President Noli De Castro, presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), that the Saudi government in July pardoned 22 Filipino prisoners in Jeddah.

“Their cases involved theft, and drug-related and sex-related crimes,” he said, adding that murder and embezzlement were not covered by the amnesty.

“We appreciate the generous gesture of the Saudi leadership in considering to release more OFWs and for having earlier pardoned 22 Filipinos,” Tago told Arab News.

Breaking the news in Manila, De Castro said, “I’m happy with this positive development and I hope that more Filipinos convicted of minor offenses will be given amnesty during Ramadan.”

Yipeee!! sa wakas makakauwi ka na rin anone , nag enjoy ka ba sa piling ng mga arabong preso??LOLLLL biro langggggggggggg!!!!

http://www.filipinoexpress.com/22/main%2032.jpg

NEW YORK—Hundreds of people passing by the Philippine consulate during last Friday's rush-hour heard the voice of Marichu Baoanan projected up and down Fifth Avenue, as she recounted her story of being deceived into modern-slavery in the household of former UN Ambassador Lauro Baja.

"What I want to say to people like me who were oppressed or will be oppressed: don't be afraid to speak out or to come out in the open," said Marichu. "Let us fight for our rights. We are not alone. We need to face people who abuse us and our weaknesses because if we do not speak up, they will continue to abuse us."

Last July 15, Baja filed a motion to dismiss all 15 civil charges, including trafficking, forced labor and racketeering, brought against him, his wife Norma Baja, their adult daughter Maria "Beth" Facundo and the Baja-owned Labaire Travel Agency. Baja has invoked the Vienna Convention and is seeking the shelter of diplomatic immunity.

In front of the consulate, over sixty community members and allies held hand-painted banners and placards demanding accountability not immunity, and an end to modern-day slavery. They also distributed flyers and newsletters, and gathered signatures for a petition demanding that Baja be held accountable by RP's Department of Foreign Affairs, the body ultimately responsible for Baja.

Though public cries have been made to waive Baja's diplomatic immunity from within Philippine Congress, by Congresswoman Liza Maza, neither the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Consulate Mission in New York, nor the Philippine Mission to the UN in New York—Baja's former post—has taken action on Marichu's case, though they have publicly claimed that they do not tolerate trafficking and abuse.

Before the action last Friday, Marichu and DAMAYAN met with officials of the Philippine consulate and submitted a letter to the DFA, the Philippine Mission to the UN, and the Philippine Consulate General to formally request for assistance as a Filipina overseas national.

"I am appealing to all of you to waive the diplomatic immunity that is being sought…" Marichu states in her letter. "I am an ordinary Filipino citizen, a struggling mother with three children but I had to file the civil suit against former Ambassador Baja to get justice for the abuses and sufferings that I endured… If Ambassador Baja believes that he did nothing wrong, he should have the opportunity to present his case in a court of law."

DAMAYAN has stated that a lack of action by agencies responsible for the welfare of overseas Filipinos signals approval and complicity.

"The shelter of diplomatic immunity in this case must be waived in order to allow the pursuit of justice to continue," said one worker who delivered a statement at the speak-out on behalf of DAMAYAN. "Many predatory employers, especially diplomats who are supposed to protect overseas compatriots, are allowed to exploit their vulnerabilities and walk away without facing consequences."

"This happened here, in the US?" asked one passerby in disbelief. Two other tourists remarked that they had heard the story in Spain. Seven weeks after the civil case was filed by Marichu and her lawyers, Ivy Suriyopas of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and Aaron Mendolsohn of Troutman Sanders, the campaign has made international news and gained international support.

The speak-out came on the heels of a report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last July 29, 2008, which revealed a larger pattern of the abuse of domestic workers by diplomats with immunity.

One domestic worker, of Andolan Organizing South Asian Workers, testified at the speak-out about her two years of work for a former diplomat, who paid her $40 per month. According to the worker, that entire amount was sent directly to her family abroad, and she never laid eyes on American money for two years.

According to the DAMAYAN statement at the speakout, the Arroyo regime in the Philippines remains silent on reports of abuses of Filipino women migrant workers from all over the world. A corrupt government bureaucracy with no accountability—of which Baja is part—remains a legacy of the Philippines that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo preserves.

Vowing to support the Justice for Marichu campaign, the following organizations attended and/or gave statements of solidarity: Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Linking the Children of the Motherland), Gabriela Network, the Alliance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines, the ANSWER Coalition, CAAAV's Women Workers Project, Domestic Workers United, Andolan Organizing South Asian Communities, Adhikaar for Human Rights, and the Socialist Part of USA-NY.

DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association will continue the campaign to demand justice for Marichu and all domestic workers in the fight against trafficking, forced labor and exploitation. DAMAYAN has released a campaign video, which is available for viewing at: http://www.youtube.com/ user/damayanmigrantworker.

For campaign updates, please visit: http://endtrafficking. blogspot.com. To sign the petition demanding that Baja be held accountable by the Philippine government, please visit: http://www.gopetition.com/ petitions/justice-for-marichuend- trafficking/sign.html.


:horse:

Yipeee!! sa wakas makakauwi ka na rin anone , nag enjoy ka ba sa piling ng mga arabong preso??LOLLLL biro langggggggggggg!!!!

^^^:lol:

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OFWs admit ‘crimes’ to be able to come home

By Dennis Jay Santos
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 23:07:00 08/22/2008

Close this DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Majority of the recently repatriated 37 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) from Jordan said they were forced to admit crimes because Philippine Embassy officials told them it was the only way they could go home.

"Umamin na lang daw kami, para makauwi na (They told us to just admit it so we could come home)," May Ann Abat, 23, of Davao del Norte, said.

Abat, who left the country to work in Jordan on October 27 last year, arrived at the Davao International Airport here on Thursday and was met by her two sons and her parents.

Abat said after a few months working in Jordan as a domestic helper, her abusive employer, who runs a jewelry shop in Amman, accused her of stealing a diamond.

She said she did not do it but was jailed despite her denial.

After a while, Abat said she and the other OFWs were told by a staffer at the Philippine Embassy in Jordan to "admit the trumped-up charges."

"The embassy will give us a ticket back home," Abat recalled what they were told about without identifying who the embassy staffer was.

She said she and the other OFWs were left with no other choice but to admit the crimes falsely imputed to them.

Jenylyn Caro, 24, of North Cotabato, said she was also among those given no other choice.

"Mercy or justice. We were told that if we choose to fight the case in court and deny the charges, our abusive employers will file another false accusation," Caro said.

She said they were warned that denying the charges would just prolong their stay in jail but admitting them would result in some kind of a pardon.

Bai Lanie Kayao, of Maguindanao province, said she was arrested and jailed after she ran away from an allegedly abusive employer.

Kayao said while in jail, her employer told her she would only be freed if she paid 1,000 Jordanian dinar or about P64,170.

Kayao said she told her employer she had no money and the only way she could pay them was to work for them again.

She said she told them if they let her work again, they would have to spend more money on her.

"So I begged them to let me go instead and send me home," she said.

Senate President Manny Villar, who arranged the repatriation of the three OFWs, said there could be more than 100 OFWs still locked up in Jordan.

Villar said most of those still in that country also face trumped-up charges.

Villar lamented that while a ban on deployment of OFWs to Jordan remained, many Filipinos seeking work still managed to go there.

He said a bill that would mandate government to help both documented and undocumented OFWs was being crafted now.

RP to seek protection for migrant
workers from other countries (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/08262008/economy03.html)

By Estrella Torres
Reporter


AS MANY developed countries view migration as a measure to augment their declining population, the Philippines, as the fourth world’s largest sending state for migrant workers will seek commitments from foreign states in protecting the rights of migrant workers when 192 United Nations members convene in Manila in October for the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GMFD).

Esteban Conejos Jr., foreign undersecretary for migrant workers affairs, said there are three major discussions in the second GMFD which will be held in Manila on October 29 and 30. These include migration, development and human rights; secure and legal migration; and policy, institutional coherence and partnerships.

“The Philippines will chair the discussions on migration, development and human rights to be able to look at how we can improve things in the protection of human rights of the migrant workers,” said Conejos in a briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“We will also focus on the current problems of our overseas Filipino workers [OFWs] mostly in the Middle East countries,” said Conejos. He added the discussion is timely because the United Arab Emirates has agreed to cochair in the discussion.

The foreign affairs official spoke on the GMFD matter amid the latest kidnapping of some 35 Filipino seafarers in Somalia, the current ban on the deployment of domestic workers in Jordan due to increasing cases of abuses against Filipinos there and the issues on human trafficking, rights abuses against OFWs.

The Philippines is considered the fourth-largest source of migrant workers next to India, China and Mexico. There are more than 8 million Filipino migrant workers abroad, of which 2 million are in Middle Eastern countries.

According to the GMFD document, countries along the migration continuum that include origin, transit and destination share a common obligation in protecting the rights of migrants.

“Respecting the rights of migrants is especially relevant for lower skilled labor migrants and also for female migrants who predominate in some of the most critical service areas for development and growth in both high- and lower-income countries, such as nursing, domestic work and care-giving,” said the discussion paper on GMFD.

It added that: “Where this kind of work is inadequately protected by labor laws, and forms part of the informal labor market, abuse and exploitation can occur, particularly gender-specific violations against women and children.”

Meanwhile, Conejos said the second discussion in the GMFD will focus on secure and legal migration as many governments raise concern on the worsening cases of human trafficking mostly of children and women who are forced to prostitution and slavery.

In the GMFD discussion paper, it cited the need to establish clear-cut rules on facilitating legal migration to deter illicit migrant labor recruitment.

“Enforcing legality can effectively control irregular migration practices, particularly by smugglers and traffickers, and protect public security and stability as well as the human security of migrants, thereby strengthening the credibility of migration and its flow-on effects for development,” said the GMFD document.

It added: “More regular labor migration programs should undercut the profitability of smuggling and trafficking, and reduce the incidence of exploitation and abuse of migrants and strengthen migrants’ capacities to remit earnings and other resources to needy families and communities.

Conejos said the third discussion on the GMFD will engage UN member-countries to try to establish policy and institutional coherence between migration and development of sending and host countries.

Many critics in the Philippines look at the exodus of migrant workers, mostly professionals like doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers as a factor aggravating the lingering problem of brain drain.

The third discussion aims to measure the impact of migration of people and try to establish institutional links that would eventually enable both sending and host governments to benefit from the migration phenomena.

“There is an urgent need in both origin and host countries for measurable evidence of these linkages, and for better identification of the knowledge gaps to enable government and other policymakers to prioritize their research needs,” said the GMFD document.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/headers/26.jpg

:horse:

JP

August 27, 2008 06:28:00

Philippine Daily Inquirer


SINGAPORE—Licensed Filipino accountants, dentists and doctors may work in other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), officials said Tuesday.

Southeast Asian economic ministers have signed agreements allowing these professionals to work in each other’s countries.

The ASEAN has already signed similar arrangements covering architects, surveyors, engineers and nurses.

ASEAN ministers on Monday signed the mutual recognition arrangements on accountants, dentists and doctors on the eve of their annual gathering, a statement from the Singapore hosts said.

Under the pacts, ASEAN states will mutually recognize qualifications and standards covering these professionals so they can practice in any ASEAN country.

Facilitate movement

The accords will also ensure that professional standards in an ASEAN state are maintained, monitored and regulated.

The measures to facilitate movement of professionals within the region are part of ASEAN’s efforts toward economic integration, which include easing the flow of goods and services as well as investments.

In December 2006, ASEAN economic ministers signed a mutual recognition agreement on nurses. The signing of the agreement was expected to pave the way for the deployment of more Filipino nurses in the region.

Nurses are among the Philippines’ biggest human resource exports.

Rosalinda Baldoz, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief, said a common recognition of each country's professional standards would be beneficial to Filipino doctors, accountants and dentists who want to serve abroad.

ASEAN groups 10 countries with different levels of economic development, ranging from impoverished Laos to high-tech Singapore and the world’s most populous Muslim country Indonesia.

Its other members are military-ruled Burma (Myanmar), oil-rich Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The group aims to achieve a single market and manufacturing base by 2015 to raise ASEAN’s profile in the face of competition from China and India.

ASEAN, a market of about 550 million people, has a gross regional product of US$1.1 trillion and total trade of about $1.6 trillion, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

AFP and Margaux C. Ortiz

Officials Rescue 11 Filipino Workers From Slave-Like Conditions On Ontario Farm

August 31, 2008 7:28 a.m. EST

Jupiter Kalambakal - AHN News (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012125360) Writer

Toronto, Ontario (AHN) - Canadian and Philippine consular authorities have rescued 11 Filipino workers from slave-like conditions they endured while living in an abandoned Elmvale farmhouse on the outskirts of Toronto.

The Toronto Star reported that the Filipino workers came into Canada illegally. Since the liberalization of the country's foreign labor law in 2006, at least 800 migrant workers annually are brought to Canada illegally while another 1,000 go to the United States via the Canadian border.

The workers were unaware that they were recruited to the Canadian workforce illegally. One of the workers, Edwin Canilang, a skilled welder, was offered work on an icebreaker project.

Canilang sold his house and got loans back in the Philippines to pay fees and other expenses. He was unaware that his supposed employer lost the icebreaker contract and the Labor Market Opinions, the documents required to bring in foreign workers, were illegally sold and passed on to other hands.

Canilang and his compatriots worked in sub-human conditions with no pay for a certain Bob DeRosa, who owns a bottling plant and other businesses.

The Canadian government embarked on a global advertising campaign in 17 languages warning interested immigrants of illegal recruitment.

As of 2007, Canada had 201,057 temporary foreign workers.

Shady employment agents prey on foreign workers
Seeking work, would-be immigrants are charged placement fees for jobs that don't exist

Joanne Lee-Young, Vancouver Sun (http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=8f095a0a-b02d-4e88-95b7-0ccdca770723)
Published: Sunday, August 31, 2008

Antonio Navarro's story speaks of the uglier side of what is happening as B.C. targets the Philippines as a source of labour to ease its shortages.

In a nutshell, unscrupulous agents are charging some temporary foreign workers like Navarro illegal, but very common, placement fees. Then, in cahoots with employers and other agents, they are duping these workers with bogus job offers, leaving them in a new country with no income, significant debt and precarious visa situations.

Some workers eventually have to leave Canada, returning to the Philippines to start their entire application process from square one, even though, frustratingly, plenty of B.C. companies are eager to employ them.

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/d791960c-73fb-4890-999a-2abd80596eff/mariaj.jpg
Program director Maria Javier of Vancouver's Multicultural Helping House
runs seminars to teach temporary foreign workers about their employment
rights in British Columbia. Unscrupulous agents have offered workers
bogus jobs.
Photograph by: Glenn Baglo/Vancouver Sun

Navarro, a carpenter from Bulacan just north of metro Manila, paid $4,000 US to a Filipino recruitment agency in return for landing a $27-per-hour job in B.C. through its partner, another recruiting agency in Vancouver.

The B.C. government has said it needs to attract from outside the province some 30,000 workers per year with specific skills. It doesn't have a target number for the Philippines, but Victoria has signed various agreements to ease the way for local tourism, hospitality and construction companies to bring workers from that country.

According to B.C. law, it is illegal to collect any placement fees - regardless of what they are called, or how they are disguised - from these workers. But the issue is almost academic. The B.C. government is unable to enforce the law outside its jurisdiction and in the Philippines there is an accepted culture of paying these fees.

"I always ask, 'Why do you pay the placement fees?'" says Maria Javier, a program manager at Vancouver-based Multicultural Helping House, a community organization that has been counselling some of these workers on their rights.

"In their minds, the $3,000 to $4,000 [in placement fees] is a lot of money. But if they compute the salary as indicated in their contracts, they figure that they can pay it off over time while they are working here," said Javier.

"If the job turns out to be bogus, or it does not pay what the contract says it will, then it's a big problem."

So Navarro, along with eight other workers contracted for a specific project in B.C., each paid the placement fee. They also forked out another $700 US each for airfare and to process documents. Navarro himself borrowed money from a friend in California. He also took out high-interest loans from two separate Filipino companies that specialize in financing overseas employment.

In telephone interviews with Navarro and other workers in his group, and in copies of documents such as contracts and Labour Market Opinions (LMO) seen by The Vancouver Sun, all sorts of players are named in the saga that followed.

(LMOs are the Canadian government's official assessment of the market and its going pay rates. Workers require an approved LMO in order to get a work permit.)

Metro Police Manpower Agency was the agency in Manila. Active Placement Agency was the one in Vancouver. The employer was to be Vancouver-based Span Canada Enterprises, with an address on Fraser Street. The Vancouver agency representative who picked up the workers at YVR and collected envelopes containing $1,000 US in cash from each of them was named Maritas Clark.

But, in the end, all these details would turn out to be meaningless to the workers, disappearing on them as easily as a cellphone account goes dead or a random company becomes inactive.

Week after week, Clark told the workers that their supposed employer at Span was on holiday. When one of them finally contacted the company directly, he was told that there were no jobs at $27 per hour, but that he could make $9 per hour doing some office work.

"She lied to us," said Navarro. "If they pay us $9, how can we repay our debt? She just took the placement fee."

Clark patched some of the workers into jobs in Grand Prairie, Alberta, "doing janitorial work at a Wal-Mart, where they stayed for a month, making $12 to $14 an hour," said Navarro.

Then, later, she just vanished on them completely.

"[Clark] has many phone numbers," said David Barce, another worker in that group. "In my opinion, she is a Filipino lady, she should have helped us. We don't know where she is. Maybe she is still recruiting some Filipinos and bringing them here."

It's not clear whether this was the case here, but, in the most egregious of scams, some of these fly-by-night agencies are approaching employers and offering money in exchange for "offers of employment" that can be used to apply for an LMO even though, in reality, no job exists for workers when they arrive, according to Tom Steele, a Vancouver-based consultant who specializes in helping employers apply for legitimate LMOs.

"There are a lot of players involved. As long as there are vulnerable people out there, there is going to be someone taking advantage of them," said Steele.

The workers themselves, meanwhile, get plunged into a situation where the clock starts ticking on how long they can financially afford to stay in Canada legally.

"[Navarro's situation] isn't an isolated case," Alex Stojicevic, a Vancouver-based lawyer who chairs the Canadian Bar Association's national immigration section.

"When [a temporary foreign worker] comes to Canada from the Philippines, they are a visitor who is allowed to work for a very specific employer. They have a status document that allows them to be here, even if that work disappears.

"The problem is a practical one: That most of these people don't come with a ton of money. So, how are you going to survive for three months while you are waiting for your work permit to be switched and for a new LMO to be approved? What happens is that people start working illegally, which can get you removed from Canada."

Even if a worker manages to land a new job, get another LMO and a work permit before he or she runs out of money or overstays a visitor visa, there are other pitfalls.

B.C. companies may need workers, but this doesn't mean that business is predictable or that projects, especially construction, don't start and stop.

Some from Navarro's group bounced on to carpentry and other jobs for Vancouver-based Pacific Western Coastal Contractor, which was building a condo development in Victoria. But when the project was suspended for financial reasons, they were left hanging again.

In a similar, more publicized case, temporary foreign workers from the Philippines hired to work as borers on twin tunnels for a North Vancouver water treatment plant were caught last January when the Germany-based contractor, Bilfinger Berger Canada, had a conflict with Metro Vancouver about the safety of underground workers. The firm was fired from the project.

In June, the Philippines government itself opened a Vancouver-based labour office that it hopes will vet potential employers, streamline applications, and provide support and social services for Filipino workers in B.C.

Bernie Julve, consular officer in charge of labour, said he is still building his network in western Canada, but noted that "in Alberta, there is a newly created office that looks into the conditions of workers and matters concerning the violations of contracts."

He vowed to investigate unscrupulous brokers based in the Philippines, but called on the B.C. government to patrol dealers on its own soil.

Others like Wayne Peppard, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council, would like to see a separate advocacy centre, funded by the provincial and federal government, that works in the interest of these temporary foreign workers. He said that many workers are reluctant to report labour or contract violations because they are in desperate need of lining up the next job and securing proper papers. They don't want to jeopardize that process in any way.

"There is a real intimidation factor in coming forward," he said.

For example, even though some local politicians and organizations such as the Multicultural Helping House tried to reach out and help the temporary foreign workers displaced by the Bilfinger project, it was a challenge.

"They have scattered to the four winds," said North Vancouver city councilor Bob Fearnley. "I was in touch with them at first, but have had trouble tracking them."

One of them, Balthazar Palacios, said in a phone interview that, "I was scared to talk about anything to anyone because I didn't have my [new] work permit yet."

Indeed, when Javier, the Multicultural Helping House program manager, tries to help some workers, "They sit there and they cry. But when I give them the employment standards form [so that they can file a formal complaint], they say no, they don't want to sign it."

She thinks that many such workers would be reluctant to formally complain via a government office, and that funding would be better spent on education and counseling to reassure and encourage them to speak out.

In the meantime, the issue is emerging on government radar screens.

Stojicevic, the Canadian Bar Association lawyer, said that at the federal level, administrators at Service Canada (the agency which approves LMOs) "are getting more rigorous in phoning employers directly, instead of merely relying on written applications filled by agencies. ... They are adding an extra step of compliance."

"The federal government is working with provincial and territorial governments to put in place measures, such as information-sharing agreements, that will support closer collaboration to address the vulnerability of foreign workers and to better manage the roles and activities of third party recruiters," Jason Bouzanis, a Service Canada spokesperson, said in an email.

Unfortunately, for Navarro, time ran out. Reached last week by telephone several days after returning to Manila, he could only sigh that "B.C. is great. There are many companies looking for skilled workers. ... I don't know what to say."

He has started again from scratch in Manila, applying for a work visa and LMO. Brenta Construction, a Burnaby company, would like to hire him at $25 an hour, and has actually secured LMOs and new working visas for some others in his original group.

Navarro still owes the original debt he incurred to pay his placement fee, plus about 20 per cent.

It has been a heartwrenching lesson for him to return home empty-handed and still be saddled with costs, and to face a spouse and family who share his financial burden.

Nevertheless, he is determined to persevere. This time around, however, he is working directly with Victoria-based Red Seal Recruiting Solutions, which connected him to Brenta and will not charge a placement fee of any kind.

In fact, Kael Campbell, the head recruiter at Red Seal, hopes that if and when Navarro eventually returns to B.C., he will help brief other potential Filipino workers on this very topic before they make any payments.

Norway’s Odfjell to hire only Filipinos (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09092008/shipping01.html)

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09092008/images/ship-pic01.jpg



By Jesse Edep
Research Staff

NORWAY’S Odfjell SE, a global shipper of chemicals and other specialty bulk liquids, said on Monday that it will exclusively deploy Filipinos to work alongside Northwestern European seafarers onboard its vessels.

This development surfaced when Odfjell’s presence in the country, the Odfjell Philippines Inc., said it would disburse certain “amount of money” for better training in its partner-schools.

Capt. Kjell Arne Johansen, owner’s representative of Odfjell Philippines, didn’t disclose the figures.

One of these training schools is Odfjell Academy in Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City, where 30 to 40 crewmembers attend competence assessment and various courses each week.

In the J.B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Odfjell Philippines has built a campus for its cadetship program. The school grants scholarship to poor but deserving cadets, who are automatically hired after graduation.

Odfjell—a global leader in the transportation of bulk liquids, such as chemicals, petroleum products, acids, alcohols, vegetable oils and animal fats, among others—owns 94 vessels engaged in global and regional trade.

Odfjell Philippines handles the crew management of 51 of the company’s vessels. Twenty-one of these have full-Filipino complement.

Odfjell Philippines has about 2,000 crewmembers onboard in various positions in the shore organization.

Johansen said, “The company will ensure competitive salaries, benefit packages and excellent career opportunities for these seafarers in order for them to securely plan ahead for themselves and their families.”

On Monday Odfjell Philippines inaugurated its new office in Manila, which is its administrative center for all crewing-related activities, from recruitment and hiring, to crew processing and dispatch, to crew allotment, as well as crew competence and career management.

The nine-story building houses the company’s executive and administrative offices, training and briefing rooms, cafeteria, Internet facilities, crew lounge and waiting areas, and playroom for children of visiting seafarers.

A medical clinic, a travel agency and an area for future bank facilities are also within the premises of the building.

The inauguration marked Odfjell’s 23 years in the country.

“Odfjell’s partnership with Odfjell Philippines Inc. reaffirms the company’s investment plans in the Philippines and long-standing commitment to Filipino seafarers,” Johansen said.

Hundreds of OFWs sought for Madagascar project (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/117895/Hundreds-of-OFWs-sought-for-Madagascar-project)

09/03/2008 | 05:27 PM

MANILA, Philippines — A South Korean construction company is in need of about a thousand Filipino professionals and skilled workers for a huge project in Madagascar in Africa, a manpower agency said on Wednesday.

Geu Nam Construction Company has placed a job order for mechanical, piping, quality control engineers, safety officers, labor controller, foremen, welders (tig), pipe fitters, electricians, steelmen and other categories, said manpower agency Jerphi Overseas and Trading Corp. (JOTC).

Cherry Cleary, president of Jerphi, said Geu Nam has won a contract with the Rio Tinto Group, the largest mining firm in the world, which has substantial interests in Madagascar. Several international projects in mining and oil ventures are also underway that will develop the country's potential natural resources.

Madagascar is an island-nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa and a former colony of France. It’s main island, also named Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world.

Cleary said remuneration packages such as free food and accommodation, free medical services, two-year contracts and other benefits await those who would be hired.

Interested applicants can apply in person at Jerphi unit 219, Aurora Plaza Bldg. 1, Arquiza or Bocobo Sts., Ermita, Manila or send their resumes to admin@jerphi.com. - GMANews.TV

Arroyo says Kuwait ready to hire up to 1 million OFWs (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/115941/Arroyo-says-Kuwait-ready-to-hire-up-to-1-million-OFWs#)

Article posted August 25, 2008 - 06:17 PM
CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday said the oil-rich state of Kuwait would be ready to hire a large number of overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

During the inauguration of the Global Gateway Logistics City (GGLC) here, Mrs Arroyo said the OFWs’ skills “are known and acknowledged in Kuwait," which hosts about 100,000 OFWs, the third largest Filipino community in the Middle East.

“According to His Highnesss the Prime Minister (Nasser Al-Mohammad A- Ahmad Al-Sabah) they would welcome even a million...There is no quota to limit the number of Filipino workers in Kuwait," she said.

During the event, the President reiterated her gratitude to Kuwait for the commutation of the death sentences of Filipino workers May Vecina and Marilou Ranario.

She also thanked Kuwait for its commitment to help upgrade the Davao Regional Hospital and the Cotabato Regional Medical Center into a national cancer center and regional cancer center respectively, and modernize the Zamboanga Medical Center surgery block.

Mrs Arroyo said Kuwait was the first Arab country to extend a developmental loan to the Philippines for the 115-kilometer road covering the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and, Maguindanao, and the cities of Pagadian and Cotabato, 30 years ago.

The President said the projects and jobs provided by Kuwaitis both in their country and in the Philippines provided Filipinos with much-needed jobs, and strengthened the Philippines’ ties with Kuwait.

President Arroyo led the groundbreaking ceremonies for the GGLC, marking the start of the construction of the $1.02-billion project with Kuwait.

Mahdy Al-Jazzaf, Kuwait and Gulf Link (KGL) Investment Company head, said the nine-year GGCL project was expected to provide about 70,000 jobs upon its completion.

President Arroyo said the GGLC was a product of her visit to Kuwait last year. The project is being funded by KGL, and is being carried out in the Philippines by Peregrine Development International.

She said GGLC would be the first fully integrated master planned center for airport and aviation-oriented operations and business in the Philippines. Mrs Arroyo said the project would serve as a “crucial hub in what we envision to be the best service and logistics center in the region."

The first phase of the project, which will cost $25 million, involves the construction of roads, sidewalks, utilities and access points, fencing, and installation of street lights. The second phase, which will cost $1 billion, involves the seven-year development of GGLC’s main facilities and buildings.

The GGLC will provide logistics-dependent businesses with warehousing, distribution, multi-nodal logistics, and light manufacturing services alongside complementary business operations and facilities to support aviation-related activities within the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport’s Civil Aviation Complex. - GMANews.TV

http://hereisnewyork.org/jpegs/photos/8602.jpg

:horse:

JP

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/headers/10.jpg

:horse:

JP

http://bp3.blogger.com/_a__CWMOx1Tw/SCnveByUHlI/AAAAAAAAASw/Yv21bm1ijm4/s400/BlogLipstickPig.jpghttp://bp2.blogger.com/_9wu_KRvQcx4/SFglC11dabI/AAAAAAAABVg/kJcdaS4Ss7g/s400/pitbull2-702234.jpghttp://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/elephant-donkey-boxing-thumb.jpg

As the U.S. Presidential Election draws near,
there will be more heated debates,
and unfortunately:
mud slinging,
sensationalized media reporting,
and words taken out of context.

VOTE WISELY!!!

In war, truth is the first casualty.
Aeschylus
Greek tragic dramatist (525 BC - 456 BC)

:horse:

JP

RP unemployment rate eases to 7.4 percent in July
(http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/16/08/rp-unemployment-rate-eases-74-percent-july)
Reuters | 09/16/2008 10:44 AM

The Philippines' unemployment rate eased to 7.4 percent in July from a near two-year high of 8.0 percent in April, government data showed on Tuesday.

Despite the fall, the Southeast Asian nation has one of the highest jobless rates in the region, prompting the government to distribute cash subsidies, loans and discounted rice aimed at cushioning the impact of high prices of basic items, such as food and fuel, on the poor and unemployed.

The percentage of underemployed, or those who have jobs but want to work more, increased to 21.0 percent of total employed in July from 19.8 percent in April, according to the quarterly labor force survey by the National Statistics Office.

Of the total labor force of 34.6 million -- more than a third of the country's population of 90 million -- more than half were employed in the services sector, over a third were in agriculture and the rest were in the industrial sector.


More than half of the employed were wage and salary workers for private companies and households and government corporations. Over a third were self-employed and the rest were unpaid family workers, mostly from the farm sector.

as of 09/16/2008 10:44 AM

More men than women leaving the country to work abroad (http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Local%20News&p=54&type=2&sec=2&aid=2008091625)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 04:34 PM
Women power seems to be over.

More men than women are now opting to leave the country and work abroad, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported.

POEA deputy administrator Carmelita Dimzon said from feminization, the gender of Philippine migration is becoming male again.

"We used to see a 60-40 ratio of female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) before, but now we are seeing more and more males now," Dimzon disclosed.

Dimzon attributed the dominance of male OFWs to the growing demand for male workers in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East, which are building mega cities.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) earlier reported that Saudi Arabia is expected to hire at least 300,000 construction workers and other highly skilled workers this year alone. – Mayen Jaymalin

By Michael Caber (http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics4_sept17_2008)

Starting Sept. 21, Filipinos living in Spain will be able to use their valid Philippine driver’s licenses to drive around, the Foreign Affairs Department said yesterday.

Spanish citizens in Manila will also be able to do the same as an agreement on reciprocal recognition between the two countries comes into force.

In Spain, Filipino applicants may request for an appointment and obtain information on vital requirements and documentation from the Directorate General of Traffic to exchange valid Philippine licenses issued by the Land Transportation Office, the Foreign Affairs said.

In Manila, holders of Spanish driver’s licenses can avail themselves of the same privileges accorded to Filipinos in Spain, and personally apply in a local LTO office.

Confirmation of the validity of the licenses will be done through secure electronic mail between officials of the LTO and the DGT.

Early this year, Philippine Ambassador to Spain Joseph Bernardo announced that there are around 500 jobs in Spain open to skilled Filipino workers and professionals.

There are 130 more jobs for caregivers, 50 for design engineers, and 300 for seasonal farm workers. All these are open to Filipinos, Bernardo said.

Eighty of the 130 caregivers will go to the Grupo Los Nogales, the employer in Spain that pilot-tested the project of hiring 120 caregivers from the Philippines to work in Madrid in 2006; the rest will be sent to Bilbao in the province of Bizcaia, in Pais Vasco, Bernardo said.

About 40 Filipino design engineers and cost accountants have been working for the Tecnicas Reunidas and the Initec Plantas Industriales.

At least 300 Filipino seasonal farm workers can find work in Andalucia, as Spanish employers prefer Filipino workers and professionals over other nationalities.

I wonder if this would really be a good news, partly it is but you would think that it will cost the spanish employers to hire filipino farmers since they have to pay for their airfare and then the accomodation, especially now with the high fuel costs. I know the cost of living in spain is high as well. Same goes with caregivers. They may probably favors the skills of filipino skilled workers but one would think that it would be more costlier than hiring farmers to surrounding european nations that is considered poor as well, like Ukraine and such..

Now, when it comes to design engineers maybe this one would probably succeed.

OFW remittances seen to hit $18.3B in 2009 (http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080921-162039/OFW-remittances-seen-to-hit-183B-in-2009)
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:46:00 09/21/2008

THE BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS expects overseas Filipinos’ remittances to the country to reach $18.3 billion next year, up by 10 percent from the projected inflows this year.

Of the total, $17.6 billion was expected to be coursed through the banking system, which will also be 10 percent higher than the projected figure for this year.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said a steady 10-percent growth in remittances would support a sustained surplus in the current account, which would also keep the balance of payments in a surplus.

The BSP has projected that the BOP would post a surplus of $2.3 billion next year, up from the expected $2 billion surplus this year.

The BOP measures the foreign exchange transactions between the domestic economy and the rest of the world.

The central bank reports monthly the volume of remittances sent by overseas Filipinos through banks. Since May 2006, remittances sent by overseas Filipinos through banks have exceeded $1 billion monthly.

Money sent home through banks jumped by 24.6 percent in July over a year ago to hit $1.37 billion on higher deployment of workers and expansion of remittance services, based on the latest BSP data.

Supported by the double-digit growth in cash remittances over the last four months, inflows coursed through the banking system from January to July amounted to $9.6 billion, up by 18.2 percent over the same period last year.

The bulk of the remittances came from the USA, Saudi Arabia, UK, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The continued deployment of Filipino workers overseas boosted the level of remittances this year despite the US-led global slowdown. This trend is expected to continue through next year.

Better access by overseas workers and their beneficiaries to money transfer services provided by banks and non-bank remittance agents, through the establishment of more remittance centers and tie-ups abroad is also seen contributing significantly to the robust growth in remittances.

The BSP’s prospects on overseas employment also remain rosy given the recently concluded agreement among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to standardize, regulate and monitor professional standards—such as those for accountants, dentists and medical practicioners. This is expected to facilitate the mobility of professionals within the region.

Filipinos working abroad spawn spoiled children (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122366/Filipinos-working-abroad-spawn-spoiled-children)

MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV

Article posted September 23, 2008 - 08:17 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos working abroad—and the huge amounts of money they send home every month—have spawned a generation of “spoiled kids," a sociology professor said.

“OFW migration might be creating a generation of instant gratification and spoiled children," Dr. Ma. Cynthia Rose Bautista, a sociology professor at the University of the Philippines, said during a Makati City forum.

In her presentation at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) on Tuesday, Bautista said that parents usually splurge their kids with material luxuries—such as cellphones—to make up for their absence in the family.

Parents also often gauge their children’s good academic performance as a positive effect of their migration, Bautista added.

“If they look at the academics they would hardly see any negative effects," said Bautista, citing a recent study indicating that migrant children perform better in school.

“But deep inside here is a person who is trying to look for a sense of self," she said.

Bautista’s assertions are supported by Dr. Fabio Baggio of the Scalabrini Migration Center, a fellow participant at the forum entitled “Managing the Development Impact of International Migration."

Although cellphones could bridge the distance between OFWs and their kids, it also introduces a culture of dependency as children become more materialistic and less helpful in the household. - GMANews.TV

OFWs use mobile phones to look after their kids (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122356/OFWs-use-mobile-phones-to-look-after-their-kids#)

MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV

Article posted September 23, 2008 - 07:43 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos working abroad have maximized mobile phone technology, allowing parents who work halfway around the world to look after their kids in real time.

The widespread culture of texting in the Philippines has created a new means for OFW parents to continue their nurturing roles with their children who are left behind, Dr. Fabio Baggio of the Scalabrini Migration Center said.

“Real-time SMS [short message service] creates cellphone mothers and cellphone fathers," he said. “They ask their kids 'Where are you? What are you doing? Send me a picture.'"

Baggio mentioned this in a paper he presented before a conference on “Managing the Development Impact of International Migration" organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies on Tuesday.

According to Baggio, while cellphones could bridge the distance between OFWs and their kids, it also introduces a culture of dependency as children become more materialistic and less helpful in the household.

“Children of migrants cooperate less in housework and possess more mobile phones," he said.

While there is no concrete data on the total number of cellphone users in the country, it is nevertheless recognized that some Filipinos own multiple mobile phones. Several telecoms companies have also introduced promos catering to the OFW market.

The National Telecommunications Commission estimated that 600 million text messages per day were sent in June, higher than 20 percent from the 500 million daily texts reported in 2006.

This indicates that a subscriber sends 10 text messages a day, compared to only seven two to three years ago. - GMANews.TV

Arroyo told: Stop institutionalization of large-scale labor migration (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122580/Arroyo-told-Stop-institutionalization-of-large-scale-labor-migration#)

Article posted September 24, 2008 - 05:26 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Leaders of non-government organizations are urging the Arroyo administration to focus on improving the domestic labor market for Filipinos instead of making large-scale overseas employment the solution to the country’s economic problems.

The leaders made the call amid the global credit crunch that could affect the employment security of overseas Filipinos, according to civil society groups such as the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC).

“Why do many Filipinos leave the country in the first place? I think it’s time we do a lot of soul searching on our part. Unfortunately, exporting labor has become a permanent policy of our country," former senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, dean of Miriam College’s Department of Migration Studies said during a recent forum at the said school in Quezon City.

“I think it is important to look at the domestic policy (on labor) and the domestic labor market as well to prevent brain drain," said Kerstin Bartsch, project officer of the International Organization for Migration.

“It’s problematic that all our workers are going away," said Fr. Edwin Corros of the Episcopal Commission on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. He added that the Philippines “is already at a critical point" because it had failed to strengthen the local economy to provide adequate and decent jobs to its citizens.

Large-scale migration

Organized large-scale migration in the Philippines started in the 1970s under the Marcos administration amid economic problems worsened by the 1973 oil crisis. Filipinos at the time were sent to oil-rich countries in the Middle East to work on infrastructure projects.

Large-scale migration of Filipino workers was supposed to be a brief journey, or only until the Philippine government recovers from its economic problems. However, the Philippines failed to rise from the economic rut and became even more enticed to send Filipinos abroad amid the high demand for overseas workers not just in the Middle East but also in new labor markets, which opened in East and Southeast Asian regions.

Overseas employment became institutionalized with the passage of the Labor Code of the Philippines in 1974 and the creation of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration in 1982, which was tasked to process workers’ contracts abroad, and regulate private manning agencies, among other functions.

Criticism

The Arroyo administration is often being criticized by several cause-oriented groups in the Philippines for continuing the policy on labor migration, and for relying on the remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to keep the economy afloat.

The groups claim that while Filipinos are enduring hardships and risking their lives working abroad, the Philippine government is enjoying a big chunk of the money being sent home by OFWs.

As of 2007, the stock estimate of Filipinos overseas was 8.2 million. The Philippines is the world’s number one sender of Filipino workers abroad.

The government charges a 0.15-percent documentary stamp tax for every OFW remittance transaction. Groups such as Migrante claim that for every US$1-billion remittance, the government reaps US$1.5 million or about P62 million.

Migrante also claims that banks and other private businesses rake in profits from remittances. For every US$200 remittance sent monthly, US$15 to US$22 is charged as service fee. For 10 million OFWs sending remittances, banks earn a staggering $1 billion monthly.

A recent study by the National Statistics Office showed that thousands of unskilled OFWs such as domestic helpers and construction workers were among the biggest contributors to the Philippine economy.

Threatened

On Monday, the FDC said that OFWs might no longer save the Philippine economy from being affected by the US economic recession.

The group said OFW remittances “are being threatened" by the continuing downturn in the US economy because most Filipino migrants work in countries that are largely affected by what has been described as the worst financial crisis in decades.

According to FDC trustee Maitet Pascual, even when OFW remittance still serves as the country’s economic “lifeline," OFWs are now more vulnerable to economic slump because many of them are located in the US and in other countries such as Japan and those in Europe that are also seen reeling from the “global financial flu."

Pascual said such situation could weaken remittances into the Philippines, and might even result in the massive deportation of OFWs. - KJ Tan, GMANews.TV

Return-migration gains seen
to outweigh migration benefits (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09242008/economy02.html)

By Cai U. Ordinario
Reporter

THE gains brought about by the return migration of Filipinos abroad may far outweigh the benefits presented by migration to both Philippine society and the families left behind by temporary and permanent Filipino migrants.

Ateneo de Manila Economics Department chairman and Philippine Economic Society president Fernando Aldaba said that 밾opefully,?if the government adopts policies that would open more opportunities for Filipinos abroad, more of them will be encouraged to return to the country.

밒f these people are given the right incentives and the appropriate political and economic environment in the Philippines, they can all make 몆atriotic investments,? set up nongovernment organizations and diaspora hometown associations that will all contribute to Philippine development; share the skills and expertise acquired abroad in collaboration with local enterprises and business; and retire in the Philippines to spend some of their pension funds in their hometowns in desired places,?Aldaba said in a presentation of the study 밫he Philippine Diasporic Dividend: Maximizing the Development Potentials of International Migration?at the Managing the Development Impact of International Migration. The presentation was sponsored by the state-owned think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies in Makati City on Tuesday.

Department of Labor and Employment Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Soriano agreed and said in an interview that the gains presented by return migration will be more beneficial to the country and families left behind.

Soriano said, in terms of one obvious gain, family reunification, this will already significantly help in the development of the country starting with the children left behind by Filipino migrants.

In terms of actual benefits, Aldaba said if more Filipinos will return and choose to stay in the Philippines, they can 뱎rovide a possible political bonus.?Aldaba said migration has not only drained the country of skilled workers but also educated voters.

He explained that migration, which is rampant among the middle class, has reduced the quality of voters in the country. This, Aldaba said, has led the country to elect 뱊onperforming?government officials. He said even if overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are given voting rights, these rights are still very limited.

밨eturn migration of these middle-class Filipinos, especially those with a heart for fellowmen and who have been exposed to better political conditions abroad, can benefit the country economically and politically. For as long as there is a critical group of reform-minded citizens and some of these are returning overseas Filipinos, the possibility of change in the political arena cannot be discarded,?Aldaba said.

Institute of Migration and Development Issues executive director and University of Santo Tomas professor Jeremiah Opiniano, who was a coauthor of the study, said to date, the country is not maximizing the gains brought about by migration, more so return migration.

Opiniano said OFWs can invest in a number of areas such as agriculture, education and health, infrastructure-development projects, social-development projects, financial markets, information and communications technology, and tourism. But few ever do.

He said certain constraints are present that prevent Filipinos abroad to see the benefits of migrating back to the Philippines. There is, Opiniano said, a need to craft a migration-for-development plan to maximize the benefits of migration and make return migration not only a personally, but also economically, viable alternative for Filipinos abroad.

밯hile we have enumerated eight possible directions for overseas Filipinos?resources, there is much more work to be done뾢specially in crafting a migration-for-development plan for the Philippines, one that values the overseas Filipino and that directs their resources and energies to equitable, rights-based and, hopefully, far-reaching development,?Opiniano said.

Aldaba said these constraints include the high cost of remittances, which is usually pegged at 10 percent to 20 percent of the principal remittance, amount; insufficient incentives for return migration; and the deteriorating quality of education in the Philippines.

He said there is also a coordination failure in rural development and agriculture that prevents migrants from investing in agriculture or other labor-intensive industries in the countryside and politically instability, as well as rampant corruption, which are considered part and parcel of Philippine culture.

밒 think we also need some soul-searching as regards the place of international labor migration in national development policy. I feel that until today, we have not expounded on a comprehensive framework and policy on overseas migration and its role in Philippine development,? Aldaba said.

밒f this country and its stakeholders play their cards right, we may see a promising Filipino future beside continued overseas migration. And this future is not because overseas migration is a primary provider of development, but Filipinos here and abroad work together to make that future work,?he added.

In a separate presentation, Scalabrini Migration Center director Dr. Fabio Baggio highlighted previous studies whose findings showed that migration has caused many Filipino children to fall behind in terms of school performance.

Apart from this, another caveat, Baggio said, is the overdependence on remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers. He said that because of regular remittances, many families or family members tend to rely solely on the remittances they receive and refuse to become part of the income generators in the household.

With this, he said more Filipinos are encouraged to migrate or become OFWs. Baggio said studies showed that 60 percent of OFW children who are left behind in the country want to become OFWs themselves.

?Filipinos tend to think that] the future is always out of the country [and that] there is no future here. This is worrisome. Migration can help development but nobody will develop the Philippines, except Filipinos,?Baggio said.

Local travel agencies losing workers
to migration; schools fail to cope (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/09242008/economy03.html)

By Max de Leon
Reporter

EVEN the local travel and tourism industry is being hit by the migration of Filipino workers, and the schools are not providing it the right talent to fill the resulting vacancies.

This, Amadeus Philippines general manager Albert Villadolid said, is now threatening the operational viability of local travel agencies.

밢ur current estimate is that 12 percent of those who leave to work abroad are in the tourism industry. With this scenario, travel agencies are now challenged to fill their vacancies with qualified personnel with the same skills,?Villadolid said in a statement.

According to government data, more than 760,000 Filipinos opted to work abroad during the first seven months of the year, representing a 26-percent increase from the same period last year. Currently, there are more than 8 million Filipinos working abroad.

Villadolid said more than 3,000 travel agencies in the country usually lose their employees to companies in the Middle East, Europe and the United States.

Currently, Villadolid said most newly hired personnel of travel agencies only stay in their companies for six months to gain experience and make themselves marketable internationally.

After this, they will seek employment abroad to get better salaries than the entry-level compensation they are getting from the local firms.

Amadeus, which provides solutions to more than 2,000 travel agencies across the country, said if this is not remedied, there will be a scaling down of operations in the travel and tourism industry.

One solution they are looking at, Villadolid said, is to partner with schools so they can adjust their curriculum according to the needs of the industry.

Currently, the human resource and tourism graduates of universities are not getting the specific talent that are required by the industry, including the simple skills of handling bookings. 밫he schools are teaching students mainly functional and management topics when, in fact, they need specific content skills in order to be hired,?Villadolid said.

Amadeus has already partnered with the Cebu State College and Technology, College of the Holy Spirit, College of St. Benilde, Columban College, Indiana Aerospace University, Intercontinental Training and Review Center, La Concordia College, Philippine Women뭩 University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Royal Christian PAL Learning Center, Southville International School and College, University of Caloocan, University of the Philippines and University of San Carlos-Recoletos.

Don't force entrepreneurship on OFWs--experts (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/09/24/08/dont-force-entrepreneurship-ofws-experts)

by MARIA ALETA NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/24/2008 12:06 PM

Not all overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can become overnight entrepreneurs upon their return to the Philippines, according to a corporate foundation executive.

“There is this thinking that all returning OFWs can come back and suddenly become entrepreneurs, and so therefore, we should encourage them to put their money in a business when they return,” said Guillermo Luz, executive vice president of the Ayala Foundation-USA (AF-USA).

Luz delivered a paper on “Alternatives for Making the Most Out of Remittances: The Ayala Foundation Case” at a conference on Managing the Development Impact of International Migration held Tuesday in Makati City.

“This is the one where I always wave a big flag of caution,” he said, adding that only a “very few of them (OFWs)" were entrepreneurs before coming home.

He explained that there is the danger of former OFWs losing all their hard earned money, and they might even regret coming back.

“There are a lot of people who feel that we should go into all these entrepreneurial trainings and packages, but I'm really not sure if that' the way to go,” he said.

Microfinance consultant Dr. Maria Piedad Geron agreed with Luz that not everyone can become entrepreneurs.

“A lot of government programs have failed because in most cases, government has been forcing people to become entrepreneurs when, in fact, some do not even have the ability,” Geron.

Invest in entrepreneurship training instead

Although business activities are not for everyone, Geron said it would still be good to come up with projects aimed at helping nongovernment organizations train OFWs for entrepreneurship.

“The OFWs need not be the entrepreneurs themselves, but they can provide assistance and support their own communities through the donations they have provided to those NGOs engaged in building capacities of the real entrepreneurs,” she said.

The issue of entrepreneurship came up when Luz discussed where remittances go and how they are spent.

Aside from entrepreneurial activities, Luz said remittances go to consumption, investment and philanthropy.

“Remittances are important part of our economy,” he said, citing US records in 2005 that the Philippines ranked No. 10 in terms of country of origin with 1.45 million number of Filipino migrants in the US.

“Data show that the bulk of remittances which comes in goes into consumption here in the Philippines,” Luz said.

Some portion of the money sent home by overseas Filipinos go into investments.

For example, he said people are investing in homes. Property developers are now going out of the country to launch their projects and sell them to Filipinos abroad.

“But investment beyond that is another matter. There is not much investment activity by overseas Filipinos going on," he said. "The biggest I think would be people going into the housing market."

Invest in philanthropy

In the case of the Ayala Foundation in the US, the firm is encouraging remittances in philantropy.

“It's not a very large segment yet. It has all the potentials. There are other sectors that take care of the other three items and very few tap into the philanthropic side,” he said.

AF-USA is a is a public charity organized in late 2000. It aims to become the bridge between the Filipinos in the US and the Philippines by creating opportunities that facilitate meaningful contributions to Philippine social development initiatives.

In terms of number, there were 1.6 million Filipino migrants in the US in 2006 or 4.4 percent of all migrants in the US.

These Filipinos are considered the second largest migrant group after Mexico and ahead of the Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese. A total of 45.6 percent of Filipinos reside in California and the rest are in Hawaii, New York, Illinois and New Jersey.

“The vision is just empowering communities who want to be able to help in development. Our goal is to be able to provide them this opportunity to reestablish the link, and of course we need to generate funds for the projects to pursue developmental projects in the Philippines,” he said.

The foundation’s goals are to provide US-based Filipinos the opportunity to help and re-establish their links with the Philippines, and to generate funds and other resources in the US for social development projects in the Philippines.

as of 09/24/2008 12:23 PM

DOLE backs higher hazard pay for seafarers (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/09/24/08/dole-backs-higher-hazard-pay-seafarers)

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/24/2008 11:46 PM

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has approved a proposal to give higher hazard pay to seafarers in high-risk areas.

DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque announced this Wednesday during the countdown to mark the 75th year anniversary of the labor department

This is in light of the nearly 100 Filipino seafarers who have been taken hostage by Somali pirates.

Reports said the DOLE and owners and manning agencies of vessels which sail to Somalia, and members of organizations of seafarers, have agreed to change some of the regulations on the law on seafarers’ welfare.

Roque said there will also be a voluntary sign-off when seafarers want to disembark at any port of high-risk areas.

The DOLE said it will convene with the rest of the board members to finalize the changes. Roque said the formal agreement would probably happen over the weekend.

According to Roque, it would be difficult to prevent anyone who wants to travel in areas considered as dangerous.

Meanwhile, owners of hijacked vessels assured that Filipino seamen are in good condition. They said that some Filipino seafarers have spoken to their families back home. -- Cecille Lardizabal, ABS-CBN

Don't force entrepreneurship on OFWs--experts (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/09/24/08/dont-force-entrepreneurship-ofws-experts)by MARIA ALETA NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/24/2008 12:06 PMas of 09/24/2008 12:23 PM

ON this issue? I believe that the intitiative has to come from those families left behind by the OFW. Instead of them sitting at home, do nothing except too wait for the monthly remittances of their spouses of sons/daughter and then spend all of it for extravagance. They are the ones who most of all should think how they can provide an input as to how they can double up the money they are receiving from their love ones who has been breaking their backs just to be able to send them enough money to support their families.

What usually happen is, almost every filipinos has this so called "one day millionaire " attitude. Once the OFW came home, the wife never really save up some money and once the OFW is home with more money, they blow it off instead of investing it to something or starting something like a small business so that by the time their spouses for instance were unlawfully deported or got sick once they return back to the Philippines, they would have another source of income, not only the remittances they recieve every single month.

^^ I agree. And they should start doing some business long before the OFW comes back home for good.

Six million Filipino children left behind by OFW parents (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/09/25/08/six-million-filipino-children-left-behind-ofw-parents)

by ARIES RUFO, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 09/25/2008 7:38 PM

The government should rethink its policy of promoting labor migration as a way of generating employment opportunity, as it strikes adversely into the very foundation of society, which is the family.

In her presentation at the ongoing International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development being held in Manila, United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)-New York’s deputy director for programs Vanessa Tobin said various studies have shown that the social costs of labor migration outweigh the economic benefits, with family relationships and dynamics as the first casualty.

“Migration should be, first and foremost, be just one of the options. Therefore, government should be able to create more jobs with decent wages,” Tobin said.

Tobin said the increasing “feminization” of migration has complicated the situation as it “implies a redefinition of the economic role of women in society and within the family as well.”

Children most affected

Most affected in such dynamic are the children, who may deal with the absence of one parent or both parents, either positively or negatively.

Data from the Unicef showed that there are about three to six million Filipino children left behind as parents pursue work abroad.

The figure of affected Filipino children casts a huge shadow when compared with Indonesia's one million and Thailand's half a million.

The absence of parents, Tobin noted, creates “displacement, disruptions and changes in care-giving arrangement.” Such effects are more felt when it is the mother who works abroad, as families go through more adjustments, than when it is the father who goes to work abroad.

This is because men do not easily take up care-giving when they assume the role of the mother, Tobin said, citing studies.

Generally, children have a different level of acceptance in a situation where a parent works abroad. Young children view migration as a form of “abandonment,” while for adolescents, the acceptance could either be “receptive or resentful.”

Social costs

While working overseas promises more income and better educational opportunities for children left behind, such is mostly a mirage for most migrant workers.

Tobin cited studies where it was found that “there is not much improvement in the lives of the families, the money being sent is just enough or sometimes hardly meet the demands and needs of the families left behind.”

Tobin added: “They are also vulnerable to economic shocks, especially related to the country’s economic and political situation.”

On the other hand, the social costs of labor migration cannot be denied, impacting severely on children, psychologically and physically.

While children feel the economic benefits of parents working abroad, various studies however show that children “do not recognize this as a form of care.” Thus, children of migrants are less socially adjusted.

Those with absent mother “tend to be more angry, confused, pathetic and more afraid than other children, Tobin pointed out, citing the study conducted by Migrante-Anak Pamilya Foundation. The same study said that “the absence of the mother could be the most disruptive in the life of the children.”

The feeling of neglect and abandonment is most felt by the eldest daughter who assumes the mother’s role in the family as the father struggles to take the mother’s role.

“This immense responsibility in turn affects their performance in schools,” Tobin said, quoting a study. “It becomes a burden to the girls in the family.”

Skewed values

Labor migration of parents also skews the values of children as they view it only in terms of “money equivalent.” With no proper guidance from the parents, the regular remittances lead to materialistic attitude of children.

Children of migrants are also vulnerable to abuse and violence with the parent’s absence.

Apart from rethinking the labor migration policy, Tobin recommended that government review its programs for migrant workers, noting that most are geared toward economic assistance. Only few programs target the children and these are also only on short term basis.

One area where government can actively intervene in promoting the interests of overseas workers and their family is to tap remittances to finance programs and projects geared towards the children, Tobin said, adopting the recommendation of one study commissioned by the Unicef. As of December 2007, remittances have reached $14 billion.

“The prevailing separation of one or both parents from their children definitely goes against the interest of the children. It is therefore imperative to determine how these remittances are utilized to find ways to increase the positive effect of remittances on these rights and promote their best use,” Tobin said.

as of 09/25/2008 7:39 PM

Give us power: Filipinos experience ‘dark ages’ in US territory of Saipan
(http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122797/Give-us-power-Filipinos-experience-dark-ages-in-US-territory-of-Saipan#)
Article posted September 23, 2008 - 09:37 AM

GARAPAN, Saipan - Air-conditioning units are not a luxury but a necessity on Saipan. It rarely rains on the tropical island where the air is often humid, and the temperature is almost always at 83 degrees Fahrenheit, similar to that in Manila during the hottest month of May.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3285/2866660643_f61058330c.jpg?v=0

And so when electricity rates went up and power outages on the island worsened amid the ailing economy of the US territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), about 10,000 Filipino workers and their families staying on Saipan had to employ innovative ways to cope with the problem.

For instance, Nona Salas of Zamboanga province and her family limit the use of air conditioner and other appliances to 10 kilowatt hours a day. Other families stay inside their cars at night to sleep and avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Still, others without money are left without a choice but to sleep outside their houses where the temperature is cool, but where mosquitoes also abound.

Power rates were supposed to drop amid the island-wide outages. But the spike in world prices of oil, and the delay in fuel supply in the CNMI, prompted the already cash-strapped government to rent expensive generators to supply energy to communities on Saipan.

A big chunk of the salaries of Filipinos workers on Saipan goes to power bills. Celso Llanza of Albay province only paid $30 to $40 before, but this went up to $130 despite his limited use of electricity.

“Hindi na makatao ito. Ang taas-taas ng singil sa kuryente, panay naman ang power outages (This is not humane anymore. The power bills are so high even when there are frequent power outages)," Llanza said.

Filipino families are worried that the CNMI government will further raise power rates to pay for the rented generators, according to Jerry Custodio, president of the Human Dignity Movement.

“Filipino workers here support the call for reliable and affordable power, water and sewer services. We are also consumers and we are too much affected," Custodio of Tacloban City said.

Out of hand

In August, CNMI Governor Benigno Fitial admitted that the power problem was getting out of hand. He declared a state of disaster emergency in the CNMI amid the imminent explosion of one of the major power plants being operated by the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC).

Fitial warned that if the plant’s engine fails, the island "will experience massive blackouts even more extensive that the present load-shedding, which Saipan residents have been experiencing for the past months."

And it’s not only that. The governor also enumerated the consequences of the foreseen failure:
CUC will be without power to pump and purify water;

CUC will be unable to pump or treat sewage;

CUC will be without power to pump and purify water;

CUC will be unable to pump or treat sewage;

Street lights and traffic lights would go offline;

The Commonwealth Health Center and medical clinic would be without CUC power, dependent on their limited diesel oil supplies and on-site generators;

Communications media would go offline, including MCV cable TV and radio stations, which do not have their own fuel supplies and generation;

Schools, homes, and work places will be subject to blackouts;

The very young, the ill and the elderly who are dependent on refrigeration for food and medicine will be without power.
Luxury is cheaper

Filipinos know the weight of Fitial’s warnings. With rotating outages that last four to eight hours a day, it’s virtually back to the dark ages.

A Filipino on Saipan shared a joke about the power problem through a blog: “Q: What does CUC mean now? A: Customers Using Candles or Commonwealth Using Candles. Q: What does the CNMI have before candles? — A: Electricity!"

The blogger further said: “A friend also shared that the promo at that hotel, which was $77 for an overnight stay for two with Sunday brunch, was cheaper than her monthly utility bills. Thus, she concurred that luxury is cheaper now than our basic necessities."

Last week, the power problem reached the White House, a few days after the Saipan airport was shut down again due to outages. In a letter, Pete Tenorio, CNMI resident representative to Washington, urged President Bush to intervene in the power crisis. A report quoted Tenorio as saying that he was forced to make the request because the Fitial administration had refused to do so.

Street protest

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On Wednesday night, Saipan residents took the streets after many of Fitial’s warnings became a reality. Tens of Filipinos joined the rally “against darkness" by at least 500 individuals demanding “affordable and reliable power for all."

The rally was led by Representative Tina Sablan, an independent member of the CNMI House of Representatives, and private citizen Ed Propst. It was also supported by Rep. Ed Salas, who is married to Nona Salas of Zamboanga.

The protesters called on the CNMI government to look at options other than renting power generators from off-island to address the power crisis. These include privatizing CUC, creating a cooperative, and making use of alternative energy sources like solar and wind.

“We’re asking for help so we could help ourselves," said Tina Sablan.

The protesters also signed a petition calling on the US government to step into the power crisis on Saipan.

They were demanding the US government to do the following: declare a federal state of emergency on Saipan for the failing utilities service; place CUC under a federal court-appointed receivership; audit and investigation all federal and local funds collected and spent by CUC; and put CUC under receivership until such time when essential public services have already been restored.

A presidential declaration of a federal state of emergency will immediately mobilize resources to avert a worsening crisis.

Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act, all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the CNMI can request federal intervention during times of major disasters.

“Enough is enough. No more lies. Let there be light," the crowd chanted as speakers took the podium and share their personal experiences with power outages.

Band aid solution

The protesters wore band aids on their foreheads and cheeks to dramatize what they called the “band aid" solution to the power crisis on Saipan. The CNMI government reportedly rented power generators from an off-island firm for $504,000 a month, excluding fuel cost.

The rented power generators started operating last week, but some villages continue to have power outages and residents ask whether "improved" services would last.

Others in the crowd said the CNMI is the only place under the US turf that does not have 24-hour water supply, and has frequent power outages even on fine weather.

Ed Diaz, who is born and raised on Saipan, said that in the seven years he attended school in Hawaii, he experienced only one power outage that lasted for only half an hour.

As the night grew darker last Wednesday, the protesters' demand grew louder. Holding yellow placards, the rallyists shouted: “We don’t want to live in darkness!" “Stop CUC! Privatization is the answer!" -Text and photos by Haidee V. Eugenio, GMANews.TV

Asian labor best hope for Guam bases (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0926&272008/headlines010.html)

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Special to the BusinessMirror

HAGATNA, Guam—The challenge is to attract thousands of US-eligible workers to Guam for the United States military’s relocation from Okinawa, and Guam officials strongly believe that their best bet to fill the huge labor gap lies in the Asian work force.

The US military will need new and bigger airfields, housing, recreational facilities and many others to support their relocation that all will be worth billions of dollars in new projects, according to an interior official.

“Those who have looked at the issue closely agree that the massive scale of the Guam military buildup make the importation of foreign labor inevitable,” said Douglas Domenech, acting deputy assistant secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs.

James Martinez, president of the Guam Contractors Association, said local construction companies prefer Filipino workers. “The Philippines has usually been the first choice because of proximity, language and their ability to meld into the Guam lifestyle and community. The contractors should be allowed to select the source of their skilled work force.”

Currently, Filipino workers make up 72 percent of Guam’s alien labor force, Chinese workers account for 25 percent, and other Asians share the remaining 3 percent.

Military and private construction activities are estimated to require between 10,000 and 20,000 additional workers but the island’s current labor pool, according to Guam labor director Maria Connelley, will only be able to fill about 10 percent to 15 percent of the work force demand—an enormous average gap of about 15,000 workers.

The exigency of tapping foreign labor has prompted Congress to lift the work visa cap on Guam for five years, ending in 2014.

“Because there is a nearly inexhaustible supply of labor in nearby Asian countries, the labor needs of this immense project can be met,” Domenech told the subcommittee on insular affairs during an oversight hearing in Washington on Tuesday.

Federal and local policy gives hiring preference to US citizens, permanent residents and citizens of the freely associated states, but, clearly, whatever is available in and for Guam from the islands and the mainland cannot possibly meet the demand.

“Part of the problem in attracting US citizen workers will be both distance and lack of knowledge of the opportunities that will be available on Guam,” added Domenech.

Within the Micronesian region, “word is already out” that there will be new jobs, but “the challenge is to connect the labor in these other islands with the employers in Guam.”

Domenech said, “The Department of the Interior is exploring the establishment of a hands-on job match system—or a regional labor exchange—to enable the matching of potential workers with employers in Guam.”

Host nations urged: Don't look at migrants as 'inconvenient necessity' (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/09/26/08/host-nations-urged-dont-look-migrants-inconvenient-necessity)

by MARIA ALETA O. NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/27/2008 12:50 AM

Countries which host migrant workers should correct the "mindset" that foreign laborers are an "inconvenient necessity," a UN expert said.

Dr. Jean D’Cunha, Regional Programme Director for East & South-East Asia Regional Office of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) explained this to reporters during the International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development: Seizing Opportunities, Upholding Rights (ICGMD-08) Thursday in Pasay City.

“They are an inconvenient necessity. Inconvenient because countries of employment don’t really want to integrate them for various reasons...They do not want their socio-economic political fabric of their society tarnished, so to speak, by outsiders. There’s a certain fear of the numbers of outsiders outstripping the numbers of host country nationals. There’s a fear of outsiders demanding claims to rights and entitlements, which might edge out the nationals. And therefore, there is limited integration and they place them on the margins on society,” D’Cunha said.

According to D’Cunha, the mindset towards migrants is a trend not only seen in a particular country.

“I would not be able to name any country. This is a mindset towards migrants that’s a reasonably common mindset across the world,” D’Cunha said.

In 2005, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), estimated that there were about 191 million migrants worldwide.

NCRFW chair Myrna Yao, who is also the deputy minister of the two-day ICGMD-08 (www.icgmd.info) said that women migrants make up nearly half of the global migrant population.

D’Cunha said that this perception of migrants, who have contributed greatly to the economies of their countries, has to be corrected.

Public education

She laid down several recommendations, particularly highlighting the need to educate the public.

“I definitely think that there has to be public education and consciousness raising on the contributions that migrant workers make both to countries of origin and to countries of employment,” said D’Cunha.

She stressed that public education should be “based in gender-sensitive research and evidence gathering on the quantum of remittances that women remit to their countries of origin, and how it stimulates development of families, communities and the countries.”

The UNIFEM official also raised the importance of having studies and data collection as advocacy tools on the value of all migrant workers, particularly women, to the host country.

“And this should be used as an advocacy tool to say how much women and men migrant workers contribute. You must protect their rights because they are human beings, but in addition, since they make these contributions, they need to be protected by policies, programs, legislation,” she said.

Upgrade women's skills

Meanwhile, the NCRFW emphasized the need to upgrade the skills of workers, particularly of women who have been stereotyped as domestic helpers or entertainers.

“They foresee our women to be more conducive to becoming domestic helpers rather than skilled workers. The reason why we are doing this conference, we would like to also try to upgrade the migrant workers to be more skillful and not be treated only as domestic helpers,” Yao said.

To prevent the problem of oversupply of workers, such as the case of caregivers, Yao said they have been tapping the resources of the private sector and the “know-how” to determine what kind of skilled workers are needed in foreign countries and to “try and meet that need and demand.”

She cited the experience of nurses in the US who, according to Yao, have “different category and level” since they are generally paid as well as other nurses.

D’Cunha believes that labor-sending countries must undertake a gender impact assessment of their “macro economic and trade policy” which “impoverishes women and driving them outwards.”

She also believes that providing greater skills and employment in their homeland would make migration an optional choice.

“It will take a long time for countries of employment to stop demanding domestic workers and caregivers because it’s a demographic reality. And countries of origin are not looking at the scarce employment, poverty situation [at home] and are immediately responding to that demand-driven reality,” D’Cunha said.

D’Cunha proposed two things that need to be undertaken.

“One is look at policies and programs to upgrade employment levels in our own countries so that workers have a choice to stay behind. Second thing is to upgrade the skills of workers," she said.

In general, D'Cunha said skilled workers enjoy legal protections and their wages are higher. "And there are benefits to that, there’s a dignity associated with that."

She also cited the need "to also upgrade women’s skills in non-conventional jobs."

as of 09/27/2008 12:50 AM

RP to host 2nd Global Forum on Migration (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123509/RP-to-host-2nd-Global-Forum-on-Migration#)

Article posted September 28, 2008 - 10:37 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will host this Thursday the second Global Forum on Migration and Development to tackle issues concerning the welfare and empowerment of migrants.

A Malacañang statement said the Philippines was the unanimous choice of the 125 member states of the International Office of Migration (IOM) and 16 observer states.

The overall theme of GFMD Manila 2008 is "Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development."

President Arroyo invited IOM director general William Lacey Swing Friday to attend the forum.

The GFMD is an annual international conference on migration and development issues, following the High Level Dialogue on Migration organized by the United Nations (UN) in New York in September 2006.

The first GFMD was held in Brussels, Belgium on July 9-11, 2007. It featured back-to-back sessions by civil society groups (Civil Society Day) and the governmental groups (Governmental Days).

Participants tackled three themes, including Human capital development and labor mobility; Remittances and other diaspora resources; and Enhancing institutional and policy coherence and promoting partnerships.

IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, promote international cooperation on migration issues, assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people. - GMANews.TV

OFW remittances: A tool for dev't or a sign of underdevelopment? (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123701/OFW-remittances-A-tool-for-devt-or-a-sign-of-underdevelopment#)

ANGIE DE LARA, Migrant Watch, Bulatlat

Article posted September 29, 2008 - 02:35 PM

The Arroyo administration will host the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development this October. Bulatlat interviewed Jose Enrique Africa, research head of IBON Foundation, regarding overseas Filipino workers’ remittances and Philippine development.

Bulatlat: The BSP said that the Philippines is the 4th biggest remittance receiver in the world. How do the Filipino people benefit from this?

Africa: The Philippines is the largest among the most migrant- and remittance-dependent countries in the world. That so many millions of Filipinos are forced to go abroad and that the country is so dependent on remittances actually underscore the great failure of the government to build a solid domestic economy.

Of course, remittances are a tremendous help for OFWs and their families and remittances are a vital source of stable foreign exchange. But these should not be used to divert from the more important point of why the domestic economy remains so backward and why Filipinos are forced to go abroad in the first place.

The reason the economy remains so underdeveloped and jobs so scarce despite the globally unrivalled importance of overseas work and remittances is because these are not part of the solution but rather symptoms of the problem.

The problem is that domestic agriculture and industry are not being built, that foreign and domestic elites are the one benefiting from the country’s resources and labor, and that there is such severe economic and political inequality in the country.

Bulatlat: The Arroyo government said that the increase in remittances is due to increasing demand for labor of countries with aging population. Is this true?

Africa: It is true that many populations abroad are aging and so there is a relative increase in their need for new entrants into their workforces and even for nurses and caregivers to care for the aged.

But the more basic and principal reason that remittances are increasing is that more and more Filipinos are forced to go abroad and are desperate enough to work harder for less pay than others. And this is primarily because there are no decent opportunities in the country.

If Filipinos could find decent jobs in our country, they will stay and be near their families no matter how old foreign populations are.

Bulatlat: The Arroyo government noted an increasing number of highly-skilled professionals working abroad. Can you consider this development?

Africa: This is not true. Even if there are more higher-skilled professionals going abroad now, the number of low-skilled workers going abroad has also been increasing.

Total annual deployments of new hires increased from 1992 to 2006. From 1992-2001, the share of professional and technical workers generally rose from 27.7 percent at the start to 37.7 percent at the end of the period; conversely, the share of production workers fell from 36.5 to 22.0 percent.

The share of service workers was more or less stable. However, after 2001, the share of professional and technical workers started dropping and fell steeply to 13.4 percent in 2006.

On the other hand, the share of production workers rose significantly to 33.6 percent and that of service workers to 46.8 percent – where these two categories together account for over eight of ten deployments of newly-hired OFWs.

In the 1992-2006 period, over two-thirds of newly-hired OFWs were classified as service workers (37.7 percent) or production workers (30.7 percent) while over a quarter were classified as professional and technical workers (26.8 percent).

Nearly all of the “service workers" are accounted for by domestic helpers and other household workers, maids or cleaners in commercial establishments, cooks, waiters, bartenders, caregivers and caretakers; domestic helpers, in particular, account for over two-thirds of this skills classification.

“Production workers" are mainly in construction-related jobs with some factory-based work. “Professional and technical workers" are mainly health professionals and engineers although a substantial portion of these jobs are actually musicians, singers and dancers; musicians, singers and dancers accounted for nearly a fifth of “professional and technical workers" in 2006.

In any case, whether or not migrants are higher skilled or not is beside the point because we should not celebrate Filipinos being forced abroad, whether they are highly-skilled or not.

Bulatlat: The Arroyo government said that taxes paid, including those paid by OFWs, are used to finance infrastructure and to create employment.

Africa: First of all, the largest part of the national budget goes to debt service and to corruption. The single largest budget item taking up around 30 percent are interest payments on foreign and domestic debt. At the same time, some 20 percent of the national budget is lost to corruption, amounting to over US$2B annually – as had been estimated by the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and even a former speaker of the House of Representatives.

Secondly, that kind of reasoning also means that we can say that taxes are used to finance human rights violators through spending on the military which has been implicated in thousands of human rights violations.

Thirdly, if the government is really so concerned about generating employment then it should overhaul its economic policies much more than spend on likely graft- and corruption-ridden infrastructure projects.

Bulatlat: The Arroyo government said that OFW remittances are used by their families for their basic needs thus creating demand on goods and services. The Arroyo government further claims that this also translates into more jobs.

Africa: It is tragic that so many families have to depend on family members separating from them and going abroad just to support their basic needs. The so-called multiplier effect on the domestic economy is minimal however precisely because the economy is so backward to begin with.

The overwhelming bulk of goods purchased by families are actually imported because there is no substantial domestic manufacturing sector that can produce those goods. Factories have actually been closing down for lack of government support and because of reckless trade liberalization.

If the government wants to create jobs it should put a genuine policy of national industrialization in place because otherwise OFW demand for goods will not go to creating opportunities for local factories. As it is, the manufacturing sector has already lost 125,000 jobs from a year ago with only 2.9 million jobs in July 2008 from 3.1 million last year.

Bulatlat: The Arroyo government said remittances increase supply of foreign exchange. How does this benefit Filipinos?

Africa: The biggest beneficiaries from the foreign exchange supplied by OFWs are foreign creditors who get paid, transnational corporations (TNCs) who repatriate their profits, big foreign financial speculators, and TNCs in export enclaves. These account for the overwhelmingly largest portion of foreign payments that the country makes.

While it can be said that peasants also benefit because they use imported fertilizer, the deeper question is why they have to rely on imported fertilizer to begin with. While it can be said that workers also benefit because they cannot but consume imported products, the truth is that they do not really have that much income to spend.

Bulatlat: The government said remittances are harnessed for investments in human resource capital through education and health care for beneficiaries. The BSP said beneficiaries could go to private schools and hospitals instead of government-owned schools and hospitals. Please react to this.

Africa: The most basic point is that Filipinos have a right to decent public health and education services and should not have to buy these from privatized or profit-oriented institutions. Health and education should be available to all and not depend on whether or not a family can afford these.

The government is abdicating its responsibility and passing the burden on to OFWs. And it can also be asked who in the end will benefit most from these so-called “investments in human capital". If these Filipinos are likewise forced to go abroad then it is foreigners and foreign economies that will be the greatest beneficiaries.

Bulatlat: Remittances also go to physical capital investments through acquisition of real property including land purchases and home construction, said the BSP. Is this true?

Africa: Because Filipinos are so poor the largest part of OFW remittances goes to immediate and urgent consumption. And even if there are many OFWs able to buy real estate these are personal investments and not really investments in the productive capacity of the economy.

Bulatlat: Are remittances also used as capital? Do OFW beneficiaries also invest in business ventures such as in small and micro enterprises?

Africa: Small and micro enterprises do not just need capital, although this is certainly urgent, but also a supportive trade and investment environment. They should not just be provided with capital but also be allowed to grow under a protected trade regime and within a supportive investment environment. Thus, even if some part of OFW remittances are diverted to them, at the expense of families’ immediate consumption, they will still not prosper if there are no radical economic reforms.

Bulatlat: Do remittances create savings?

Africa: There will never be enough OFW savings to compensate for potential capital lost due to stunted domestic industry and agriculture, and for the hostile domestic economic environment for Filipinos due to reckless trade and investment liberalization.

Bulatlat: Can remittances be a tool for development?

Africa: Remittances can only be tool for development within the context of strategic and far-reaching policies of true agrarian reform and national industrialization. In the absence of these, the “remittances as a tool for development" mantra will just be hype to cover up the government’s severe economic failures. - Bulalat

RP to renegotiate OFW deployment deal with South Korea (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123754/RP-to-renegotiate-OFW-deployment-deal-with-South-Korea#)

Article posted September 29, 2008 - 05:21 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Representatives from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) are set to go to South Korea to renegotiate a deal for the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) there.

POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili said the representatives would leave the country within this week or next week to renegotiate a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with their counterparts in Seoul.

“Our MOU with them (South Korea) is set to expire so we are sending a team there," Manalili said in an interview with reporters on Monday.

According to Manalili, the talks with the South Korean government would also include the possible deployment of Filipino hotel service workers and information technology workers.

“Our quota for this year is 11,000 and we weren’t able to fill it up," Manalili said.

Manalili said the POEA was informed that South Korea needed overseas workers for its hotels and banks.

Carmelita Dimzon, newly installed chief of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, earlier said OWWA was in talks with South Korea for the deployment of hotel workers and IT personnel.

Dimzon also said South Korea needed English-speaking staff to work as frontline employees for its banks and hotels in Incheon. “They are opening the Incheon Metropolitan City for Filipino workers," she said.

In 2004, the Philippines and South Korea entered into a government-to-government recruitment of workers through the Employment Permit System (EPS) to correct the exorbitant mobilization costs that were being charged by private recruitment companies and their partner brokers in South Korea.

As of May 2008, a total of 20,476 Filipino workers were deployed to South Korea.

Korea currently implements EPS with countries that include Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan.

The EPA is the only means by which South Korean employers could legally hire overseas workers.

The POEA is the only government organization authorized to implement the EPS in the Philippines. - GMANews.TV

Filipino women enter lonely, difficult world of seafaring

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by MARIA ALETA O. NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/30/2008 1:04 PM

Filipino women are gradually finding jobs in the seafaring industry that has long been associated as a male turf.

“Women’s navigation into a male-dominated and hierarchical maritime industry has not been smooth sailing,” said journalism Prof. Lucia Tangi of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Tangi presented her research on “Pinays” On Board: An Exploratory Study on the Working Conditions of Filipino Women Seafarers, that examines the many problems faced by Filipino women seafarers while aboard a vessel.

“They have to face triple ‘tides’ as they navigate the world—as seafarers, as third world migrant workers and as women,” said Tangi.

Tangi’s study was presented during a forum held Monday afternoon at the UP College of Social Work and Community Development.

Other studies have been conducted in the past but mostly about male seafarers only.

“There hasn’t been any comprehensive study on the plight of women seafarers. I come from a women's studies discipline, we believe that women, they have different needs and on board, they also have to confront issues which might be different from men. There might be gender issues,” Tangi said.

She decided to tackle the plight confronting Filipina seafarers since the country is the biggest supplier of seafarers abroad.

“Last year, we deployed around 230,000 seafarers out of the 1.2 million seafarers worldwide,” she said.

Citing figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), she stated that the number of Filipino women seafarers rose by 2.7%, from 6,436 in 2006 to 6,619 in 2007. The number of their male counterparts, meanwhile, dropped by 2.6% to 216,874 in 2007 from 222,575 the previous year.

“In 2006, there were only about 25 officers of the total 6,619 women,” she said, adding that “most of the Filipino women seafarers are on board passenger ships or cruise liners.”

The many opportunities in shipboard employment also exposed female seafarers to various forms of discrimination, exploitation and sexual harassment.

Biases against women, she said, starts from the recruitment stage where women applicants are already judged based on their youthfulness and beauty.

Brain waste

Of the 12 women Tangi interviewed for her study, around 60% of them reportedly managed to finish college education but landed in the “non-professional” and “unskilled” jobs, which are below or unrelated to their educational background. The types of jobs open to women are the following: bartenders, aerobics instructors, waitress, utility, massage therapists, stewards, laundry and entertainers.

She shared that one utility woman she interviewed also takes on other jobs on the sideline after her shift to earn more money.

“She does the laundry of white crew members and earns additional $7 a week. Plus, she also cleans their cabin for $8-$10,” she said.

Another interviewee, a licensed physical therapist who used to work in a hospital, is now working as a massage therapist for luxury liners while there are also those who are employed as waitresses and bartenders despite finishing tourism courses.

Salary discrepancy

In terms of basic pay, Filipino women seafarers are paid lower than men. They are often assigned jobs that are “non-professional and non-technical in nature”.

Table: Types of jobs and salaries of Filipino women seafarers



(Data based on interviews with women seafarers by L. Tangi, 2008)

Table: Salaries of male-dominated jobs on board per type of vessel



(Figures based on data from various crewing agencies surveyed by L.Tangi, 2008)

Types of Jobs
Basic Salary
Total Pay with Tips

Bar Waitresses
US$800-US$1,000
US$2,000-US$4,500

Waitresses
US$800-US$1,000
US$2,000-US$4,500

Utility
US$688-US$800
US$688-US$800

Massage Therapist/Spa
US$50
US$1,000 – Asian route

US$1,500 – European Route

US$3,000 - $4,000 – North American Route

Position
Container
Dry Cargo
Oil/Chemical

Master
US$5,200-US$6,700
US$5,900-US$7,700
US$9,200-US$10,900

Chief Engineer
US$5,100-US$6,650
US$5,800-US$7,600
US$9,100-US$10,800

Chief Officer
US$4,100-US$5,075
US$4,900-US$5,900
US$7,400-US$8,400

Tangi also found out that women seafarers works longer hours, despite the standards already set by the POEA in the contract, depending on the types of jobs that they perform.

“The minimum wage and the working hours should also cover these women,” Tangi said. The interviewees also claimed of not having any day off.

Sexual harassment takes the form of a sexist remark, sexual advances and sex-related behavior. Complaints have yet to be filed or even reach the courts, making it hard to determine its frequency. They said they learned about this issue from orientation seminars.

Some Filipino women seafarers devised their own protection mechanisms to prevent them from being sexual harassment victims. Among their survival tips are:

learning to say no;
don’t visit seniors/supervisors during off-duty hours;
feel like you are one of the boys;
don’t drink alcoholic beverages with the boys;
don’t drink anything which is not sealed/ previously opened beverages;
keep yourself unattractive;
don’t shave your underarm;
don’t brush in the morning;
keep hair very short; and,
look for a protector.
“Issues on pregnancies on board, malaking issue din yan,” she said. Once a pregnancy is confirmed by a doctor, her contract would be automatically terminated. The shipping company pays for her return ticket and will receive a two-month salary.

“My call is empowerment of women in the seafaring industry. You can do this by providing more scholarships for women,” she said.

Recommendations

Some of her recommendations derived from the interviewed seafarers, captains and crewing agencies include:

• Adopt non-discriminatory policy in the recruitment of women and male seafarers;
• Shipowners claim that they are an Equal Opportunities Employer the same should be fully implemented by crewing agencies;
• Seafarers should not be compelled to undergo AIDS test; RA 8504 clearly states that AIDS testing should be voluntary and imposes penalties on violators;
• A minimum wage should also be set for passenger personnel; tips should not be counted as salary but as tokens from customers/passengers;
• “Equal Pay for Equal Work “ principle should be adopted -- similar to the spirit of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the United States;
• Push for an industry-wide policy on maternity benefits;
• Proper documentation of cases should be done;
• Shipowners/ crewing agencies/unions should encourage victims to file cases in court to deter sexual harassment on board;
• Sexual harassment should be a ground for banning shipboard employment (POEA rules on seafarers)
• Gender sensitivity training should be included in the curriculum of maritime schools.

as of 09/30/2008 1:04 PM

OFWs’ ‘practical strategies’ to save them from US crunch - business exec (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/124050/OFWs-practical-strategies-to-save-them-from-US-crunch---business-exec#)

Article posted September 30, 2008 - 10:47 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Because of their “practical investment strategies," overseas Filipino workers (OFW) would not likely be affected by the US economic recession, a business leader said on Tuesday.

According to Guillermo Luz, executive vice president of the Ayala Foundation, Inc and member of the Makati Business Club, many OFWs choose to put their hard-earned money in “consumption type of investment" and not in stock markets.

“I don’t see may OFWs putting their investment in vulnerable sectors like the stock market so they won’t take a direct hit there," said Luz.

“They’re putting money on houses to live in it not for investment so it’s not speculative," he added.

Luz also said the upward trend in OFW remittances reflected the fact that Filipinos had nothing yet to fear.

Remittances from Filipinos abroad surged 30 percent in June to US$1.5 billion — the highest monthly inflow since 1989.

The June figure brought the six-month remittance level to US$8.2 billion, up 17.2 percent from the same period a year ago. Central bank Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr said the sustained rise in the number of Filipinos seeking employment overseas contributed to the robust figures.

Some 8 million Filipinos — or nearly 10 percent of the population of about 90 million — work overseas. Last year, they sent home US$14.45 billion.

“I think Filipinos will continue remitting despite times of crisis as what can be seen in the trend. That explains why remittances have not gone down," Luz said. - MARK JOSEPH H. UBALDE, GMANews.TV

Alberta opens doors to OFWs

DoLE, Canadian province sign MoU

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:30:00 10/01/2008


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Close this MANILA, Philippines -- The Canadian province of Alberta has opened its doors to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

The agreement, signed by Labor Secretary Marianito Roque and Alberta Minister of Employment and Immigration Hector Goudreau, will allow Filipino doctors, engineers, nurses, and other professionals to work in the Canadian province.

This is the fourth such MoU signed with a Canadian province; the others were with Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Manitoba.

"The MoUs with the four Canadian provinces underscore our efforts at ensuring that Filipino workers seeking overseas employment are afforded ample protection from unscrupulous illegal recruiters and exploitative employers overseas," Roque said.

The MoU also seeks to ensure that the Philippine workers’ training and credentials are recognized in Alberta and meet the Canadian province’s occupational standards.

It commits to the "ethical recruitment, selection, and protection and skills development" of OFWs who will be deployed there, but did not specify the number of workers to be hired.

Deployment would have to meet not just Philippine and Alberta laws, but also those of international bodies. Among these is that no recruitment fees will be charged the worker.

"All recruitment costs related to the hiring of OFWs under the MoU shall be covered by the employers in Canada. This means that neither the employment agency in Canada nor the recruitment or sending agency in the Philippines is allowed to charge any recruitment fees in any form from OFWs bound for Alberta," the labor chief said.

Roque said OFWs who wish to work in Alberta still need to apply through recruitment agencies authorized to recruit for Canada.

To actualize the MoU, both parties will establish a working committee tasked to coordinate activities on their shared priorities.

For the Philippines, the labor department will develop mechanisms to facilitate the deployment of qualified OFWs to Alberta, including those living outside the Philippines.

As a start, Alberta employers who wish to recruit OFWs working temporarily outside the Philippines are encouraged to course their manpower requests through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the country where the OFWs are located.

Many OFWs in the Middle East, particularly professionals, use their experience there as jump-off points for jobs in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Government statistics show that as of December 2007, there are 462,935 Filipinos in Canada, 410,626 of who are permanent residents, 49,309 temporary, and around 3,000 irregular.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20081001-164013/Alberta-opens-doors-to-OFWs

what the hell is happening with PRC? A friend of mine is waiting already for several weeks for his license to be signed by the officers. He even went to see already the legal dep't there and inquire but he was just told that the people who would sign are always absent, WFT! They're taking part time jobs!

So no one could do something about this? Where can someone complain about this? My friend is afraid that if he complain his license would be more delayed.

^^Sad this is the current state of things in many if not all of our government agencies. Jurassic talaga yang PRC na yan, high blood talaga aabutin mo sa mga sistema dyan. hindi ko malaman kung saan napupunta yung mga perang pumapasok sa kanila at hindi pa nila magawang gawing electronic yung mga transactions. Sana dumating yung time na Online na ang pagkuha ng lisensya...:ohno:

^^yeah really sad. and you know what it turns 1 month already yesterday of waiting and a friend return to the province still without his license, really nice huh:ohno:

i jsut hope we could demand drastic changes in our gov't offices now. filipinos, ofw's in particular, or anyone else do not deserve such mediocre services.

^^yeah really sad. and you know what it turns 1 month already yesterday of waiting and a friend return to the province still without his license, really nice huh:ohno:

i jsut hope we could demand drastic changes in our gov't offices now. filipinos, ofw's in particular, or anyone else do not deserve such mediocre services.

The new PRC Chairman is planning to transfer the office somewhere in Macapagal Boulevard area. The current building is just too old, although they put airconditioning units inside the building but not much space for parking and it's just too crowded.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/events/images/central_park_pumpkin_festival_2008.gif

^^ last time i was in the PRC, those from the provinces were given higher priority when it comes to releasing requested docs/licenses...
... i wonder what changed :?

i just dont know if this is the right thread for me to post this articles:

heres the line from Terry Hatcher of Desperate Housewives:
The Scene

When Susan, played by actress Terri Hatcher, was told by her doctor that she might be hitting menopause, she remarked,

“Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines?”


The writer and producer already made an apology, here it is:
The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios already issued a public apology for the September 30 Desperate Housewives episode that offended the Filipino medical community. The apology was sent to ABS-CBN’s bureau in the United States and aired in ANC:

“The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines.

As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programs.”

Filipino Americans demand for apology from ABC and Desperate Housewives

To: ABC
To the producers of "Desperate Housewives" and ABC:

We are writing to express concern and hurt about a racially-discriminatory comment made in an episode of Desperate Housewives on 9/30/07. In a scene in which Susan was told by her gynecologist that she might be hitting menopause, she replied, "Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines."

As members and allies of the Filipino American community, we are writing to inform you that this type of derogatory remark was discriminatory and hurtful, and such a comment was not necessary to maintain any humor in the show. Additionally, a statement that devalues Filipinos in healthcare is extremely unfounded, considering the overwhelming presence of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the medical field. Filipinos are the second largest immigrant population in the United States, with many entering the U.S. (and successfully passing their U.S. licensing boards!) as doctors, nurses, and medical technicians. In fact, the Philippines produces more U.S. nurses than any other country in the world. So, to belittle the education, experience, or value of Filipino Americans in health care is extremely disrespectful and plain and simply ignorant. Many of the hospitals in major metropolitan areas of the U.S. (and the world) would not be able to operate without its Filipino and Filipino American staff members.

As Filipino Americans and allies, we band together to ensure that this type of hateful message should not be allowed to continue on our television and radio airwaves. Given the recent amounts of media attention that has been given to Michael Richards (against African Americans), Isaiah Washington (against gays), and Rosie O'Donnell (against Asian/ Chinese Americans), it is ridiculous that this type of hateful speech made it through various screenwriters, the show's producers, the show's actors, and ABC itself.

We demand a public apology to the Filipino American community, and we demand the episode be edited to remove the ignorant and racist remark. We will not allow hateful messages against our community (or any other oppressed community) to continue.


Sincerely,

The Undersigned

----------------------------:)
whoever are you (filipino americans/ filipinos) who wrote this petition to ABC and the Staff of Desperate Housewives...from the bottom of my Heart THAK YOU very much!:applause:

heres the scene:
Jb4thLBKkm4&feature=related

^^ That Desperate Housewives fiasco is old news....we've moved on....

^^ That Desperate Housewives fiasco is old news....we've moved on....

talaga? i expect you to comment on this since you are based there...so what happened? did they give public apology???
the good thing is filipinos and filipino americans there are "alive" or shall i say news oriented...:)

^^ i don't understand why pinoys and flip are so sensitive. we make fun or arabs, blacks and chinese but when its our turn to be laugh at we have all this protests.

Ont: my america experience was great. i was able to go to mayo clinic and met some of the doctors there. almost 40% of the nurses are all filipinos. mostly white americans are corteous (atleast in minnesota) unlike what we percieved from american television.

US feds sue CNMI companies for discriminating against Filipino employees (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/126260/US-feds-sue-CNMI-companies-for-discriminating-against-Filipino-employees#)

Article posted October 10, 2008 - 12:48 PM
MANILA, Philippines - A United States federal agency filed lawsuits against companies in the US territory Commonwealth of Northern Marianas (CNMI) for allegedly discriminating against Filipino employees, an online site said on Friday.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit against Tan Holdings and its sister companies for violating federal laws by discriminating against employees because of their Filipino descent.

The EEOC is in charge of enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation.

According to the Marianas Variety, the EEOC filed two lawsuits in federal court on September 26 against Tan Holdings and its sister firms Concorde Garment Manufacturing Corp., Micro Pacific Inc., Seasonal Inc., and Tan Holdings Overseas, Inc.

EEOC’s statement said the first case involved an employee of L & T Group of Companies, owned by Tan Holdings, who had to endure discriminatory comments related to being a Filipino. It said the employee was ultimately discharged based on his age and national origin.

The second lawsuit also involved Filipino employees who said they were discriminated upon and “unlawfully" discharged for being pregnant and Filipino.

According to the EEOC, Tan Holdings discriminates against its employees in assigning overtime, specifically by allowing its Chinese employees to do “substantial" overtime while depriving Filipino employees of any.

Moreover, it said the company has always been involved in terminating or refusing to renew the employment contracts of pregnant employees.

Tan Holdings legal counsel Steven Pixley told Marianas Variety that the EEOC statement contained “sensational, misleading and deceptive information."

“It is unfortunate that the EEOC has elected to try its case in the court of public opinion by issuing a press release which contains sensational, misleading and deceptive information," he was quoted by the paper as saying.

Pixley further said L&T and its sister companies “are proud of their long-standing policy of compliance with the laws that the EEOC is supposed to enforce."

“We look forward to trying these cases in a court of law. We are confident that once the true facts are presented in court, we will prevail," he said.

Meanwhile, the EEOC remained firm with its stand on the company’s conduct.

“Regardless of the turbulent economic climate, employers cannot engage in discriminatory conduct. It is counterproductive to the economy and also violates federal law," said EEOC’s regional attorney Ann Park in the report.

“The EEOC will continue to protect and ensure equal employment opportunity for all Americans, regardless of where they work, what they may earn or their employment status," said Timothy Riera, director of EEOC’s Honolulu office, in the same report. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

^^ last time i was in the PRC, those from the provinces were given higher priority when it comes to releasing requested docs/licenses...
... i wonder what changed :?

really? so is there any SOP how long can the documents be released? and any windows for complaints for this inutile gov't employees?

^^ actually, i was accompanying a friend who requested for renewal of her license a few years back... (:shifty:)

anyway, what i remembered was that an applicant was given a specific period of time (processing time) after submitting the request within which to claim the doc/license requested and the date of release was prominently stamped on a claim stub that should be presented upon claiming...

i seem to recall that applicants from the provinces and OFWs were given only a period of days to claim while all others have to wait for weeks... i'm not really sure about the periods but what i remembered was there was a system followed for releasing of requested docs/licenses and one didn't have to wait indefinitely :) the system should have gotten better... not worse :ohno:

Global financial crisis will hit OFWs hardest
(http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/1010&112008/headlines02.html)
By Jennifer A. Ng
Reporter


THE current crisis gripping global financial markets will hit the country’s overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) the hardest and may cause OFW remittances to fall, a labor expert from the University of the Philippines (UP) said on Thursday.

Dr. Rene Ofreneo, professor and former dean of the UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Solair), said the government’s goal of sending out 1 million OFWs a year under the 2004-2010 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) will not be met as investor and consumer confidence will decline due to the financial meltdown.

“The Philippines is very vulnerable to the crisis and the No. 1 [sector] that will be hit is the OFWs,” Ofreneo told a forum in Quezon City.

The fact that the crisis is widespread and will spare no market where OFWs are usually deployed is proving to be problematic for Filipino laborers, he said.

With the anticipated decline in the number of OFWs to be deployed, remittances are also seen to suffer. He noted that one-fourth of all OFW remittances come from North America.

“A decline in remittances will then cause consumption spending to slow. Restaurants will be hit, and consumer goods,” said Ofreneo.

The UP labor expert said even the government’s goal of creating 1 million jobs every year is now under threat, as most of the firms in the business process outsourcing (BPOs) sector are servicing the overseas financial sector.

To enable the Philippines to weather the financial crisis, Ofreneo said the government should now adopt a different develop paradigm.

“Where do you go? You go back to the internal economy. You now have to rely on internal strengths. We now have to revive our local industries and our agriculture sector,” he said. “It’s time to go back to basics.”

101 East - Labour of Love (Oct 9, 2008)
An estimated 10 million Filipinos provide much needed labour around the world. On this edition of 101 East we ask to what extent are overseas remittances helping or hurting the Philippines?

part1
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part 2
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Filipino workers struggle amid economic downturn - 10 Oct 08
In the Philippines, many families survive on money sent back by relatives with jobs abroad.

Known as OFW's or overseas Filipino workers, potentially millions of them face losing their jobs, thanks to the global downturn.

Marga Ortigas reports form Manila.
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Remittances seen to fall by yearend, govt admits (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/127043/Remittances-seen-to-fall-by-yearend-govt-admits)
10/14/2008 | 08:43 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Funds sent home by Filipinos working abroad may decline for the latter part of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said (BSP), echoing recent announcements made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Remittance growth may slow to 15 percent from 18 percent for the second half of the year, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla said. He recognized that the effects of the credit crunch felt at both sides of the Atlantic Ocean will affect Filipinos working in various cities from Milan to Miami.

“Our original projection was 10 percent anyway and we’re already ahead of the projection as of July," Espenilla said. “But of course now factoring in the impact of what’s happening in host countries, we’re now estimating some slowing down. On a yearly basis, that’s 15 percent and it’s still pretty decent."

Despite lower projections, remittances would still significantly form part of the country’s foreign exchange reserves, Espenilla said. Half of the country’s dollar reserves—projected to hit anywhere from $36 billion to $37 billion—are from remittances.

He added that remittances “will remain resilient" because Filipinos who send money home are employed in rich countries unaffected by the credit crunch.

Filipinos continue to seek their fortunes in the oil-rich economies of Middle East, which remain safe from the effects of the credit crunch.

Espenilla also said that remittances from the US would also be safe since these usually come from health professionals whose employment would not be affected by the slowdown.

From January to July this year, remittances from an estimated eight million overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) have reached $9.608 billion, 18.2 percent higher than the inflows recorded in the same period last year.

Ever since the beginning of the new millennium, remittances—which benefit at least 40 million residents at home—have increased by ten percent annually but that trend may end this year.

In a Washington, DC press conference held last week, IMF Deputy Director Charles Collyns was quoted to have said that “economies like the Philippines, and also in Central America, the Caribbean, perhaps in emerging Europe as well, will be affected by slowing inflows from remittances, in a similar way to slowing demand for their export goods." - GMANews.TV

RP's reliance on OFW funds means economy is in ‘constant crisis’ – group (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/127028/RPs-reliance-on-OFW-funds-means-economy-is-in-constant-crisis--group#)

Article posted October 14, 2008 - 07:32 PM
MANILA, Philippines - The continued reliance of the Arroyo administration on the multi-million dollar remittance from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) is a sign that the Philippine economy is “in constant crisis," according to leftist umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

Renato Reyes Jr, Bayan secretary-general, says the Philippines continues to deploy Filipinos abroad and overly depends on OFW remittance and foreign investments “because it has no developed industry or agriculture" to provide jobs to its citizens.

“While OFW remittances are the life-buoy of the Philippine economy, they are also an ominous sign that all is not well with the domestic economy. Mass migration shows that the Philippine economy is incapable of generating jobs in local industry and agriculture. The more dependent we are on OFW remittances, the weaker the domestic economy likely is," Reye said.

Reyes says the administration cannot forever buoy the domestic economy by relying on OFW remittance because migrant Filipinos are often times vulnerable to external economic shocks such as the US-led global credit crunch.

“The myth that the country has strong economic fundamentals is increasingly being exposed by the OFW phenomenon. Their remittances keep afloat an economy that is permanently in crisis. Take away the remittances and the country loses (multi-million dollar) worth of foreign exchange…," Reyes said.

Total remittance from an estimated eight million OFW in 2007 stood at P14.45 billion, which benefited about 40 million residents in the Philippines, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The said amount could feed 969, 408 Filipinos in a year based on the government’s latest annual per capita poverty threshold of P14,906. Poverty threshold refers to the minimum level of income necessary for adequate standard of living.

Ateneo de Manila University economist Dr Fernando Aldaba earlier described high remittances as a “double-edged sword."

“While remittances are good for the economy in improving industries like telecoms and real estate, there is a tendency for too much dependence," Aldaba said.

At least 9.3 percent of Filipinos working overseas are in the Americas, National Statistics Office data showed. Other OFWs who are also major sources of remittances work in the United Arab Emirate, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada.

Bayan said the global financial crisis should serve as a wake-up call for economic planners about the failures of “neo-liberal globalization as the path to so-called development."

“For so long we were told that opening up the Philippine economy to foreign investors, liberalizing finance and exporting our labor force to foreign countries, would serve economic development. The economic planners were wrong. The current global crisis is a verdict on that failed economic path," Reyes said.

“There is no substitute to setting up our own basic industries and developing our agriculture to meet the growing needs of our people. We need to develop and protect our economy, including our valued labor force," he added. - GMANews.TV

^^ Bayan, a leftist group, can easily criticize but what is their recommendation for advancement to our economy??? Puro nalang criticize! :bash: meron ba silang specific actions to resolve or address the issues being raised?

OFW beheaded in Jeddah -- DFA

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:47:00 10/14/2008

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 2) An overseas Filipino worker convicted of killing a Saudi national was beheaded by sword 10 a.m. Saudi time (around 3 p.m. Philippine time) Tuesday in Jeddah, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Saudi’s highest court, the Supreme Judicial Council, affirmed on April 21 the death sentence on Jenifer Bidoya, also known as Venancio Ladion, after a lower court found him guilty of killing the Saudi national, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said.

This despite appeals made by the lawyer hired by the Philippine consulate general in Jeddah to represent Bidoya before the emir of Makkah, the governor of Jeddah, and the minister of interior.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo even wrote two letters to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, on December 6, 2007 and another on July 7, 2008 requesting clemency for Bidoya, Conejos said.

"However, in spite of these efforts, the victim's family was adamant in refusing to forgive Bidoya and insisted on their right to quisas or the imposition of equivalent penalty," he said.

Conejos explained that under Sharia law, the crime of murder entails both public and private liability.

"While the King of Saudi Arabia can forgive the public rights aspect of the case, he cannot extend clemency if the victim's family insists on their right of quisas as they did on this case," he said.

Conejos said the DFA has already informed the family of Bidoya of the execution and was coordinating with the labor department on how to extend assistance to his family.

A total of 153 people were executed in 2007 in the kingdom, which applies a strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law.

This figure compared with 37 beheaded in 2006, and the previous record number of 113 executions in 2000.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry the death penalty in the ultra-conservative Gulf country, where executions are usually carried out in public. With Agence France-Presse

Remittances up 10.4% in August
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 13:16:00 10/15/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Money sent home by Filipinos working abroad rose to $1.3 billion in August, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.

This brought remittances for the first eight months of the year to $10.9 billion, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier.

The bank said the global financial slowdown could put the brakes on the growth of remittances, particularly from Filipinos working in advanced countries.

However, the central bank expects remittances to "continue to provide strong support to the economy," which is forecast to grow at a much slower pace compared to the 30-year high 7.2-percent growth last year.

The central bank said some 885,000 Filipinos left the country to work abroad in the first eight months of the year, up 26.4 percent from the level a year ago. Most of them were deployed to the Middle East, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The central bank expects overseas worker remittances to hit a record $15.9 billion this year, up 10 percent from 2007.

I hope there's some basic financial education for OFWs during PDOs. Basic such as how to save and protect their money and how to make simple investment. I have met a DH here yesterday asking for help. She had been working her ass here 24 hrs/7 days a week for several years and then when she took vacation in the Philippines just this week she was shock that she don't have any money left. She had been remitting her money to their joint account with her sister but her sister spend it all. She was crying really hard. I really pity her but I can't do anything also so i just advise her to save again but this time she have to open her own account and don't let anyone in her family know it.

I think this case is not only happening with few OFW but to many OFW. So i hope there's some basic education before they left the country so that their hard earned money and sacrifices would not be wasted.

I hope there's some basic financial education for OFWs during PDOs. Basic such as how to save and protect their money and how to make simple investment.

I think this case is not only happening with few OFW but to many OFW. So i hope there's some basic education before they left the country so that their hard earned money and sacrifices would not be wasted.

Indeed. Some OFWs should be taught to really manage their finances.

A recent survey of a prominent PR firm showed that OFWs spend most of their money on luxurious items such as expensive gadgets (i.e. ipod, LCDs, cellphones, condominiums, SUVs etc).

They should be taught how to invest wisely their hard earn money in productive purposes with good return of investments...

August remittances up 10.4% at $1.3B (http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20081016-166608/August-remittances-up-104-at-13B)
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:29:00 10/16/2008
Money sent home by overseas Filipinos through banks grew 10.4 percent year-on-year in August, the slowest pace in four months, as the world stood on the brink of a major economic downturn.

The latest report of the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows the growth in remittances fell sharply from 24.64 percent in July but still in line with the BSP’s conservative estimate of a 10-percent increase for the full year.

The cash inflow amounted to $1.3 billion in August, bringing total remittances for the eight-month period to nearly $11 billion, up 17.2 percent from a year ago. The money came largely from Filipinos based in the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

While the ongoing global economic slowdown could put some dent on the growth of remittances, particularly from developed countries reeling from the global financial shakeout that began in Wall Street, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said remittances would continue to provide a strong buffer to the domestic economy.

He said overseas demand for Filipino labor remained robust, citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showing that new deployment increased 26.4 percent in the first eight months from a year ago. The number of Filipinos deployed reached 884,907 during the January-to-August period.

“Newly hired Filipinos were mostly deployed to the Middle East and Asia,” Espenilla said, citing countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Ongoing talks with potential foreign employers combined with the increasing deployment of highly skilled and higher-paid Filipino workers—such as engineers, medical practitioners, production-related workers and hotel staff—continued to buoy demand for Filipino manpower and the level of remittances, he reported.

Espenilla also pointed out that overseas Filipinos and their families were gaining greater access to enhanced banking services provided by local banks and their foreign counterparts.

“The increased access to formal channels by overseas Filipinos has been made possible by the establishment of more remittance centers and tie-ups abroad by local banks,” Espenilla added.

The BSP sees remittances from overseas Filipinos growing 15 percent this year, still ahead of its original target but slower than the actual expansion during the months prior to the global financial meltdown in September.

Given expectations of a major global downturn next year, Espenilla said overseas Filipinos would likely send less money to local households but noted it was still possible to hit a double-digit growth.

“Even if you assume it goes down by 10 percent, that’s still in excess of $1.2 billion a month,” Espenilla said.

Filipino teachers thrive in America's toughest schools (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/10/22/08/filipino-teachers-thrive-americas-toughest-schools)

RODNEY J. JALECO / ABS-CBN NORTH AMERICA NEWS BUREAU | 10/22/2008 1:00 PM

BALTIMORE CITY, Maryland -- Isabela Mangonon still remembers the scene clearly.

She was teaching an English class when a troubled student decided he didn’t want to listen anymore. The student stood up and tried to leave the room, which prompted Mangonon to call him back and ask that he return to his seat. The student then grabbed Isabela's shoulder but was pulled off by school cops who prevented the scene from turning uglier.

“We talked it out. It was an internal problem. They just pulled the kid from my class. I still see him around and greet him ‘Hi Ian, how are you?’ But he would answer ‘I don’t know you!' So I say ‘OK, thank you,'” Isabela tells ABS-CBN’s Balitang America with a smile.

Isabela is a teacher at the Dr. Samuel Banks High School in Baltimore City. Her 27-year-old daughter Anne is also a teacher, working at nearby Thurgood Marshall High School. Anne narrates that she once stepped out of the school at the end of her class and witnessed a shootout at the school’s parking lot. She dropped on all fours until the shooting stopped.

It was only later at home that she noticed a bullet hole in her car.

Lara Tan, 28, is a newbie teacher at a Baltimore City high school for the past three months. She says one of the first things she noticed were the metal detectors students pass through everyday on their way to their classrooms.

Lara, Isabela and Anne are just three of about 600 Filipino teachers recruited by the Baltimore City public school system since 2005. By most accounts, it’s one of the toughest teaching jobs in America. Two Filipino teachers were driven to commit suicide although peers say it was not totally a result of pressure at work. But all agree that teaching in Baltimore schools is physically, mentally and emotionally draining.

Longing for love

Anne says her experience at Thurgood Marshall High School is a far cry from her beginnings at the Montessori School in Greenhills, San Juan where she used to teach.

"Mahirap sa una. Iiyak ka pero kapag nakasanayan mo na, natutunan mo na sistema ng school, ng city, ng mga bata, ang kultura nila, OK ka na," she says.

[It's hard at first. You'd cry at first but when you get used to the school system, the city, the kids and their culture, you'll be OK.]

She agrees Baltimore City is one of the most difficult places for a teacher.

“The root cause is the family. Most of the students have single parents or come from broken families. They have many stepfathers. You’ll see in my class record there are brothers but they have different surnames. Pagdating sa bahay lagi sila nasisigawan, walang pagkain, binubugbog(When they get home, they scream at each other. They have no food and get beat up),” she said.

Anne says the tense family situations lead to a lot of pent-up hostility and resentment that surfaces in school and taints how the kids deal with authority figures.

The Baltimore City public school system recently mounted an outreach for over 900 high school students who dropped out at the start of the year. They include students with failed grades, are pregnant or care for children, or just lost interest in going to school.

“You have to show them you’re not here only to be a teacher, rather you care too. Parang sa atin, natutunan natin mahalin mga estudyante natin, nagke-care tayo kung ano magiging sila pagkatapos sa classroom mo, ganun din dito. Pakita mo nandun ang pagmamahal mo sa kanila, na hindi nararanasan sa bahay nila. Mga Filipino caring talaga,” she says.

“These kids long for love,” adds Isabela.

Underfunded school system

Baltimore City public schools have blazed trails for years. They were the first to implement racial integration before it became mandatory; the first to ban prayer in public schools and opened the first all-girl’s public high school in the US. Balitmore City also hosts the third oldest high school in America.

But Baltimore City is also among the most underfunded school systems in America. They came under added pressure when US President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that called for students to meet certain educational criteria, among others.

Reeling from a severe budget deficit at the turn of the decade, the Baltimore City public school system took out a loan, which they managed to repay in two years. Still, there is continuing controversy over its practice of “emergency contracts” that allows them to recruit teachers out of state, including those hired from the Philippines.

These teachers are deemed crucial for the city public school system to meet new Maryland state-wide targets including passing high school assessment (HSA) scores in Algebra, English, Government and Biology to graduate from high school.

Culture shock

Isabela says that the first time she came to Maryland, she was astounded by the attitude of her students.

“Noong una pinapatulan ko sila kasi nahu-hurt ako. Eventually, napag-aralan ko hindi pala dapat ganun ang approach. Na-realize ko I have to change," she says.

[The first few times, I would fight it out because I was offended. Eventually, I learned that my approach should change. I realized that I have to change.]

When her students would get rowdy, she said she would mimic their accents, yell "What ya say?" and get their attention.

“I tell them, 'You Americans speak wrong English.' Inu-unawa ko na lang sila. Minsan nadadala sa ganyan. Minsan naman kapag nag-iisa na, kinakausap ko(I try to understand them and sometimes, it works. Other times, I talk to them when they're alone),” Isabela said.

A former head of the Filipino Department at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Isabela carries 26 years of teaching experience in PUP and another eight years in private schools. She has several academic degrees under her belt and is the treasurer of the Filipino Educators of Maryland.

As part of the second wave of teachers from the Philippines in 2005, Isabela feels she has been given a unique view of how the Baltimore school system works. After all, she is one of the few teachers who came to Baltimore City under a J-1 or teacher exchange visa.

“At first, I felt disrespected. I felt there was discrimination because of my race, because I am Filipino. One student even said: ‘You Filipinos come here to steal our dollars’ but I said: 'Don’t say that. I’m here only because I was invited to teach. I said I was offered a scholarship by the Baltimore school system, that’s why I grabbed the opportunity," she said.

Earning respect

Nowadays, Isabela feels that she has earned the respect that she didn't get when she first came to teach at Baltimore.

"May kaunting respeto na, hindi tulad dati, hindi ako nakaramdam ng respect. [There's some respect now, not like before when I didn't get any respect.] The kids know me now. Even if I teach Grade 9, I also get to handle classes in Grade 11 and 12 when they ask me to substitute. I don't mind," she says.

Isabela says school authorities have developed a liking for Filipino teachers. “What they like about Filipino teachers is that everytime they ask us to do something, we do it. We just obey. Some of the local teachers don't do that," she says.

Lara says one change in teaching style that she had to adopt was meeting school norms at West Baltimore High School. "In the Philippines, you have the freedom to use the best strategy to teach your kids. It's different here, you have to follow the standard set by the state or city even if it's difficult. You have to make do and make sure that the kids are learning."

Lara says she decided to work in the US for professional advancement. She says she was also bored in her previous job as a teacher in Marikina. The pay, she insists, came a distant third in her decision to go to the US but adds that: "At my age, I also want to save."

Isabela says the first batch of Filipino teachers who came to Baltimore made a good impression on local school officials. She said the school system overhired 150 Filipino teachers this year but allowed them to stay instead of sending them back to the Philippines.

“Nag-uusap-usap kaming mga teachers na dapat galingan natin [We talk among ourselves that we should do good], to do our best, to always be on time. Sa awa ng Diyos, marami sa amin proficient ang rating [By God's grace, a lot of us have proficient ratings],” she said.

Isabela recently earned her advanced professional certificate, which makes her a tenured and certified Baltimore City public school teacher. She is scheduled to return to Manila in December to lecture to fellow teachers at the Maricaban Elementary School in Pasay City.

She also says she is unafraid of the possibility of not going back to Baltimore City school because of the US financial crisis. After all, she feels that many Filipino teachers are "recession-proof" and could even keep the door open for other Filipino teachers to go to the US.

“To be honest, I've noticed that a lot of local teachers here are not as patient. Some resign in the middle of the school year because teaching here is very stressful. We Filipinos are used to stress. Tayo namang Filipino sanay na sa hirap. Kaya yung naipunla nating kahirapan madadala natin sa tagumpay (We Filipinos are used to hardship. That seed of working hard will lead us to success)." she said.

Filipino teachers thrive in America's toughest schools (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/10/22/08/filipino-teachers-thrive-americas-toughest-schools)

RODNEY J. JALECO / ABS-CBN NORTH AMERICA NEWS BUREAU | 10/22/2008 1:00 PM

BALTIMORE CITY, Maryland -- Isabela Mangonon still remembers the scene clearly.

She was teaching an English class when a troubled student decided he didn’t want to listen anymore. The student stood up and tried to leave the room, which prompted Mangonon to call him back and ask that he return to his seat. The student then grabbed Isabela's shoulder but was pulled off by school cops who prevented the scene from turning uglier.

“We talked it out. It was an internal problem. They just pulled the kid from my class. I still see him around and greet him ‘Hi Ian, how are you?’ But he would answer ‘I don’t know you!' So I say ‘OK, thank you,'” Isabela tells ABS-CBN’s Balitang America with a smile.

Isabela is a teacher at the Dr. Samuel Banks High School in Baltimore City. Her 27-year-old daughter Anne is also a teacher, working at nearby Thurgood Marshall High School. Anne narrates that she once stepped out of the school at the end of her class and witnessed a shootout at the school’s parking lot. She dropped on all fours until the shooting stopped.

It was only later at home that she noticed a bullet hole in her car.

Lara Tan, 28, is a newbie teacher at a Baltimore City high school for the past three months. She says one of the first things she noticed were the metal detectors students pass through everyday on their way to their classrooms.

Lara, Isabela and Anne are just three of about 600 Filipino teachers recruited by the Baltimore City public school system since 2005. By most accounts, it’s one of the toughest teaching jobs in America. Two Filipino teachers were driven to commit suicide although peers say it was not totally a result of pressure at work. But all agree that teaching in Baltimore schools is physically, mentally and emotionally draining.

Longing for love

Anne says her experience at Thurgood Marshall High School is a far cry from her beginnings at the Montessori School in Greenhills, San Juan where she used to teach.

"Mahirap sa una. Iiyak ka pero kapag nakasanayan mo na, natutunan mo na sistema ng school, ng city, ng mga bata, ang kultura nila, OK ka na," she says.

[It's hard at first. You'd cry at first but when you get used to the school system, the city, the kids and their culture, you'll be OK.]

She agrees Baltimore City is one of the most difficult places for a teacher.

“The root cause is the family. Most of the students have single parents or come from broken families. They have many stepfathers. You’ll see in my class record there are brothers but they have different surnames. Pagdating sa bahay lagi sila nasisigawan, walang pagkain, binubugbog(When they get home, they scream at each other. They have no food and get beat up),” she said.

Anne says the tense family situations lead to a lot of pent-up hostility and resentment that surfaces in school and taints how the kids deal with authority figures.

The Baltimore City public school system recently mounted an outreach for over 900 high school students who dropped out at the start of the year. They include students with failed grades, are pregnant or care for children, or just lost interest in going to school.

“You have to show them you’re not here only to be a teacher, rather you care too. Parang sa atin, natutunan natin mahalin mga estudyante natin, nagke-care tayo kung ano magiging sila pagkatapos sa classroom mo, ganun din dito. Pakita mo nandun ang pagmamahal mo sa kanila, na hindi nararanasan sa bahay nila. Mga Filipino caring talaga,” she says.

“These kids long for love,” adds Isabela.

Underfunded school system

Baltimore City public schools have blazed trails for years. They were the first to implement racial integration before it became mandatory; the first to ban prayer in public schools and opened the first all-girl’s public high school in the US. Balitmore City also hosts the third oldest high school in America.

But Baltimore City is also among the most underfunded school systems in America. They came under added pressure when US President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that called for students to meet certain educational criteria, among others.

Reeling from a severe budget deficit at the turn of the decade, the Baltimore City public school system took out a loan, which they managed to repay in two years. Still, there is continuing controversy over its practice of “emergency contracts” that allows them to recruit teachers out of state, including those hired from the Philippines.

These teachers are deemed crucial for the city public school system to meet new Maryland state-wide targets including passing high school assessment (HSA) scores in Algebra, English, Government and Biology to graduate from high school.

Culture shock

Isabela says that the first time she came to Maryland, she was astounded by the attitude of her students.

“Noong una pinapatulan ko sila kasi nahu-hurt ako. Eventually, napag-aralan ko hindi pala dapat ganun ang approach. Na-realize ko I have to change," she says.

[The first few times, I would fight it out because I was offended. Eventually, I learned that my approach should change. I realized that I have to change.]

When her students would get rowdy, she said she would mimic their accents, yell "What ya say?" and get their attention.

“I tell them, 'You Americans speak wrong English.' Inu-unawa ko na lang sila. Minsan nadadala sa ganyan. Minsan naman kapag nag-iisa na, kinakausap ko(I try to understand them and sometimes, it works. Other times, I talk to them when they're alone),” Isabela said.

A former head of the Filipino Department at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Isabela carries 26 years of teaching experience in PUP and another eight years in private schools. She has several academic degrees under her belt and is the treasurer of the Filipino Educators of Maryland.

As part of the second wave of teachers from the Philippines in 2005, Isabela feels she has been given a unique view of how the Baltimore school system works. After all, she is one of the few teachers who came to Baltimore City under a J-1 or teacher exchange visa.

“At first, I felt disrespected. I felt there was discrimination because of my race, because I am Filipino. One student even said: ‘You Filipinos come here to steal our dollars’ but I said: 'Don’t say that. I’m here only because I was invited to teach. I said I was offered a scholarship by the Baltimore school system, that’s why I grabbed the opportunity," she said.

Earning respect

Nowadays, Isabela feels that she has earned the respect that she didn't get when she first came to teach at Baltimore.

"May kaunting respeto na, hindi tulad dati, hindi ako nakaramdam ng respect. [There's some respect now, not like before when I didn't get any respect.] The kids know me now. Even if I teach Grade 9, I also get to handle classes in Grade 11 and 12 when they ask me to substitute. I don't mind," she says.

Isabela says school authorities have developed a liking for Filipino teachers. “What they like about Filipino teachers is that everytime they ask us to do something, we do it. We just obey. Some of the local teachers don't do that," she says.

Lara says one change in teaching style that she had to adopt was meeting school norms at West Baltimore High School. "In the Philippines, you have the freedom to use the best strategy to teach your kids. It's different here, you have to follow the standard set by the state or city even if it's difficult. You have to make do and make sure that the kids are learning."

Lara says she decided to work in the US for professional advancement. She says she was also bored in her previous job as a teacher in Marikina. The pay, she insists, came a distant third in her decision to go to the US but adds that: "At my age, I also want to save."

Isabela says the first batch of Filipino teachers who came to Baltimore made a good impression on local school officials. She said the school system overhired 150 Filipino teachers this year but allowed them to stay instead of sending them back to the Philippines.

“Nag-uusap-usap kaming mga teachers na dapat galingan natin [We talk among ourselves that we should do good], to do our best, to always be on time. Sa awa ng Diyos, marami sa amin proficient ang rating [By God's grace, a lot of us have proficient ratings],” she said.

Isabela recently earned her advanced professional certificate, which makes her a tenured and certified Baltimore City public school teacher. She is scheduled to return to Manila in December to lecture to fellow teachers at the Maricaban Elementary School in Pasay City.

She also says she is unafraid of the possibility of not going back to Baltimore City school because of the US financial crisis. After all, she feels that many Filipino teachers are "recession-proof" and could even keep the door open for other Filipino teachers to go to the US.

“To be honest, I've noticed that a lot of local teachers here are not as patient. Some resign in the middle of the school year because teaching here is very stressful. We Filipinos are used to stress. Tayo namang Filipino sanay na sa hirap. Kaya yung naipunla nating kahirapan madadala natin sa tagumpay (We Filipinos are used to hardship. That seed of working hard will lead us to success)." she said.

Overseas Filipino workers unaffected by crisis - Arroyo (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/128703/Overseas-Filipino-workers-unaffected-by-crisis---Arroyo)
10/22/2008 | 07:10 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Most of the more than 8 million Filipinos working overseas have not been affected yet by the global financial storm, but a contingency plan has been cobbled together for possible layoffs, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Wednesday.

The workers are regarded as the country's financial backbone, with the earnings they send home — $14.45 billion last year — accounting for 10 percent of gross domestic product in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation of 90 million people.

The bulk of them are in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States, mostly working as nurses, laborers, construction workers and maids.

Arroyo told a Manila business conference that reports by labor officials showed no displacement so far of overseas Filipino workers "related to the financial crisis." The government has prepared a plan to monitor for any sign of layoffs or a drop in labor demand, with Philippine embassies being asked to keep lists of the workers for potential rapid assistance, Arroyo said.

"We will register our workers so we can get track of them and we will redeploy them to emerging labor markets," Arroyo said. "We continue to identify and develop new market niches."

Philippine officials are eyeing about 90,000 new jobs in the next few years in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Guam, a Western Pacific territory where US forces plan to transfer a regional military base from Japan, Arroyo said.

As of last December, 32 percent of Filipinos working outside the country are in the U.S., most of them as permanent residents, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

A large number of Filipino workers are skilled or semiskilled laborers in construction projects in the Middle East who remain in demand due to the continued building boom in the Persian Gulf countries. Filipino health workers still are desired in the U.S. and other parts of the world, Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Esteban Conejos said.

Most vulnerable, he said, are unskilled workers like domestic helpers — most of whom are deployed in the Middle East, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The Philippines deploys about 100,000 domestic helpers abroad yearly. - AP

^^ Filipino teachers are making a big difference here. The local community and especially Pinoys are truly supportive of their efforts. Whenever I get to see them in church or community gatherings, I always express my gratitude for their efforts. As a product of the Baltimore City school system, it is empowering to see our kababayans' hard work make a positive impact on my adopted community.

how ironic , the PHilippines suffering from lacking of good quality teachers and here they are in the US being underappreciated by their students.

^^ Amen to that. The first batch faced the most difficult challenges, but their efforts have brought on trust and respect from administrators and students. There is a long article on the suicides of the two teachers at this link (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-te.md.suicide24feb24,0,1166093.story).

RP to host international manning conference (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129168/RP-to-host-international-manning-conference)
10/24/2008 | 02:02 PM

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will again be hosting the world’s most important manning event, the 9th Asia Pacific Manning and Training Conference, from November 4 to 5, organizers said in a press statement.

With the theme, “Applying New Strategies to Address the Crewing Crisis," the conference being organized by the UK-based conference specialists, Lloyd's List events, will be held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.

The event will also feature a pre-conference workshop on “International Maritime Resource Management" on November 3.

Lloyd’s List events conference producer Kathryn Barnard was quoted by the statement as saying delegates “will be brought up to speed on the latest developments in the Philippines Manning Roadmap and learn how national manning agencies are working together to ensure the continued supply of quality Filipino seafarers."

Capt. Richard Coates FNI, president of the prestigious Nautical Institute, will preside over presentations and panel discussions covering a broad range of topics.

Topics include an analysis of current manpower supply and demand, an appraisal of industry and training institute initiatives in retaining crews and enhancing standards, as well as a review of international regulations.

The conference comes at a critical time of international crew shortages and provides a unique forum to explore “ ways to resolve the crisis that is strangling the global shipping industry," InterManager President and Aboitiz Jebsens Bulk Transport Corp president Ole B. Stene noted.

Participants are encouraged to register online at www.manningandtraining.com, email alica.brlajova@informa.com or call +44 (0) 20 7017 5511. - GMANews.TV

Filipinos ‘good fit’ for vacant teacher posts abroad - report (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129155/Filipinos-good-fit-for-vacant-teacher-posts-abroad---report#)

Article posted October 24, 2008 - 01:12 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Filipino teachers have been dubbed to be a “good fit" for vacant teaching positions abroad, especially in the United States, a popular US newspaper has reported.

The report posted on USA Today on Wednesday quoted an official of the Baltimore City public schools in Maryland state as saying that Filipino teachers are a “good fit" because English is one of the Philippine’s official languages and its academic system is similar to the USA’s.

“Retention has been excellent. We've only had 20, max, who have not been renewed or who have chosen to leave," staffing director George Duque told USA Today.

The report said out 7,000 teachers of Baltimore public schools, 593 are imported from Jamaica, India, and the Philippines.

Prince George’s County public schools in Maryland have a teaching staff of 10,000, of which 556 are Filipinos, while Wichita public schools in Kansas have 43 foreign teachers, all Filipino, out of its 4,000 educators.

Said the report, this trend of school districts hiring teachers from foreign countries to fill shortages in math, science and special education is most evident in poor urban and rural districts.
Segun Eubanks, director at the National Education Association, the USA’s largest teachers union, said in the report that many of these districts have trouble keeping teachers because of low pay, disruptive students, and a lack of books and materials.

“American workers are not willing to do the work for the conditions and pay we offer…so we're recruiting them for the same reasons we recruit farm workers and day laborers," he was quoted as saying.

The report also said that the American Federation of Teachers Union estimated that at least 18,000 of the USA’s 3.7 million teachers were hired from other countries.

Kate Walsh, National Council on Teacher Quality president, said foreign teachers can enrich students’ education by exposing them to other cultures.

However, the report also said that Duque acknowledges that there can be clashes over teachers’ accents and cultural differences.

As an example, he said that Filipino culture “reveres" teachers.

“When they come here, they have to learn about our culture and the urban culture and the culture of poverty and the challenges our children have," he told USA Today. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV
All Rights Reserved. 2006 © GMA Network Inc.

Godspeed Filipino teachers!

RP firms ties with Qatar to protect OFWs (http://www.tempo.com.ph/news.php?aid=41908)

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque announced yesterday that the Philippines and Qatar have strengthened their ties towards a renewed and vigorous enforcement of the welfare and protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through a new accord or protocol addressing gaps and strengthening the existing labor accord between the two countries.

Roque made the declaration days after he signed the Additional Protocol to the existing Labor Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Philippines and the Government of the State of Qatar with His Excellency, Qatar Minister of Labor Dr. Sultan bin Hassan Al-Dhabit Al-Dosari, in the capital city of Doha, Qatar last October 19.

The Labor chief indicated that Qatar currently hosts an estimated 190,000 OFWs, based on the estimates of the Philippine Mission in that country. He added that the deployment of OFWs on documented status in that country had grown to 56,277 in 2008, making Qatar the 4th top host destination of OFWs in the world, and the 3rd in the ME, after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Carving Pumpkins. Can't get more Americana than that! We went to the local pumpkin patch this afternoon and picked some pumpkins for carving into Jack-O-Lanterns. Here we are carving our pumpkins in the backyard.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/kiretoce/DSC02255.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/kiretoce/DSC02256.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/kiretoce/DSC02257.jpg

As soon as it got dark, we laid them in a row out in the frontyard. Here they are unlighted (my carved pumpkin is the large one in the middle).

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/kiretoce/DSC02259.jpg

Here they are in the dark. Boo!

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d33/kiretoce/DSC02258.jpg

HA HA, so cute.. We went to my son's fright night, an early halloween early tonight, it's a lot of fun. I've noticed that there are more dark haired students there, mostly asians, Israelis, dark haired europeans, india, hispanics and so on. The only thing lacking is black americans. I gathered that there is a very small population of black catholics in our area.

^^ Thanks! Yeah, it was fun carving the pumpkins. I think the grown-ups enjoyed it more than the kids! :lol:

According to demographers, they predict that Whites of European ancestry will become a minority here in the US by 2050, and the Hispanics (figures include Black Hispanics and White Hispanics) will become the majority. Asians on the other hand will still lag behind the others in population numbers. Also, another interesting note is that there will be an increase in biracial/multiracial people as more ethnicities will marry someone other than their own, which will in turn produce children with multiple ethnic backgrounds.

:okay: Nice. Did you save some for pumpkin soup or pie? Or is it already at the Pagkain thread. :lol:

^^ Actually, we didn't use it for pumpkin pie or soup, we made ukoy out of them and had it for dinner last night! :lol:

Too bad I didn't take photos of the ukoy.

^^ Amazing, your family's kitchen is truly creative! :)

^^ :lol: More like "accidental discoveries" in the kitchen. :okay:

We always make "pacham" or "maskipap" dishes at home. :colgate:
In case you haven't heard the term yet, it's short for "pachamba-chamba" or "maskipapano" na lang. ;)

^^:lol::lol: Sounds like a great show idea for the Food Network.

^^ Yeah, let's pitch it to the network! Who knows, they might just buy into it. :okay:

^^ Actually, we didn't use it for pumpkin pie or soup, we made ukoy out of them and had it for dinner last night! :lol:

Too bad I didn't take photos of the ukoy.

Ukoy??? what is ukoy??? Isn't that how they call surplus clothings in Manila or perhaps all over the Philippines? ukoy-ukoy, that didnt' sound right...LOL it sound more like ungoy ungoy HA HA Dork >>>me lmao

^^ Surplus clothing is called ukay-ukay. Ukoy on the other hand are small patties mostly made from shredded vegetables. The ingredients commonly used are squash/pumpkins, carrots, potatoes/sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, and green onions. Then add flour (or tempura batter mix) and eggs to bind the vegetables together, form in to patties (about the size of a chicken nugget) and lightly fry until cooked through and is golden brown. Best served with sukang maanghang or patis, toyo, and kalamansi dipping sauces.

OFW remittances only for OFWs--advocate
Gov’t hit for ‘wrong’ view
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:45:00 10/28/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Only the migrant workers, not the government or any institution, are the rightful owners of the billions of dollars in remittances that they have earned in foreign lands, a US-based sociology professor and an advocate of migrants' rights said.

Jorge A. Bustamante, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and Nobel Peace Prize nominee in 2006, said that it was a "wrong perspective" for governments to put the "responsibility of development on the shoulders of migrants" whose remittances, in the case of the Philippines, have kept the economy afloat amid the financial crunch worldwide.

"I think this is something important to clarify because this lack of appreciation is making the wrong perspective about the nature of remittances because sometimes when migration is associated with dependency some people believe that economic development has to be related with remittances, and that would be a wrong perspective, that would be unfair to the migrants," Bustamante said in his remark at the solidarity dinner of parliamentarians hosted by Senate President Manuel Villar and Representative Cynthia Villar late Monday at the Villa Pacencia Laurel in Mandaluyong City.

However, Bustamante stressed that he delivered his statements as an academician, not as UN rapporteur.

He is a professor of sociology, teaching international migration and human rights at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

The event was organized simultaneous with the opening of the Global Forum on Migration and Development at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Bustamante is scheduled to attend the counterpart forum organized by progressive migrant workers group, the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees.

"Remittances are the result of the work of migrants and they represent their savings that have the basic objective to support their families at home. Therefore remittances are the property of migrants and nobody else, therefore, this money that belongs to the migrants should not be associated with any claim by any institution, government or private, which might think that remittances should be used for the purposes of economic development," he said.

He said such claims “would be unfair and incongruent with
the nature of remittances, and this is something that has to do with the need to clarify some of the problems that we associate with the phenomenon of international migration all over the world."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo repeatedly boasted that the remittances of the country's eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFW) have kept the economy afloat amid the international financial turmoil.

In 2007, OFW remittances totaled $14.4 billion.

Asked in an interview about the dangers of government treating remittances as its property, Bustamante said, "The danger is that remittances that are the property of migrants are stolen because only the migrants can decide what should be the destination of their own property."

Bustamante said governments should keep in mind that remittances were not touched for other purposes "than those that have been decided by the migrants themselves."

"Migrants are the only persons that could decide on what is the destination of their own money," he added.

John Monterona, coordinator of the group Migrante for Middle East, lamented that government fees and taxes imposed on OFWs were not being used for the benefit of the migrant workers.

The Overseas Welfare Workers Administration (OWWA) charges $25 each as membership fee for departing OFWs and $.015 for documentary stamp, he said.

With about 3,000 Filpinos leaving every day to work abroad, Monterona said the government through the OWWA earned billions in pesos from the OFWs.

"The question is where does OWWA spend its more than P10-billion fund," he said in an interview.

Gary Martinez, Migrante International spokesman, said that despite the contributions of the OFWs, the government has been remiss in its duty to protect the welfare of the workers.

He lamented that thousands of distressed OFWs remained in shelters without assistance from the Philippine embassy or consular offices.

Some of the workers on the death row are also deprived of legal assistance.

Martinez said that 29 Filipinos were facing death sentences in various countries.

Viewpoint : Today’s hemorrhage (http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20081028-168795)

By Juan Mercado
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: October 28, 2008


The context did jolt. Delegates from 151 countries flew into Manila for the Global Forum on Migration Development. Down the road, 3,752 Filipinos stride daily past airport departure gates to seek jobs abroad, 28 times the daily exodus rate chalked up by the first wave of migrants in 1975.
A Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) headcount reveals that 1,005,767 left from January to September this year. The POEA targets 1.3 million job contracts. If signed by year’s end, migrants in 2008 would be 36 times the 1975 record. Yesterday’s trickle is today’s hemorrhage.

This is uncharted territory. We never had a population of 92 million (mid-July estimate). For the first time ever, one out of every 10 Filipinos is abroad. In three out of 10 homes, kids grow up where paychecks substitute for parents. Wedding rings become visas in an “international marriage market that could expand further this decade,” says a Commission on Filipinos Overseas study.

“All the 190 or so sovereign states … are now either points of origin, transit, or destination of migrants—often all three at once,” says the World Migration report. What are the consequences?

“Labor export is dolled-up human trafficking,” cynics here snort. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo chortles about “super-maids.” But did she have a choice?

Money remittances from overseas Filipino workers(OFWs) crested at $14.4 billion in 2007—up from the $1 million sent by migrants in 1975. Recession could cap that inflow to 10 percent of the gross domestic product. Filipinos are the world’s fourth-biggest remitters, after Indians, Chinese and Mexicans.

No country “took off” just on remittances. But the cash lets off steam from pressure-cooker deprivation.

“Hunger in Metro Manila reached a record high of 23 percent,” the poll group Social Weather Stations (SWS) reports. “The proportion of Filipino households in hunger has been in double digits in the past 18 consecutive quarterly SWS national surveys.”

Remittances help households clamber out of poverty, Professor Ernesto Pernia of the University of the Philippines School of Economics reveals. OFW families can spend P1,788 more for education per child as compared with non-OFW households. For healthcare, the elbow room is P668 per head.

Pernia marshaled various studies on Filipino migration at an Ayala forum. Majority of OFWs do not come from the poorest families. “Their remittances can result in higher income inequality.”

Do OFW checks reinforce goofing off? “There is evidence of a decline in labor force participation among remittance recipients—more among females than males.” Children, who used to work, stop working as remittances enable them to go to school. Remittances spur an increase in micro-enterprises for women and self-employment for men.

Richer regions like Metro Manila field more migrants. But OFWs from poorer regions like Western Mindanao share more. “This may contribute to a widening of economic disparities across regions. [Still] they lift the wellbeing of poor households even in lagging regions.”

Oil exports unleashed the “Dutch disease” in Indonesia and some Latin American countries. Cash inflows sapped determination to push tough reforms and improved governance. People were lulled into complacency. “This appears to be happening in the Philippines.”

History works through the family, we’re told. The fabric of the Filipino family is being frayed by long enforced separations, frets the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.

About two-thirds of girls were less than seven years of age when their mothers left, Rosemarie Edillon of the Asia Pacific Policy Center (APPC) reports. “Seventeen percent were not yet born when their mothers first left the country.”

The APPC study of 248 families found that “43 percent were not yet born when their fathers left.” Six out of 10 were less than 18 years of age. Yet, a Galilean teacher summed up the most enduring anchor in life in two words: “Our Father…”

The assumption is: “Less time spent with children is compensated with more money that OFW parents send,” Edillon wrote. The findings are more complex. “Only 25 percent considered their relationship with parents as ‘very good’ … Two percent considered it sad.

“OFW children put more premium on time and attention given by their parents. The strain is felt most by young adolescents: 13- to 16-year-olds. Some are “handling more responsibilities in the households that their young minds cannot fully grasp.”

Deliberations at the Global Forum on Migration Development will be relevant. “Reinventing a country beyond borders” is a task that calls for vision. Filipinos ask if today’s leaders, who’ll long be gone before migration ebbs, have been up to the task.

Are Filipinos content with being a one-stop mall for surgeons, pilots, geologists and “super maids”?

“If we are, how do we stretch the limits of our human capital industry?” Pernia asks. Four out of 10 students drop out before finishing primary grades. “If we’re not, what’s the alternative?”

Will future policy responses be relevant to over one million Filipino migrants? They are “wanderers and strangers who live in in-between worlds,” according to Edward Said. “Perennially longing for home, they feel that homecoming is always a possibility, yet never a surety.”

“Neither denizens of their host country nor inhabitants of the land of their birth, they navigate the spaces of their past and present, unsure where their future will be,” says Said. “These men and women reside in the indefinite and shuttle back and forth between promise and certainty.”

* * *

Email: juanlmercado@gmail.com

:shocked: waaa, saan mga US fotos ko?? :?

^^ Its in this thread. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=736596

^^ oh gee golly... izzat my own thread? :lol: I didn't make that...
Thanks!

^^ Surplus clothing is called ukay-ukay. Ukoy on the other hand are small patties mostly made from shredded vegetables. The ingredients commonly used are squash/pumpkins, carrots, potatoes/sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, and green onions. Then add flour (or tempura batter mix) and eggs to bind the vegetables together, form in to patties (about the size of a chicken nugget) and lightly fry until cooked through and is golden brown. Best served with sukang maanghang or patis, toyo, and kalamansi dipping sauces.

I am not sure if I had this before, somehow it does not ring a bell to me. All it comes to my mind is "prito na lumpia" , it has small shrimps in it, carrots, sweetpotatoes or reg potatoes, bean sprouts and such. You also deep it in sukan maanhang with patis sometimes ...

^^ makisali na sa usapan nyo mwg12a at kiretoce :)
Taka rin ako kung bakit minsan na pinaparehas ang lumpia/sumpia sa okoy? Iisa lang daw ito.
May lumpiang sariwa at lumpiang ubod.

Iba lang siguro ng style sa pagluto depende sa region o probinsiya.

From what I know, lumpia is encased in a crepe-like wrapper, while ukoy is thread bare. :colgate:

^^Yeah, yung ukoy nilalagyan ng harina para mag-hold, tumigas and crispy diba? Samantalang ang lumpia needs the wrapper para mag-hold yung laman sa loob. Anyway, both are delicious!

^^ You're right, Kenneth. Ukoy does use flour to bind the ingredients and makes it a little crispy when deep fried. You can also use Tempura flour to give it a twist. :okay:

http://www.arockalypsenow.com/images/Archives/2007%20January/vote%5B6%5D.jpg
NOVEMBER 4, 2008
:horse:
JP

Humor is a good thing, even in challenging times . . . . .

http://www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm

CEBU — Despite the spreading global financial crisis and the non-renewal of the labor agreement between Spain and the Philippines, Filipino workers in Spain don’t have to worry about losing their jobs.

Philippine Ambassador to Spain Antonio M. Lagdameo said in an interview yesterday that Spanish employers prefer Filipinos over other foreign workers because the Filipino workers tolerate "more difficult [working] conditions."

There are 40,000 to 50,000 Filipinos now working in Spain, most of whom are in the health care sector, even as several are domestic helpers and caregivers.

"But the Spanish employers treat them as members of the family. Because of our strong bond with Spain, they [workers] are able to interact immediately with their employers," Mr. Lagdameo said.

The Philippines was a Spanish colony for over three centuries.

He also pointed out that Spain is not as affected as other countries by the financial crisis that has spread from the US.

The memorandum of understanding between Spain and the Philippines, which was signed in 2006, allows the entry into Spain of skilled Filipino workers.

This is up for renewal, but reports said this would be delayed because of the crisis.

Franklin M. Ebdalin, acting Foreign Affairs secretary, said recruitment of workers from the Philippines might have been halted because of the crisis but he was optimistic that labor deployment will resume. — M. S. Villamor (http://www.bworldonline.com/BW110708/content.php?id=058)

^^ ahahaha...just like the old days, but more politically correct.

yeah, just more legalized slaves in form of caregivers and domestic helpers... good for the Philippine economy though.

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/poster/vetsday08-lo.jpg







Then this Holiday... then Pasko na!:lol:


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2298/2058951048_370f38e786.jpg?v=0

Makikikain uli kami sa Thanksgiving.... hehehe!

Makikikain uli kami sa Thanksgiving.... hehehe!

BITOY, kami rin like always,
we'll be off to Gramma's house just in time for Thanksgiving Dinner.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/blog/Thanksgiving-thumb.jpg

My family will be hosting in our house our very first CHRISTMAS DAY LUNCHEON this year.
My wife and I have never done this before.
And our cooking skills are next to nada.
Any suggestions... what to order? I't suppose to be traditional FILIPINO.:cheers:

:horse:
JP

^^ ahahaha...just like the old days, but more politically correct.
yeah, just more legalized slaves in form of caregivers and domestic helpers... good for the Philippine economy though. Ah, yes. The penultimate or most ubiquitous of the Filipino "under siege" mentalities displayed by these two... It's not as if these workers are not getting their fair share of decent wages on the basis of their qualifications, see. If they're not happy, they can always cross borders toward France, Belgium or Italy.

So 'tis slavery then vis a vis only this particular country but "migrant workers" vis a vis the rest of the other OFW host nations, bizarre isn't it? Actually, 'tis more "politically correct" for ultranationalists to behave with "victim" mentalities ad infinitum. :lol:

^^ Do you want Thanksgiving dinner from scratch, semi-homemade, or catered. :colgate:

^^KIMBRO,
Right now we are contemplating on asking someone who knows how to cook good to prepare our meal
or
ordering cooked food from a good restaurant.

Pero in the end I just want only those who were invited to be there. Mas intimate.
walang waiters, caterers, cusineras...
walang aluminum trays, plastic wares, paper plates/napkins
for a change from the day to day mundane things.

http://www.voila-catering.com/PlatedDessert.jpg
What say you?

:horse:
JP

^^ We seldom host a Christmas party, I think twice lang, usually, my sisters would take turns in hosting holiday gatherings.
Paluto sa restaurant is a common theme :D Then the additional food contributions from relatives would be served on the table. I think we never had a sit-down family dinner on holiday feasts since we arrived here in the US.
I attended some sit-down dinner on friend's invitations but I'm not comfortable with it. I would rather run around the serving table and pick out the food that I like to eat. :lol:

pinoy style is always buffet style ^^ :lol:

pinoy style is always buffet style ^^ :lol:

May pabaon pa pag uwi... :lol:

Minsan dala ko lang 6 na leche flan, paguwi ko may isang kahon na iba ibang ulam, good for one month na kainan. :D

http://bp2.blogger.com/_iCB8y6hmoCk/R8wbRMIUjZI/AAAAAAAABBY/sZuXrtoyQEI/s400/IMG_7336.JPG
Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Pinoy style BUFFET,
Kaya lang gusto ko lang ng kakaibang hapag kainan.
One long table with everyone seated while eating and conversing without end.
then when we are all finally finished,
more juntahan sa sala.;)
http://lastcrumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/table.jpg
We are just expecting 10 adults and 6 children for this Christmas Day Luncheon
kasi kakaunti lang naman kaming family and friends dito sa NYC.

:horse:

JP

Our Thanksgiving dinners varies from year to year. For intimate small gatherings, usually with pootie guests, it's sit-down and very formal (and that includes dressing up for dinner as well) complete with all the necessary acoutrements on the table like linen napkins threaded through napkin rings, charger plates, wine glasses and flutes, and even name cards. But for large Pinoy family gatherings, and with my family, it's alway large! It's served family style (sit-down with all the food served on the table) or buffet style with the food on chaffing dishes and laid out on long tables ready to be served.

I think this year it'll be Pinoy family style. Since we did the formal sit-down last year. Anyway, I'm not in charge of the planning this Thanksgiving so I'm off the hook. :lol:

Hmm....I wonder if my uncle will make his "Turducken" this Thanksgiving. :colgate:

There are pootie's that are informal as well, it's somewhat sit down meal but more casual.

I think we will go to this years FiLAm christmas party which will be held at a social hall of a local catholic church. I usually go on main events like these after all, the food are always gooooodddddddddd!!!. The FiLAM association we have here is growing bigger and bigger so there are activities and they send out invitations. There are filipinos who would avoid joining but we try to encourage them to come.

JuanPilgrim, there are filipino cookbooks you can get. I just learn my pinoy food from one of those. There are also filipino recipes online. Although, when it comes to big holidays like these, it's more of a fusion of filipino and american dining for us here simply because most of the kids are more americanized when it comes to food, they would eat pinoy food but they seems to follow what their peers are eating in school or their friends homes. My son alone doesn't each much filipino food even if I force it in his mouth. He eats noodles, he won't eat rice as much. I guess since there are very few pinoys in our area.


I find most filipino food or recipe books easy to follow so I think I do well with it or is it just an "INBORN" talent. Who knows???

I usually prepare the turkey every year no matter we would have our thanks giving party. I usually broil two, one for us here at home and the other for the party. We get free thanks giving turkey from work so....

Juan Pilgrim, there are filipino cookbooks you can get. I just learn my pinoy food from one of those. There are also filipino recipes online...

I find most filipino food or recipe books easy to follow so I think I do well with it or is it just an "INBORN" talent. Who knows....

mwg12a, Sure I can follow any recipe alright, but I have a huge aversion to cooking, the problem is I will have to spend a lot just getting all the right pots, pans, trays, knives and other kitchen utensils just to get me started, then the ingredients: some do not have counterparts or substitutes available here, and lastly, I hate doing the dishes.:bash:

I would rather do the laundry (ofcourse using the washing machine), line dry the clothes, and starch and iron them one by one than cooking and dish washing.:)

thanks anyway.

^^ You can compromise with your spouse with the Thanksgiving chores. If one cooks, the other must clean up. :okay:

^^Kimbro, surely you jest!:lol:

I have been with my wife since the age of 17.
And in that 11 years of wedded bliss, the word COMPROMISE, never worked. j/k:naughty:

:rofl:
JP

^^ :lol: If a compromise won't work....try a bribe! :naughty:

^^Kimbro, I always knew you were smart but I never knew you possess great Wisdom beyond your years, too!!

:omg:Knowing what women likes is the key to any happy marriage. :2cents:

:)
JP

^^ :lol: Speaking of successful and happy marriages. A man once said that he always has the last word when he and his wife are engaged in a serious (and sometimes heated) discussion; "Yes, dear. Whatever you say."

Don't be fooled by my sage advice, I just repeat what I read or hear from other people. :okay:

^^:lol:Thanks, KIMBRO!

"Yes, dear. Whatever you say."
"Yes, dear. Whatever you say."
"Yes, dear. Whatever you say."
...

:cheers2:
JP

Nah!.. I usually yelled at my wife all the time....










.... when I'm doing the laundry... :lol:


I always yell...

Honey, hiwalay ko ba yung de color sa puti?

^^Ilang beses ko bang sasabihin SWEATheart, hindi mo dapat isinasama ang mga puti sa de colores!:D

^^ :lol: Kaya I hiwalay my clothes, lalo na yung maong or heavy items from her clothes.
Minsan, naglaba ako ng pantalones, may sumabit pala na undies niya... Paktay!...


I have to do all those sweet-nothings that Kimbro and John D' Pilgrim were talking about. :lol:

mwg12a, Sure I can follow any recipe alright, but I have a huge aversion to cooking, the problem is I will have to spend a lot just getting all the right pots, pans, trays, knives and other kitchen utensils just to get me started, then the ingredients: some do not have counterparts or substitutes available here, and lastly, I hate doing the dishes.:bash:

I would rather do the laundry (ofcourse using the washing machine), line dry the clothes, and starch and iron them one by one than cooking and dish washing.:)

thanks anyway.

Well hell, just get a caterer do all the work for you.

You're a hopeless case in the kitchen..... LOL

I don't try to be meticulous but it seems that when it's my turn to cook (which is rare) i tend to be one for some reason, not just in the cooking proess itself but to make sure that everything is next to clear and clear, while I cook, I don't know how I manage to wash the pots and laddles at the same time, throw all the garbage in the trashcan. I hate clutter... And I surely hate anybody including my wife to be in my kitchen when I cook, they get in my way...he he


I consider myself a gourmet cook in my own right, probably because I only cook when there is this major occassion. I'm very good with something italian and mediteranean, I'm good with some filipino food also ofcourse. I love to entertain people during diner, I should be Emeril, in my mind atleast...he he

I love to entertain people during diner, I should be Emeril, in my mind atleast...he he

Let's hear you say BAM! :lol:

alright, give me your number and I'll BAM your ear out LMAO

^^ :lol: You tryin' to get me punk'd? :sly:

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20081117-172720/September-remittances-up-169

September remittances up 16.9%
Reuters
11/17/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Remittances from overseas Filipino workers climbed 16.9 percent in September to $1.3 billion from a year earlier, compared with growth of 10.4 percent in August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country's central bank said Monday.

Total remittances in the first nine months of the year were $12.3 billion, up 17.1 percent from a year earlier.
($1 = P49.72)

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20081118-172827/New-visa-seen-to-boost-economy

New visa seen to boost economy

By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:45:00 11/18/2008

MANILA, Philippines—Foreigners who employ at least 10 Filipinos can stay in the country indefinitely.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday signed the new rules for foreigners in hopes of providing more jobs for Filipinos in anticipation of an economic slowdown next year.

With the new “special visa for employment generation” (SVEG), qualified nonimmigrant foreigners will be extended “multiple entry privileges and conditional extended stay without need of prior departure from the Philippines,” according to Executive Order No. 758.

This is the first time the visa has been issued.

The privilege will also cover a qualified foreigner’s spouse and unmarried children—legitimate, illegitimate or adopted—below 18 years old.

Incentive

Trade Secretary Peter Favila said the new policy was meant as an incentive to encourage more “legitimate investors to come on board.”

Official figures show that direct foreign investment accounts for about 15 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), while comparable regional economies attract 20 percent or higher.

“We envision that if we make it easy for foreign investors to acquire a visa that allows them to indefinitely stay in the country, we encourage them to infuse their capital into the country and, thus, provide jobs for Filipinos,” said Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan.

But Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez made it clear that the government was also wary of the security implications of the EO, particularly on the possibility that terrorists could take advantage of it.

Not including terrorists

“We will coordinate with all the intelligence agencies,” Gonzalez told reporters after Ms Arroyo signed the EO in Malacañang Monday. “We are also a gateway to terrorism. You cannot just extend visas to people whose backgrounds may not be desirable.”

Section 2 of the EO prescribes that the SVEG will be made available only to nonimmigrant foreigners who are “not a risk to national security.”

Genuine intention

Applicants are also required to “actually, directly or exclusively engage in a viable and sustainable commercial investment/enterprise” in the country to go with a “genuine intention to indefinitely remain in the Philippines.”

The immigration bureau, however, has not made it clear if foreigners can keep such a visa even after their businesses no longer employ Filipinos.

Most other visitors are allowed to stay at least 21 days, depending on their nationality. Most visas can be extended for up to a year.

Job creation

In the EO, Ms Arroyo noted that 2.9 million Filipinos were unemployed as of April this year, a discouraging figure considering the prospect of an economic slowdown—or even recession—by next year.

Apart from the new visa privilege, Malacañang is implementing emergency employment and livelihood opportunities across the country, apparently to help cushion the effects of possible layoffs.

Libanan sought to douse fears that the SVEG would legitimize the status of foreigners illegally staying and even doing business in the country.

“They are not covered,” he told reporters, noting that the bureau would coordinate in the matter with other agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment. With an AP report

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20081118-172791/9-month-remittances-up-17-at-123B

9-month remittances up 17% at $12.3B


By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11/18/2008

Money sent home by overseas Filipinos through banks and other official channels in the first nine months of the year reached $12.3 billion, up 17.1 percent from the same period last year, the central bank reported Monday.

In September, the remittances rose 16.94 percent to $1.3 billion, accelerating from a 10.36-percent growth in August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

“Robust remittance flows have been shored up by strong overseas demand for Filipino skills and the greater availability of expanded money transfer services to overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

The stream of remittances—which consistently amounted to a little over $1 billion over the past 29 months—remains as a source of strength for the economy as the global environment becomes more difficult, Tetangco said.

The major sources of remittances for the nine-month period were the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

During those months, the number of additional Filipino workers deployed abroad breached one million, up 25.9 percent from 789,731 in the same period last year. New jobs for Filipinos were created in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. In Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong absorbed more workers.

Tetangco said prospects of more employment opportunities in selected destinations like Canada and some other Middle Eastern countries as well as enhanced collaboration with potential employers on skills certification and training programs were expected to sustain the demand for Filipino workers abroad.

He said an increase in remittance centers abroad and establishment of more tie-ups among local and foreign banks resulted in the greater capture of remittances through the banking system.

Citing a report from eight large commercial banks, Tetangco said foreign branches of Philippine banks, remittance centers, correspondent bank and tie-ups abroad more than doubled in number to 3,015 at end-September from 1,183 a year earlier.

The BSP report on remittances does not include funds flowing through the informal channels, defined as unlicensed or unregulated operations such as friends, acquaintances or other travelers. This so-called leakage in the remittance pipeline has gone down to five percent of total inflows from a high of 20-30 percent about two to three years ago.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20081122-173733/Remittances-seen-staying-over-1Bmonth

Remittances seen staying over $1B/month
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11/22/2008

The Philippines can sustain a monthly inflow of about $1 billion from overseas Filipinos for the remainder of the year and in 2009 and consequently sustain a current account surplus despite a major global downturn, the central bank governor said.

Growth in the foreign exchange remittances this year can exceed the 10 percent forecast recently by the central bank at a Senate hearing, Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

“Remittances continue to be strong. For the latter part of December, there should be improvement,” Tetangco told reporters.

The remittances grew 16.94 percent year-on-year in September, compared with 10.36 percent in August, remaining resilient to the US-centered financial turbulence that has dragged down the global economy. They totaled $12.3 billion in the January-September period, up 17.1 percent from the same months last year.

Through the years, remittances have supported current account surpluses in the balance of payments—the measure of the country’s financial transactions with the rest of the world—and offset deficits in the merchandise trade.

Tetangco said the central bank was still reviewing its projections on 2009 remittances and on the overall balance of payments.
The present forecast for 2009 is a growth of 10 percent.

“But you know, even if there’s going to be an impact, we don’t think that’s going to be that significant,” Tetangco said. “The amount of foreign exchange every month, which is over a billion [dollars], will continue to be substantial.”

“Even if we see a slower growth, you will still get over $1 billion a month,” he said, adding such a trend would likely be sustained.

He said deployment of additional workers was still high despite the global financial turbulence causing contraction in the world’s major economies.

In the January-September period, the number of additional Filipinos deployed abroad breached the one million mark, rising 25.9 percent from 789,731 in the same period last year.

In its quarterly report on the Philippines, the World Bank said the inflow of remittances remained strong although the pace of growth had slowed.

“Notwithstanding the global economic slowdown, the country continues to deploy overseas workers at astonishing speed,” the report said.

The report noted that demand persisted, especially in sectors like education and health.

“Moreover, the destination of overseas workers has become more diversified. Recent bilateral talks with host countries have also opened up new employment opportunities abroad for Filipinos,” the report said.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=417049&publicationSubCategoryId=202

The changing face of Filipinos in Singapore
By Dodo Certeza
Philippine Star
November 19, 2008

I arrived in Singapore 20 years ago and I would get questions from Singaporeans and foreigners alike on how I got my job in the city-state. It was a struggle but it has allowed me to me experience what it means to be a Filipino in Singapore.

We have been described as a nation of domestic helpers, political dynasties and corrupt government officials. We are quiet by nature, and that's why we never strive to address these negative perceptions. We were content to have a good job and that we have been given the opportunity to work elsewhere.

I have been asking myself what really defines our culture because we always have to remember who we were.

As the top economy in Asia (next to Japan) in the 1960 s and '70s, we even boasted to have the first airline in Asia. When Malaysia's Putrajaya complex was developed to give a new face to Malaysia's seat of power, we had already did this with the proposed development of Roxas Boulevard where the cultural center and coconut palace have been constructed 10 years before. When Singapore structured its economy to become the leader in Southeast Asia, we were a silent partner in this; our architects, engineers, nurses and IT specialists are part of the team that led the development.

The recent win by Barack Obama as the next United States president is a symbolic one even in our context. His win stood for change in the highest regard – race and culture - bringing new hope, which is ensured by strong principles to succeed. This age has also brought about change among Filipinos living in Singapore, which is recognized as the regional hub in Southeast Asia.

President Arroyo in a speech in Singapore last year promised a new city in the Philippines, one that would provide an option for Filipino overseas contract workers and prevent brain drain. The city, which is believed to be the new Clark Development area, is now paved with nice roads and foreign investments from the Middle East and Europe. This was the best idea I have heard since Marcos left office. It's about time we showcase to the world who we are as a people.

I will tell you why we can be proud of who we are now. The Filipino is visible in Singapore today. Tycoons such as John Gokongwei Jr. own large stakes in Singapore blue-chip companies such as UIC. Del Monte is listed on the Singapore exchange.

In finance, Lito Camacho is vice-chairman of Credit Suisse Investment Banking, overseeing billions in investments. Bing de Guzman is CEO of ING private bank and leads wealth management expertise in Asia. Raymundo Yu is Chairman of Merryll Lynch Asia-Pacific.

Entrepreneurs such as polo playing Inigo Zobel has been featured in the Singapore Tatler magazine, while Andrew Tan of MegaWorld properties hit the cover of Forbes Asia just last month. Lucio Tan Jr. and Marco Yuchengco Santos were big investors during the technology boom in Singapore.

For sports, Paul Monozca of the Monozca Foundation was awarded the Sports Minister's Inspirational Award in 2006 and has been named by the society magazine The Peak as a sports philanthropist. Lydia de Vega trains the future track and field stars of Singapore. Al Vergara and Jason Castro are star point guards of the Singapore Slingers professional basketball team. Golfer Jennifer Rosales played in the Lexus (all-women) golf championship. Joey Loinaz and Mikee Cojuanco also lent their presence during equestrian events.

In education, Wharton-educated Bobby Mariano is the dean of economics of the Singapore Management University (SMU), the city-state's best business school. Emil Bolongaita was a leading academic at the Singapore National University years ago.

The music scene here is led by Babes Conde and has been at the forefront of reality shows such as the Singapore Idol. Concerts such as Ryan Cayabyab, Aiza Seguerra and Gary Valenciano have been held in Singapore. Even some of the voices of radio stations here are Filipino.

In media, Rico Hizon of the BBC, Anthony Suntay of ESPN and Jennifer Alejandro/David Nye of Channel News Asia are visible globally as television presenters. Celebrities such as Lea Salonga, Donita Rose and Alessandra De Rossi are well known here. Richard Gomez's gold medal in fencing during the Southeast Asian games here also made a difference a few years back, bringing glamour -- with his wife Lucy Torres -- to the Filipinos in Singapore.

Filipinos have also been named by the Singapore Straits Times newspaper as the top choice for hospitality and service related jobs. Our nurses man Singapore's hospitals.

In the arts, Ben Cab, Charlie Co, Ronald Achacoso, Juan Alcazaren, Annie Cabigting, Nilo Ilarde, Bernardo Pacquing, Elaine Roberto-Navas, Crispin Villanueva Jr. and Dominic Rubio are among dozens of top Filipino painters who have showcased their works and have gotten rave reviews.

Small and medium enterprises dominate one whole shopping mall along Orchard Road (Lucky Plaza) and the 7107 Islands restaurant launched a filipino fine dining restaurant. Hotgrill burgers opened in Lau Pa Sat market.

The fashionable and stunning Mindy Cruz is the new Philippine Ambassador to Singapore.

Our domestic helpers have brought about entrepreneurship with their remittances to the Philippines and are highly regarded now as an indispensable part of family life here.

On Nov. 30, 2008, Singapore will feel like home. The first official Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) game will be held in Singapore, pitting San Miguel Beer and PLDT's Talk&Text teams.

We have come a long way since 20 years ago when I first came here. The future is in our hands.

Mabuhay ang Pinoy!

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20081123-173856/Can-OFW-families-be-whole-again

ROOTS AND WINGS
Can OFW families be whole again?
By Cathy S. Babao-Guballa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
11/23/2008

MANILA, Philippines - It was a simple message, but I was taken aback by the seeming insensitivity of it.

I had sent a birthday greeting to someone we had met earlier this year while my husband was based overseas—that six-month period in our lives when we lived separately from each other, a difficult but necessary choice we had to make at the time. The friend replied, “We are one friend down here, but I am glad that you are all back together—that’s how family is meant to be.”

Ouch. Something in his words dug deep into my heart.

I suppose I was hurt not only for myself but for the thousands of other OFW families who have a loved one working abroad. I think of my nephew and niece whose mother has been working as a nurse in Oxford for the last five years. I think of the countless children whose fathers or mothers toil overseas in order to give them a good future. My mind flashed back to that brief period earlier this year when I could see the loneliness in my children’s eyes whenever they would remember their dad. Did this friend even know the circumstances that led to my husband’s departure from that foreign country?

I guess my children were “luckier” than most because at least they got to see their father twice during that brief separation. Yes, I know that is “how families are meant to be”—together. But perhaps he should have been more sensitive to the circumstances that my family and countless other families had to make when we made the decision for my husband to work overseas.

I have rarely spoken of that period because it still stings. My husband left a pretty good job here on the premise and promise of a better one there. The people who sent him there were Filipinos, the headhunter there was a Filipina. Unfortunately, she was someone who looked out more for the interest of the client she was serving and not that of her kapwa Pilipino. Sad but true.

From the very start, when we made an initial visit and look-see, I had serious apprehensions. Something in my gut told me he should not take the job. At certain times, it felt like my husband was being treated like “cattle,” sold to be slaughtered. This was at the executive level, mind you.

In hindsight, we should have trusted that inner voice. It was too late when we learned the company had been blacklisted by other companies for its unfair practices.

When things began to fall apart, there was no one we could really turn to. There was no one we could really trust at that point. Only God and ourselves.

One time, while discussing our plight, I said to my husband, if this is happening to you, can you imagine what all the other OFWs must have gone through?

I thought of all those OFWs working under sub-human conditions with many of the stipulations in their contract that were not being followed. Or those who had to be deported because they were sent off with illegal papers.

Blessings

I ended up counting my blessings. Toward the end, we just wanted my husband back home. And when he returned after what I would describe a “harrowing” five months there, it was a real homecoming in the truest sense of the word.

Social psychologist and Miriam College president Patricia Licuanan says in her foreword in the book “Nawala ang Ilaw ng Tahanan,” a book on the OFW experience written by Dr. Honey Carandang—“We need to increase our awareness of the realities of the globalized world with its winners and losers, to support programs for OFWs and their families, and most important, to contribute actively toward building a society where all Filipinos can live with dignity and comfort here at home and not need to work abroad to give their families a decent life.” Yes, I agree with that ideal and that is something that we as a people all need to strive together and work for. But for now, such is not the reality and we are still very far from it.

The global crisis has now forced many OFWs to return home, and the reintegration into the family will certainly be an issue that needs to be addressed and supported by programs to help families heal and become whole again.

So, yes, we are glad that we are one family once more, but having gone through that experience, I cannot help but be sensitive about describing the way that families “ought to be.” When one parent is away, does that make them less of a family?

The ideal is there, but we have to understand there are reasons why sometimes a parent needs to be away for a while. The best that we can do, if we really want to help, is to be sensitive to their needs, and to provide support systems in schools, barangay and community centers for those who have been left behind.

After having said that, and actually having lived the reality, I can say with confidence that with love and support, the Filipino family is resilient, that is our greatest hope.

E-mail cathybabao@gmail.com

Totoo ba ito na kapag a day after ng Thanksgiving sa Amerika ay nagka-camp(previous day) na yung mga mamimili para sa mga bagsak presyo?
Ito ba yung Black Friday?
Noong nakaraang araw nga raw ay ipinakita sa CNN na may nag-aaway pa sa kung sino ang nauna sa pila.Sayang at hindi ko ito napanood sa CATV.

^^ :yes: Yup! That's true! The day-after-Thanksgiving is "Black Friday" because that's the biggest shopping day here in the United States; it's that time of year wherein stores that were "in the red" (losing profits) all year will get the chance to get "in the black" and make a profit.

Stores and Malls open very early just for the shoppers, and they run special ads, doorbuster deals, and one-day-only sales (or while supplies lasts) that the public would be willing enough to brave the chilly weather and camp out all night just to get a bargain.

But with this year's economic slump, we'll see if the crowds will still be there in the wee hours of the morning this coming Friday.

Ibig sabihin ba nito ang magiging performance sa NYSE sa susunod na araw ay depende sa perception ng Thanksgiving Day at Black Friday kasama na ang mga economic data?

Anyway, kiretoce. Salamat.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you there.

Ako naman, yung mga kamag-anakan ko sa provincia ay nag-ala Thanksgiving na rin nuong nakaraang araw pa dahil Fiesta sa barangay nila.

^^ :yes: Yup! That's true! The day-after-Thanksgiving is "Black Friday" because that's the biggest shopping day here in the United States; it's that time of year wherein stores that were "in the red" (losing profits) all year will get the chance to get "in the black" and make a profit.

Stores and Malls open very early just for the shoppers, and they run special ads, doorbuster deals, and one-day-only sales (or while supplies lasts) that the public would be willing enough to brave the chilly weather and camp out all night just to get a bargain.

But with this year's economic slump, we'll see if the crowds will still be there in the wee hours of the morning this coming Friday.

Branson outlets and shopping malls in our area has their store opened from midnight til people drop and passed out shopping, I'm guessing non-stop til their closing hours the following day. Hell, I'm not that nuts!!!

^^ I went to watch a movie at the mall after our Thanksgiving dinner and I already saw a line of people round the block from the mall's entrance! Some people have no life. :ohno:

Filipinotowns (or, Little Manilas) is a term that refers to a community with a large Filipino expatriate and descendant population.

But unlike many other Asian nations, the Philippines is not ethnically and linguistically homogeneous throughout the country. Thus, some Filipinos who do not originate from the Manila area, reject the term "Little Manila", feeling that the term dismisses the non-Tagalog peoples and cultures outside of the Manila area. Many opt for the term "Filipinotown" instead, being that it is a non-regional term.

UNITED STATES

CALIFORNIA - The Golden State is host to the largest Filipino constituency of any of the United States. About 2 million residents are of Filipino background and it is the primary destination for Filipino immigrants and tourists.

Los Angeles County - According to the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles, there are more than 1 million Filipino Americans in the sprawling Southern California Area. There are several Little Manilas in the Los Angeles area, including major ones in Historic Filipinotown, Eagle Rock, Panorama City, Artesia, West Hollywood, Anaheim, Carson, Cerritos, Long Beach, Glendale, Diamond Bar, and Covina near Los Angeles, where these areas contain middle-upper, middle-middle and middle-lower class Filipino American populations.

Historic Filipinotown also known as Hi-Fi or P-Town colloquially, is a district of Los Angeles, California, located between Westlake and Echo Park. Specifically, the district is bounded by the 101 Freeway to the north, Beverly Boulevard to the south, Hoover Street to the west, and Glendale Boulevard to the east, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. It was created by a resolution proposed by city councilmember Eric Garcetti on August 2, 2002. The crosswalks in Filipinotown have been decorated with traditional Filipino basket weaving patterns.

Historic Filipinotown is historically one of the few areas where Filipinos first settled in Los Angeles during the early part of the 20th century. Many Filipino-American families began purchasing homes and establishing businesses in the area beginning from the 1940s, shifting away from the Little Tokyo area in the 1920s and the Bunker Hill area later.

In modern times, Historic Filipinotown reflects the polyglot nature of Los Angeles. While the district still has a sizable Filipino population, they are in the minority, overshadowed by a sizable Mexican and Central American population. Nevertheless, the area still has one of the highest concentrations of Filipino Americans in Southern California and still remains the cultural heart of Filipinos throughout Los Angeles. Of the 100,000 Filipinos that reside in the City of Los Angeles, an estimated 6,900 are within Historic Filipinotown.

The Historic Filipinotown Chamber of Commerce leads the effort for commercial expansion in the area. Many Filipino service organizations and institutions, such as the Remy's on Temple Art Gallery, Tribal Cafe, Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), Filipino American Community of Los Angeles (FACLA), People's CORE, Filipino American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), and the Filipino American Library (FAL) are located in Historic Filipinotown. The area is also host to many Filipino restaurants, medical clinics and churches, including St. Columban Filipino Church, the first Filipino Catholic church in the United States (founded in 1946).


West Covina contains a small smatter of strip malls on Azusa Avenue and Amar Road, filled with tiny Filipino immigrant-owned shops and anchored by two Filipino American supermarket chains — Seafood City and Island Pacific Supemarket. Some Philippine fast food chains operate there such as Chowking (offers Filipinized Chinese food), Jollibee, Goldilocks Bakeshop, Red Ribbon and Pinoy Pinay. There is a short street called "Manila Way," which connects two plazas together.


Eagle Rock is known for its large Filipino community. Many Filipino businesses and organizations are present in Eagle Rock. Several of those businesses are located in a mainstream mall called Eagle Rock Plaza. Filipino food chains such as Goldilock's, Jollibee, Chowking proliferate the area, while Seafood City, Bench (a popular Filipino clothing store, Fil-Mart, remittance offices, Filipino travel agencies, and locally-owned Filipino stores are also present to cater to the thriving Eagle Rock Filipino community. The Los Angeles City Council also approved a "Philippine Village Community Center," not far from the mall.


Cerritos
Glendale
Carson
Panorama City
West Hollywood
Long Beach
Santa Clarita

Northern California - Hercules, a city in the Eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, also has a large percentage of Filipinos, 25% of the total population of the city. San Jose has one of the largest Filipino communities in Northern California. Milpitas, a city northeast of San Jose, has a sizable Filipino population. Lathrop, California, has a Filipino population and make up at least 10% of the city's population. Union City, a city east of San Francisco, also has a large Filipino community and boasts many Filipino-owned businesses on all corners of the intersection of Dyer St. and Alvarado Blvd. Most of these areas are served by Filipino chains such as Island Pacific, Seafood City, Goldilocks Bakeshop, Chowking, Jollibee, and Red Ribbon.

Daly City
Stockton
Vallejo
Sacramento


San Diego- Additionally, National City near San Diego has many Filipino residents, as does the Mira Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, often referred to as "Manila Mesa, " and Rancho Penasquitos, referred to as "Pinoysquitos." Henceforth, Filipino-Americans form the largest Asian-American subgroup, at almost 10% of the entire San Diego population. Seafood City, Jollibee, Goldilocks Bakeshop, are just among the Filipino businesses that proliferate in the San Diego area.



NEW YORK - New York City's population is 1.8% Filipino. A few Filipino enclaves exist in New York City. New York State's cumulative Filipino population is said to be at 220,000.

Queens - In the borough of Queens, many Filipino businesses have sprung up in the past decade. Queens is home to 98,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Americans and has the largest Filipino population among the five boroughs. The Filipino-American community is also the fourth largest Asian-American subgroup in the borough and makes up about 4.2% of the entire population of Queens. Tagalog is also one of the ten most spoken languages in the borough.

Woodsideis known for its concentration of Filipinos. Of the 85,000 residents of Woodside, about 13,000 are of Filipino background. Along the 7 line, known colloquially as the "International Express," the 69th Street station serves as the gateway to Queens' Little Manila. Filipino restaurants dominate the area, as well as several freight and remittance centers scattered throughout the neighborhood. Other Filipino-owned businesses including professional services (medical, dental, optical), driving schools, beauty salons, immigration services, and video rental places providing the latest movies from the Philippines dot the community. Restaurants such as Ihawan, Perlas ng Silangan, Baryo, Renee's Kitchenette, Tipanan, and Krystal's Cafe, are the most popular ones, while Philippine remittance and shipping centers such as Johnny Air Cargo, FRS, Edwards Travel, Apholo Shippers, Macro, Philippine National Bank, and Metrobank are present in the area. Stores such as Eyellusion, Jefelli Photo and Video, Manila Phil-Am Driving, Santos Medical Clinic, Luz-Vi-Minda, Marlyn's Beauty Salon, Bambina Salon, Jan-Mar Technologies, Casino Law Office, Kulay at Gupit, Phil-Am Foodmart, and Nepa Q Mart are also there to serve the thriving Filipino American community.

Jollibee, a famous fast-food chain in the Philippines, will open its first branch in New York, selecting Woodside, Queens as their location in the late 2008.

In February 2008, the Bayanihan Filipino Community Center opened its doors in Woodside, a project spearheaded by the Philippine Forum.


Hillside Avenue Many Filipinos reside in Queens Village, Hollis, Jamaica and areas at the strip of Hillside Avenue.

The Benigno Aquino, Jr. Triangle is located at 184th Place south of Hillside Avenue, is in Hollis. It is in commemoration of the assassinated Philippine oppositionist senator.

The Philippine-American Center that is hosted by the Filipino American Human Services, Inc. is located in Hillside Avenue. This area is now known to have a growing Filipino community and many Filipino businesses have started to open such as medical centers, Filipino stores and video rental places, remittance centers, beauty salons, restaurants, etc.

Other Filipino establishments are scattered throughout Hillside Avenue such as Palengke, Bandera ng Pilipinas, Philippine Padala, and Johnny Air Cargo.


Manhattan - Aside from this location, Filipino restaurants, stores and services have been sprawling throughout Manhattan. Grill 21, Pistahan, Elvie's Turo-Turo, and Johnny Air Cargo are just a few of the Filipino businesses in the district. A high-end Filipino restaurant in Manhattan is Cendrillon, located at Mercer Street. The most recent Filipino restaurant to open in Manhattan is the Bayan Cafe around Midtown. (2006).

The Philippine Consulate of New York has a multipurpose role, aside from its governmental duties and functions, it also caters to many events of the Filipino-American community and even has a school called Paaralan sa Konsulado (School at the Consulate), which teaches new-generation Filipino-Americans about their culture and language. It is known just as the Philippine Center instead of the consulate. The Philippine Center's newly-renovated large edifice is situated in Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and is open to the public on business days and closed on Philippine and American holidays. The building itself is considered as the largest foreign consulate on the strip of the avenue.

New York City also hosts the annual Philippine Independence Day Parade along Madison Avenue on the first Sunday of June. It is also said to be one of the largest parades of any kind in the city and the largest Philippine celebration in the United States. This celebration is a combination of a parade and a street fair. Madison Avenue bursts on this day with Filipino culture, colors and people and is attended by many important political figures, entertainers, civic groups, etc. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator Charles Schumer are devout attendees of this annual parade.

The Archdiocese of New York designated a chapel named after the first Filipino Saint Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila for the Filipino Apostolate. Officially designated as the "Church of Filipinos," or the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz is the second in the United States and only the third in the world dedicated as such.

Brooklyn - A Little Manila could be seen in Canarsie that has Filipino stores, rental places, and restaurants. This is located around Avenue L and its surrounding areas.

Many Filipinos are in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, consisting of Tagalog, Ilokano, and Visayan speakers. However, there are few edifices of Filipino culture in the Flatbush area.

Staten Island is home to 12,000 Filipinos and they are the third largest immigrant group to this borough. Despite the distinguishable population, there is no definite place for a Little Manila. Rather, these Filipino establishments, such as Phil Am Foodmart, are scattered all over the island, with concentration in the northern part of Staten Island.

Bronx - Although Bronx does not have a defined Filipino enclave, it is home to at least 10,000 Filipinos. Many of them work in the borough, mostly of medical profession, in local hospitals and medical offices. Several Filipino businesses have come about to serve Bronx's growing Filipino constituency.



NEW JERSEY - New Jersey is home to a significant Filipino population, numbering at more than 100,000 statewide, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. This number may be closing in to the 200,000 level, in 2006, due to a high birth rate among Filipino-Americans and a significant amount of 8,000 Filipino immigrants annually. While Filipinos can be found across the state, the commercial districts catering to the Filipino community are found mostly in the state's urban areas. State and local governments in the Garden State have significant number of employees of Filipino background and they play a vital role in the state's affairs, issues, and commerce.

Filipino enclaves exist in Bergenfield, Passaic, Union City and Elizabeth.

The Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus hosts the annual Philippine Fiesta, a cultural event that draws Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike from across the New York metropolitan area. The event takes place at the end of August.

In 2006, a Red Ribbon pastry shop, one of the Philippines' most famous food chains, opened its first branch on the East Coast in the Garden State.


Jersey City has a thriving Filipino community, which is the largest Asian-American subgroup in the city. 7% of Jersey City's population is Filipino. Newark Avenue's strip of Filipino culture and commerce dwarfs that of New York. A variety of Filipino restaurants, shippers and freighters, doctors' officers, bakeries, stores, and even an office of The Filipino Channel made Newark Avenue their home. A park and statue dedicated to Jose P. Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, exists in downtown Jersey City.

"Manila Avenue" in downtown Jersey City was named for the Philippine city because of the many Filipinos who built their homes on this street during the 1970s. A memorial, dedicated to the Filipino-American veterans of the Vietnam War, was built in a small square on Manila Avenue. In Jersey City, Filipinos are also concentrated around West Side Avenue.

Jersey City is the host of the annual Philippine-American Friendship Day Parade, an event that occurs yearly in June, on its last Sunday. The City Hall of Jersey City raises the Philippine flag in correlation to this event and as a tribute to the contributions of the Filipino community.

An array of Filipino-owned businesses can also be found at the section of West Side Avenue, where many of its residents are of Filipino descent.


Bergenfield is considered as Bergen County's Little Manila. It is home to many Filipino businesses, particularly restaurants and bakeshops. Red Ribbon, a popular bakeshop in the Philippines, will open its second branch in Bergenfield, after Jersey City.



WASHINGTON - Washington's population is 4% Filipino, or 252,000, making the Filipino-American community the largest Asian-American subgroup and the sixth largest reported single ancestry in the state.

Seattle-Tacoma - Seattle has many Filipino enclaves, especially in the southern part of the city. The community even established its own Filipino Community Center that serves to a number of Filipino-American events and as well as creating its own civic organization. The city is also rich with Filipino-American culture, history, and commerce.

Filipino-Americans are active in the state's issues and affairs. Historically, Filipino-Americans have opposed unfairness and racial discrimination within the work force in the 1930s, also many of the Filipino American males were often punished harshly for courting or having sexual relations with White American women. When anti-miscegenation bills were introduced during this period, Filipino-Americans, along with African-American and labor communities mobilized to fight the measure. Velma Viloria, was the first Filipino-American to become a part of the state legislature. Alex Tizon and Byron Acohido of The Seattle Times won Pulitzer Prizes in 1996 for their reporting on fraud in Indian housing programs (Tizon) and on airplane safety (Acohido). Until today, Filipino-Americans in the state are well-respected due to their contributions that are remarked and renowned greatly by most of its residents.

Many of Washington's Filipino-American residents also travel to Vancouver in the neighboring country of Canada to visit their friends and relatives, while many Filipino-Canadians reciprocate this as well.



NEVADA - The surge of Filipino immigration to Nevada began later than any other states. It is home to some 90,000 Filipinos, mostly living in the Las Vegas Clark County area. It has a Little Manila that is centered to serve the growing Filipino population and has even accommodated a Goldilock's, one of the Philippines' most popular bakeshops that also has many locations in the neighboring state of California. A mini mall-type Seafood City supermarket, opened in May 2007, also houses Jollibee, Chow King, Red Ribbon, Valerio's Tropical Bakery, a Philippine National Bank and a Bank of the Philippine Islands remittance and banking centers, and other stores. It is now a focal point of Filipino tourists and immigrants and is served by Philippine Airlines, which provides easy access when travelling between the Philippines and Nevada.


ILLINOIS - Chicago's population is 2% Filipino. Illinois is also home to more than 120,000 Filipinos. Filipinos are the largest Asian-American group in the city and the second largest in the state, short of only 1,000 people from its Asian Indian counterparts. Chicago also has its own version of Little Manilas. Many of these businesses and civic organizations are there to serve the large Filipino community.

Many Filipinos in Illinois date back when Filipino-Americans have begun moving up north from California in hopes of filling in professional occupations. Also, Chicago used to be a focus city of Philippine Airlines, that propelled Filipino immigration to Illinois. It halted its services to the Windy City during the early 90's. Nonetheless, Illinois still receives a large contingency of Filipino immigrants.


HAWAII - Hawaii's known for its unique demographic structure, in which it does not have a specific majority group. The Filipino-American community make up about 23% of the state's entire population and is only second their Japanese-American counterparts. Its geographic confines contain as many as 275,000 Filipinos (2000 Census) and receives an annual amount of 4,000 new Filipino immigrants. The Filipino Americans are also responsible for making Hawaii the most dense Roman Catholic state in the Union.

The Filipino Community Center is the largest Filipino establishment of any kind in the United States. It is currently celebrating the Filipino Centennial, which commemorates 100 years of Filipino immigration and contributions to the state.

The census designated place of Waipahu, on the island of Oahu, has a majority Filipino population. Many of them are immigrants of the Philippines, and the streets of Waipahu have many small Filipino owned businesses. Waipahu could be considered as "Hawaii's Little Manila."


VIRGINIA - Almost 100,000 of Virginia's residents are of Filipino descent. Filipinos in the state are mostly concentrated 45,000 within the Hampton Roads area. There are several Filipino-owned restaurants, stores, bakeshops, remittance centers, medical offices in Virginia Beach. Many Filipinos serving in the U.S. Navy who were stationed in the area decide to settle down in the area as well.


FLORIDA - Since Florida is a primary destination for cruise ships, those who work in them are predominantly Filipino, thus making the Sunshine State as a primary destination for both Filipino tourists and migrants.

Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa also contain decent Filipino enclaves.


OTHER STATES - Filipinotowns begin to pop up in other states. Many of these states and cities that have Filipino enclaves are:

Colorado (Denver)
Indiana (Fort Wayne)
Louisiana (New Orleans; Shreveport; Baton Rouge)
Maryland (Aspen Hill)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Michigan (Metropolitan Detroit Area; Sterling Heights)
Oregon (Portland)
Texas (Houston; Dallas; San Antonio; Austin; Waco)
Washington, DC

CANADA

GREATER TORONTO - Toronto, in the province of Ontario, is home to the largest Filipino contingency in Canada with over 250,000 living in Toronto and its suburbs. Toronto's population is 5% Filipino and are the fourth largest visible minority group. Toronto is the premier destination for Filipino immigrants and tourists with about 9,000 coming every year. Most Filipinos in Toronto tend to settle in Toronto's inner suburbs, Scarborough, North York, East York and Downtown Toronto. These areas within the City of Toronto house usually middle-upper, middle-middle, middle-lower and lower class Filipino Canadians. An increasing amount now tend to settle in the outer suburbs of Mississauga, Brampton, Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering and Vaughan.

Toronto is host to many Filipino events. These community events attract upwards to 100,000 visitors in a weekend. These events go on almost every weekend from June to August. Toronto is also host to The Philippine Consulate and a Philippine Overseas Labour Office, which serve all of Eastern Canada.


Mississauga is a city immediately west of Toronto and Canada's 6th largest city, is home to over 700,000 people of which 4.6% or just over 30,000 are of Filipino origin. Filipino Canadians constitute the third largest Asian Canadian subgroup and fourth largest visible minority group. Tagalog is the 7th most spoken language in the city. The growth of Mississauga's Filipino community is mostly due to its proximity to Toronto.

Mississauga has many Filipino establishments and professional offices scattered throughout the city. Some of the popular establishments are Something Sweet 4 U (2 branches), Ellen's Place, Minerva Studio and Restaurant, Aristokrat, Halo Halo World Cafe and a branch of FV Foods. There are several stores that specialize in Filipino goods and many Asian supermarkets carry Filipino products. The Philippine National Bank has an office in Mississauga. There are many professional offices, mainly dental and law offices.

Mississauga plays host to many Filipino cultural events. Mississauga has two Filipino community centres, Kalayaan Community Centre and The Fiesta Filipina Centre for the Arts. Mississauga Valley Park host many community events including Kalayaan Independence Day Picnic and the Philippine Colleges and Universities Alumni Associations Summerfest.


Scarborough in the eastern part of Toronto is home to about 600,000 people with about 7% or over 40,000 people are of Filipino origin. Filipino Canadians are the third largest Asian Canadian subgroup and fourth largest visible minority group in Scarborough.

Filipino establishments and offices dot the Scarborough landscape with almost every mall and plaza with at least one Filipino establishment. Some of the popular restaurants are Remely's, Barrio Fiesta, Chef George, Sino Pino, Mayette's, Jesse Jr. (3 branches), Golden Valley Food Outlet, Cucina Manila, Bicol Express, Esperanza's Pancitan, Mami's, Coffee In and Fiesta Filipino. FV Foods (3 branches), Manila Bakery and Baker's Best all specialize in Filipino sweets and breads. Most of these establishments double as a store with imported Filipino products. Many remittance and door to door services have offices in Scarborough such as PNB, Forex, UMAC Express Cargo, Gemini Express, Mabini Express and RemitX. There are also many professional and medical offices around Scarborough.


North York in the northern part of Toronto, is home to over 620,000 people of which about 4% or over 25,000 are of Filipino origin. North York's Filipino community is concentrated around Flemingdon Park and Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue.

Filipino establishments and professional offices are concentrated around the Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue area. Filipino businesses dominate the intersection of Bathurst and Wilson and the area surrounding it. Other businesses are located in Don Mills. Some of the most popular establishments include Aristokrat, Cusina, Bulakena, Fort Ilocandia, Happy Birthday Cakes, Manila by Night, Sampaguita, Casa Manila, Angel Kiss, and a branch of FV Foods.



Flemingdon Park - Across the Overlea Bridge from Thorncliffe Park, Flemingdon Park is home to many Filipinos. Of the almost 20,000 residents of Flemingdon Park, about 2,500 are of Filipino descent. Like most high-rise communities in Toronto, Flemingdon Park witnessed the growth of their Filipino community during the 70s and 80s.

Filipinos make up the majority, or about 60%, of the congregation at Blessed John XXIII Parish. For many years, the Filipino Chaplaincy of the Archdiocese of Toronto was housed at the church. Mass was said every Sunday in Tagalog, Simbang Gabi masses were held every year and devotions to Sto. Nino and the Black Nazarene were held while the Filipino Chaplaincy was active at Blessed John XXIII Parish. The Filipino Chaplaincy left the parish in the August of 2008 for Our Lady of Assumption Parish in the Bathurst Street area. The school adjacent to the parish, Blessed John XXIII Catholic School, is also attended by predominantly Filipino students.

The Flemingdon Park Plaza, houses a couple of Filipino establishments. A restaurant/store (Angel Kiss), Gemini Express Remittance and a TFC dealer. Many Filipinos from Thorncliffe Park patronize these establishments while many Filipinos from Flemingdon Park patronize Filipino offices and establishments in Thorncliffe Park.



Downtown Toronto or Old Toronto is home to over 670,000 people of which 3% or over 20,000 are of Filipino origin. Most Filipinos living in Downtown Toronto live in the neighbourhoods of St. James Town, where Filipinos make the largest visible minority group accounting for 22% of the population, and Parkdale, particularly around Jameson Avenue.


East York a former borough of Toronto before amalgamation and just east of Toronto's downtown is home to over 5,000 Filipinos and Filipino Canadians. The Filipino-Canadian community is the third largest Asian Canadian subgroup and makes up about 4% of East York's population. Tagalog is also one of the most spoken languages.



Thorncliffe Park is home to about 20,000 people, which about 3,000 are of Filipino background. Filipinos came to live in the high rises of Thorncliffe Park beginning in the 1970s. During the 1980s and 1990s, Filipinos were the largest visible minority group in Thorncliffe Park. During these years, Thorncliffe Park was host to one of the largest Philippine Independence celebrations and parades in Toronto. During the 2000s more and more Filipinos left Thorncliffe Park for the suburbs and became outnumbered by the South Asian community. More new Filipino immigrants are coming to Thorncliffe Park and the community is growing once again.

Filipino establishments and offices are concentrated in the Overlea Mews and the East York Town Centre. Three Filipino family doctors (Dr. Matta, Dr. Pulido & Dr. Quirante-Flora) have offices in the East York Town Centre. Overlea Mews has a store (Asian Market Place), a take-out restaurant (Philippine-Caribbean Cuisine) and a dentist office (Dr. Bernabe & Associates), all Filipino owned.


Pape Avenue - Like Thorncliffe Park, Pape Avenue has a large Filipino contingency with about 1,500 Filipinos living around Pape Avenue. The Filipino community is concentrated around Pape Avenue from O'Connor Drive to Danforth Avenue. Filipinos moved into the apartments around Pape Avenue beginning in the 1970s. Filipino establishments are centered on Pape Avenue. Two Filipino stores (Atin Ito & Oriental Food Mart), a salon (Princess Nails), a travel agency (Travel Mart), a jewellers (Laguna Jewellers) and a restaurant/karaoke bar/banquet hall (Luneta) are all located along Pape Avenue between Cosburn Avenue and Danforth Avenue.



VANCOUVER - About 70,000 Filipinos consider Vancouver home. Many Filipino businesses, particularly Goldilocks, are in the Vancouver area to cater to the Filipino Canadian community. Philippine Airlines also has Vancouver as its focus city, providing easy access for both Filipinos and Philippine-made products.

Singapore = lucky plaza

:rofl:
:rofl:
:rofl:

EUROPE

In Palermo, Italy, the predominantly Filipino quarter is called Little Tondo. Italy is home to 250,000 Filipinos, while in the United Kingdom (80,000) and Spain whom had ruled the Philippines before the U.S. annexation in 1898. Filipino immigration to Europe has increased since the 1970s in pursuit of better-paying jobs, some of the immigrant workers are young adult men in temporary residency in the European Union still have family in the Philippines, the phenomena is known as "astronaut families." Filipinos might have ethnic sections in other urban centres like Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; Stockholm, Sweden and Amsterdam.


GUAM

Guam's Filipino community also has a large percentage in the population, which is said to compromise about 26 percent. Besides the indigenous Chamorro population, they are the 2nd largest ethnic group on the island. Large populations of the Filipino communities are concentrated mostly in the Dededo, Yigo and Agat villages.

Although Guam has no official Little Manila, the Dededo and Harmon location is outlined with Filipino restaurants, barbecue stands, swap meets, karaoke bars, lounges and other Filipino owned business establishments.

Guam has its share of Filipino lawmakers, whether they come of full blooded to half blooded, from the Espaldons to the Lamorenas, You will find a politician who has family ties to a Filipino. When election time comes around, politicians always try to get the Filipino vote in order to gain the upper hand as they are one of the largest voters on island.

Filipinos have been a major influence to Guam's history and culture. They have mixed with the indigenous population from the time of the Spanish occupation, Manila trade galleons, and up to this present day. Today, it is known through historical facts and studies that the majority of the native population (Chamorro) have Filipino ancestry somewhere along the line.

;28716374']Singapore = lucky plaza

:rofl:
:rofl:
:rofl:

Is that anywhere near People's Park? I remember People's Park is always jam-packed with Filipinos on Sundays. But this was back in the early 1980s.

sa Orchard Road

marami kasing Pinoy stores, restos and syempre remittance centers doon..expect it to be packed pag sundays.

^^ Guess you're also there hanging-out on Sundays, eh? :lol: :jk: :nocrook:

By the way, if you have time, maybe you can snap some photos and post them here. :okay:

MADRID, ESPAÑA

although not necessarily a Barrio Filipino for lack of filipino residents, this area in the Spanish capital contains monuments to Philippines and is the center of Filipino cultural activities in Spain.

AVENIDA DE FILIPINAS -- Four hundred years of occupation seem not enough for Spanish colonizers to remind them of the Philippines. On the streets of the capital city of Spain, there are sterling reminders of its former colony.

On one corner of the bustling Avenida de Filipinas (Philippine Avenue), a tourist will not miss a historical marker paying tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal. It is a replica of the Philippine national hero’s monument in Manila’s famous park Luneta, where he was shot on December 30, 1896 by firing squad upon the orders of the Spanish government.

However, Madrid’s version is smaller and its grounds are less spirited due to the absence of the waving colorful Philippine flag, the attractive water fountains and the marching guards that Manila’s Rizal Park boasts of.

Rizal’s landmark in the ebullient European city is somehow eclipsed by the vibrancy of Avenida de Filipinas, which is an upbeat commercial-residential thoroughfare. Rizal, whose 143rd birth anniversary was celebrated on June 19, probably once walked on this path when he studied Medicine as well as Philiosophy and Letters in Madrid in 1884.

A few blocks away is the location of “Las Islas Filipinas (Philippine Islands),” a subway station on Line 7 of Metro Madrid, an underground railway as complicated as New York’s notorious mass transportation. “Las Islas Filipinas” shares Line 7 with a stop called “Avenida de America (American Avenue).” Strangely even in Madrid, the Philippines has a link to the U.S. But most Metro stations have been named after Spanish royalty figures, heroes, intellectuals and former territories.

During merienda time, Spaniards eat “Filipinos.” A Chocolate-coated biscuit called “Filipinos” is one of their favorite snacks. The mini doughnut-shaped treat comes in three assortments - white, brown and dark chocolate aptly representing the diversity of Filipinos. No wonder, there was a diplomatic protest a few years ago against Barcelona-based Artiach-Nabisco, the makers of Filipinos. Some Filipino lawmakers believed that using the name for a snack had racial undertones.

By Joy G. Perez (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dum/2005/08/30/oped/joy.g..perez.sensitivity.html)
Sensitivity

SINCE 2002, based on yearly flows, the Philippines have surpassed Mexico as the largest source of migrant labor in the world.

Filipino Ties, a publication of the Commission on Filipinos overseas cited four major waves of Filipino migration since 1565. The first wave was in 1565-1906; the second wave was in 1906-1934; the third wave was in 1945-1965; and the fourth wave was in 1965 onwards.

These four major waves of migration explain why the magnitude of our overseas Filipino population has been a major factor in making the Philippines as among the top receiving countries of migrant remittances.

June 1565 marked the arrival of the first Filipino seafarers in Acapulco, Mexico at the start of the 250-year Manila Galleon Trade. From Mexico, they moved to Louisiana in the present USA and established settlements along its bayous and marshes.

In 1781, one of the 46 founders of the City of Los Angeles in California was a certain Antonio Miranda, described as a native of Manila. In 1850, Filipinos became crewmembers of whaling ships wintering in Alaska's arctic coast and lived among Inupiat Eskimos.

In 1870, Sociedad de Beneficencia de los Hispano Filipinas de Nueva Orleans, the first Filipino social club in the United States, was founded. In 1883, a sawmill worker in Port Blakely who was listed only as 'Manila' was the first known Filipino in the territory of Washington. During this period, Filipinos were also in Europe particularly in Spain as students, professionals, or exiles.

December 1906 marked the arrival of the first sakadas in the plantations of Hawaii. Most of the sakadas were Ilokanos and Visayans, males, 16-22 years old, and with less than eighth grade education. In 1924, Filipino labourers moved to other parts of the U.S. to work in downtown hotels and restaurants, sawmills and railroad construction in California's agricultural plantations, and in Alaska's salmon canning industry.

May 1934 marked the signing of Tydings McDuffie Law which elevated the Philippines from a territory to a commonwealth, declared all Philippine-born Filipinos in the U.S. as aliens, and restricted Philippine immigration quota to 50 per year.

In 1945, a new breed of Filipino immigrants came to the U.S. They were military servicemen, students, and professionals in post-graduate studies, and other professionals engaged in white collar-jobs. In 1965, there was an amendment of the Immigration Nationality Act which increased the quota of immigrant entries from the Philippines. Filipinos were hired as construction workers in Guam, Okinawa, and Vietnam.

In 1970s, overseas Filipinos increased significantly with the labour demands of oil-exporting Middle Eastern countries and labor-absorbing economies in Asia. Filipino women took care of children and performed domestic work in booming economies in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and the Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia).

In 1980s, an increasing number of Filipino women went abroad as spouses or partners of foreign nationals. The 1990s saw an influx of medical practitioners (doctors, nurses, and physical therapists) to European and American countries.

In 1998, the Philippines was ranked sixth by the United Nations in terms of countries with highest level of migration.

Last Wednesday, August 24, Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) in Dumaguete City hosted a 'Symposium in Migration and Intermarriage Issues' with resource persons from the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The figures in this column were taken from "Filipinos: Forgotten Asian Americans", by Fred Cordova, 2000 Report of the UN Population Division.

@Juan: Thanks for that piece of historical information. :okay:

Crowded Malls and lots of traffic on the freeways exiting to the Clackamas Town Center yesterday... :lol:


Walang pera daw... pero puro shopping kahapon, today and tomorrow... :lol:

^^ They said that due to the price of gas going down, it's like everyone got a raise and now have money to spend on shopping. :colgate:

I decided to just sleep-in on Black Friday instead. With retailers in dire need of turning a profit this holiday shopping season, I'm sure there will be more deals as Christmas gets nearer. :okay:

UNITED KINGDOM

LONDON--Earl's Court Village is the center of the Filipino British community, where it has a number of Asian restaurants and Filipino supermarkets, many of which serve take-away food. Over the past 20 years, the number of Filipinos living and working in the UK has increased by an incredible 833% from roughly 18,000 in 1986 to more than 150,000 in 2006. Of this figure, about 70% live in the Greater London area.


SINGAPORE

Lucky Plaza is a shopping centre located at Orchard Road in Singapore. It is a hub for the Filipino community in Singapore, which can be observed on Sundays in particular when Filipina domestic workers congregate in and around the vicinity for snacks. Lucky Plaza has a wide range of shops selling Filipino products, electronics, shoes, sports goods. There is a food court in the basement, and there are various food joints in the building, such as McDonald's. The upper levels include bars, nightspots and doctor's premises.



HONG KONG

There are on average around 140,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, of whom most work as foreign domestic helpers. Filipino maids are known by the locals as feiyungs and the slang bun muis or bun buns. In some cases Filipino women with university degrees are willing to work as maids and nannies for the higher salary and better lifestyle they will receive in Hong Kong than they could make at home.

On Sundays (when most domestic helpers have a day off) and on public holidays thousands of domestic helpers gather in Central, Victoria Park and around Hong Kong Cultural Centre to socialise and picnic.

^^ It wasn't funny when they came home, they did'nt buy anything for me.


I guess it was funny to them --- :lol:

Yeah, more deals before and after X'mas ~ I'll buy a Dodge Charger, they offer some good deals... :tongue:

Crowded Malls and lots of traffic on the freeways exiting to the Clackamas Town Center yesterday... :lol:


Walang pera daw... pero puro shopping kahapon, today and tomorrow... :lol:

dito nga sa long island, a young walmart worker died after being trampled by people trying to get into the store...:ohno:

^^ What's with Wal-Mart these days? Aside from that, I think there's another Wal-Mart incident, and this time it's a shooting. :ohno:

^^ they heavily advertised their black-friday deals which are indeed much cheaper kaya naka attract ng madaming tao tapos poor crowd control siguro, i saw in tv they even broke down the door nung LI wal mart...:ohno:

^^ That's why I shop at Target. People there are much more civilized there. ;) ( :lol: )

^^ Target snob. :lol: :nocrook:

^^ Maybe it's the other way around, that I'm a Wal-Mart snob (and damn proud of it!). :colgate:

^^ Guess you're also there hanging-out on Sundays, eh? :lol: :jk: :nocrook:

By the way, if you have time, maybe you can snap some photos and post them here. :okay:

sige pag nag monthly pilgrimage kami next week dun hehe

BTW, i noticed nakadumi ang post ko sa thread na ito..feel free to delete the posts na lang po :D

^^ Nah....that's okay, no harm done. :colgate:

Stranded Pinoys may be airlifted (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=419981&publicationSubCategoryId=202)

The country’s envoy to Thailand urged Philippine carriers to study the possibility of using a military base already being used by other commercial airlines for flights going out of the Thai capital to airlift some 428 Filipinos stranded in Bangkok.

Ambassador Antonio Rodriguez told Vice President Noli de Castro in the latter’s weekly radio show Para sa ’Yo on dzMM yesterday morning that he has sent a letter to Lucio Tan of Philippine Airlines and Lance Gokongwei of Cebu Pacific Airways about this option.

Rodriguez assured De Castro that the stranded Filipinos were safe in comfortable hotels in the Thai capital.

But he expressed concern that the numbers may swell especially if the crisis is not resolved soon.

Rodriguez explained that the number of stranded passengers grow each day as more departing flights are unable to bring their passengers back home.

Flights were cancelled after thousands of anti-government protesters stormed and took over the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and the Don Muang Domestic Airport.

Rodriguez said many of the stranded Filipinos already want to come home.

“There’s an airport here, it’s about two hours from Bangkok. It’s already being used by some airlines,” Rodriguez said. “They can consider using the Utapaw military base.”

The envoy said the airport was a military airbase that was opened by the Thai government in the aftermath of the takeover of the two Bangkok airports.

Other options, such as taking a land trip out of Bangkok to go to Malaysia or Laos and take a flight going to Manila from there, were not feasible, according to Rodriguez.

He said commercial airlines such as Thai Airways, Turkish Airways, Austrian Airways, Aeroflot, and Gulf Air had already used the air base.

Rodriguez said the 428 stranded Filipinos were given 2,000 baht each for their hotel accommodations.

Of the 428, 180 were billeted at the Four Seasons Hotel owned by a Filipina businesswoman.

Rodriguez said Lanao del Norte Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo, who was with 29 barangay officials, was among those stranded in Bangkok.

According to Rodriguez, Dimaporo’s group was in Bangkok on a business trip related to a halal food project.

Also stranded is Land Transportation Office chief Alberto Suansing.

Suansing, in a text message to The STAR, said he has left his hotel and has practically staked out at the Chiang Mai airport, located north of Thailand, to find a way out of the strife-torn country.

“I’m at now at the Chiang Mai airport, verifying every airline looking for option,” he said.

Suansing said the situation is very tense because the government does no want to use force to avoid the protesters gaining sympathy from the army.

“It seems that the military wants trouble so that they can intervene,” he said.

The standoff was caused by the failure of the police to retake control of the two airports from opposition forces of the People’s Alliance for Democracy.

“The two airports are still closed. The chief of police has been replaced. We’re monitoring now what the new police chief can do,” Rodriguez said.

Didn't know there is something going on in thailand right now. Sorry, for those who are affected, hopefully they could come home soon...

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa305/judedefensor/September2008021.jpg
A Filipino store in Stockholm, Sweden.

In Spain, especially in Madrid, almost all of the bigger, fancier restaurants have Filipino staff, whether waitstaff, reception, or kitchen staff or combination. For some reason, parang hindi nila ako namumukhaan na Pinoy, maybe because I always dined out with European friends and we were speaking in English or Spanish, or they just didn't care if I understood them. So Tagalog sila ng Tagalog, ang dadaldal! Nakakatawa pero minsan nakakatakot din kasi mahilig sila mang-asar o mangbatikos ng mga customer. Like, sasabihin nila "ang pangit nung lalaki na kasama nung babaeng maganda" or "nakakaasar yung nasa table X". Alangan na rin ako magpakilala as Pinoy kasi baka mapahiya sila na kung anu-ano sinasabi nila in front of me, and also curious ako to see if they say anything about me or my friends! You really can't go far without bumping into Pinoys in Spain.

In Paris and Amsterdam, parang wala masyadong Filipino community. But the Pinoy relatives and friends I know there said they didn't know too many Filipinos around and didn't go out of their way to make friends with them. In either city, you rarely, if ever bump into fellow Pinoys. In Antwerp and Rotterdam though there are bars (and brothels) near the port frequented Filipino seamen, my Belgian friend even wanted us to go in them so I could say hi to my countrymen daw, pero I said that honestly, I really didn't have much to say to them.

30 Saudi-bound OFWs bumped off flights
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:18:00 12/01/2008

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20081201-175464/30-Saudi-bound-OFWs-bumped-off-flights

MANILA, Philippines -- Thirty overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Saudi Arabia are stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after they said they were bumped off booked flights to make way for pilgrims to the annual hajj in Mecca.

The OFWs had called up the hot line of Senator Manuel Villar, who has been helping distressed overseas workers.

One of the stranded OFWs, Juliete Lamberte, told INQUIRER.net he was originally booked to leave for Saudi Arabia October 21 but had been bumped off Saudia flights for the pilgrims.

"My visa will expire today, December 1. I need to get on the plane today," he said in Filipino.

From Davao City, Lamberte said he has been staying at a small inn near the airport and returning there often to check if he can be accommodated on a flight.

"I don't have money to allow me to go home to Davao, and my money is also running out," he said.

Lamberte, a factory worker, came home on an emergency when his wife died last October.

Another stranded OFW, nurse Jane Sicat, said she and 29 other Saudi-bound workers have been put on a waiting list.

She said this will cause her to be late for her scheduled return to work on Tuesday.

Alejandro Muli said he has returned to the airport three times. "Kapos na po ako sa panggastos at nagkakasakit na po ako [I'm running out of money and getting sick]," he said.

A member of Villar's staff said they are trying to reach officials of Saudia Airlines and the Department of Foreign Affairs to address the stranded OFWs' problems.

bpo pumps billions of dollars in the economy, that's no small change ,that money circulates. It shouldn't be our only industry but it's a good augment. Our govt. has a record of being lax and relying only on what's comfortable like the ofw business.
Just train all the unemployed to speak English ,it's better than nothing.

^^ The OFW business. Well, in a sense it is. :lol:

Malaki talaga ang pakinabang ng ating gobyerno sa mga OFW. Biruin mo, kung wala ang mga padala nilang pera, paano na ang real estate business, pano na ang mga Malls, paano lalakas ang benta ng industriya kung walang pera ang mga pamilya nilang naiwan?

Kung tutuusin, sila ang nagsisilbing “life-support” ng ating naghihikahos at 50:50 na ekonomiya.

Ang DFA dapat ang may pinakamalaking budget o pondo para sa kanila; sa mga programang dapat magbigay ng proteksyon at pag-aaruga sa oras na kailanganin nila. Hindi naman sila habang buhay malakas para maging OFW at sustentohan ang pangangailangan ng bansa sa dolyar.

Oo. May mga programa na ngayon ang gobyerno para sa kanila pero sapat ba ito? Bakit patuloy ang karahasan at pagmamalupit sa kanila ng mga amo? Bakit may mga umuuwing isa ng malamig na bangkay? Paano na sila kung mahina na ang katawan? Ganun na lamang ba, matapos pakinabangan ng gobyerno ang kanilang pagtityaga na mawalay sa kanilang mahal sa buhay?

Ang kailangan nila ay hindi awa, ang kailangan nila ay pagmamalasakit at importansya mula sa ating gobyerno. Mga programang magbibigay dangal at tuluyang pag-angat sa kahirapan. Tama nang isang myembro ng pamilya ang nagpakalayo upang itaguyod ang kanyang pamilya. Tama nang isang magulang ang nagtiis na iwan ang mga anak para sustentohan ang kanilang pangangailangan.

Mahirap at masaklap mawalay sa mga mahal natin sa buhay. Hindi basta-basta ang kanilang sinuong para lang tipirin ang sarili upang mairaos ang bawat araw para may malaking halaga na maiuwi sa pamilya.

Naiisip ba nila, natin, kayo ang mga bagay na ito? Masuwerte ka kung nasa mga bansang may kalakihan kung mag pasweldo, maayos at may mga batas na nagpo-proteksyon ka napapunta.

Patuloy sa pagbaba ang kalidad ng mga manggagawa sa bansa sa kadahilanang patuloy silang nagsisikap na makaalis sa kahirapan.

Bakit pa natin kailangang i-text o itawag sa mga politikong ito na pinahihirapan ang ating mga OFW…hindi ba tungkulin nilang alamin ang kalagayan nila? Silang nagpapakahirap tapos pahihirapan pa sa sariling bansa.

3,000 OFWs still leaving daily: Overseas deployment up by 25.5 percent (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20081210-177244/3000-OFWs-still-leaving-daily)

Despite the global financial crisis, an average of 3,000 Filipinos still leave the country every day, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said in a statement Wednesday.

Citing records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, he again belied reports that Filipino workers in destination countries affected by the crisis are returning to the country in droves.

Overseas deployment is "robust," he said.

He said POEA records showed that OFW deployment increased by 25.5 percent (227,780) from 888,339 in the January to October 2007 period to 1.116 million during the same period this year.

Roque said POEA statistics shows that about a 1,000 OFWs are returning every month not only because of the economic meltdown, but because their contracts have expired.

The return rate "is the same level as last year," he said.

Roque said the half million OFWs cited in newspaper reports to return due to the crisis are not supported by the POEA data.

He clarified that the huge number of projected OFW displacement is "based on a worst-case scenario" crafted by his office to prepare appropriate responses to the impact of the crisis on OFWs.

Roque also cited Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas figures showing a record high in OFWs remittances amounting to $12.3 billion from January to September this year, representing a 17.1-percent growth above the remittance record in the same period last year.

At the same time, the labor secretary said reports from 34 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in various destinations abroad with high concentrations of OFWs did not indicate massive displacements of Filipino workers due to the financial crisis.

He said the POLOs have been directed to closely monitor OFWs displacements to enable the department to provide the necessary assistance to them.

Based on the POLOs' report, Roque said OFWs' employment in the Middle East remains secure as financial institutions there are "liquid." He also said OFWs in Europe are also secure as most of them are engaged in essential occupations.

In a related development, the labor chief said the labor markets in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, and Japan are expanding to provide more employment opportunities to OFWs.

He said the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the POEA have been instructed to assist OFWs affected by the crisis in Taiwan so that they can get their wages and other benefits from their employers or brokers.

"They would also be referred to the MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office) for endorsement to jobs in Taiwanese firms in the Philippines. Others who prefer trainings and livelihood assistance would also be given appropriate services," he said.

For local workers who may be displaced due to the crisis, Roque said livelihood assistance will be provided them under the adjustment measures and income augmentation programs. "Employment facilitation services" will also be extended to those who want to find another job locally or overseas, he said.

"The DoLE is prepared to respond in the face of eventualities to protect and ensure the employment and welfare of Filipino workers, locally and overseas," he said.

Only 500,000 new jobs expected next year (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/12/10/08/only-500000-new-jobs-expected-next-year)

500,000 new jobs are expected to be created next year, half of the usual one million new employment opportunities generated each year, the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said.

“Before we used to have one million new jobs yearly. Next year we cannot meet that target,” ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said in an interview yesterday at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati.

According to Ortiz-Luis, the formal sector is expected to shrink further to 12 percent from this year’s 16 percent. This means that only 4.7 million Filipinos will be employed in the formal sector.

“Those graduating may not all get jobs but those who have jobs are expected to keep it,”he said.

Meanwhile, ECOP past president Miguel Varela said that 700,000 workers are expected to be displaced next year. He said these people are working in what they call “vulnerable sectors”. Of which, 500,00 are working overseas while the 200,000 are employed locally.

For the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Varela said the private sector and the government is already devising ways to help look for alternative markets like Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

In addition to this, he said the government and the private sector are setting up a countryside development fund in order to help those who will be displaced as a result of the slowdown in the global economy.

“We have P100 million ready for those who will lose their jobs,” Varela said.

Varela said the fund, which will be available next year, can be used to start businesses. He said the concept of microfinance lending will be used in disbursing the fund.

Varela said he is not sure how much the interest will be. “It will be considerably lower than the market rate.”

“We have to encourage people to be entrepreneurs. We want to help them,” he said.

Varela said it is expected that many will be laid off given that there are a number of firms, especially the ones located overseas, that are closing shop or employing less people.

He said the government and the private sector are realistic that it is not possible to create employment for all of them.

“We want to give them the necessary capital to probably start their own electronics or garments business,” Varela said. He said there are a lot of employees who lost their jobs in these two sectors.

RP unemployment rate eases to 7.4 percent in July
(http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/16/08/rp-unemployment-rate-eases-74-percent-july)
Reuters | 09/16/2008 10:44 AM

The Philippines' unemployment rate eased to 7.4 percent in July from a near two-year high of 8.0 percent in April, government data showed on Tuesday.

Despite the fall, the Southeast Asian nation has one of the highest jobless rates in the region, prompting the government to distribute cash subsidies, loans and discounted rice aimed at cushioning the impact of high prices of basic items, such as food and fuel, on the poor and unemployed.

The percentage of underemployed, or those who have jobs but want to work more, increased to 21.0 percent of total employed in July from 19.8 percent in April, according to the quarterly labor force survey by the National Statistics Office.

Of the total labor force of 34.6 million -- more than a third of the country's population of 90 million -- more than half were employed in the services sector, over a third were in agriculture and the rest were in the industrial sector.


More than half of the employed were wage and salary workers for private companies and households and government corporations. Over a third were self-employed and the rest were unpaid family workers, mostly from the farm sector.

as of 09/16/2008 10:44 AM

aray ko!

something must be done about this..

^^^^^^
you must run for congress and fast. heehehhe jk.

another propaganda for GMA.. lahat naman yan dino-doctor.. 9 out of 10 Filipinos employoed?? bakit ang daming walang trabaho?? bakit ang daming umaalis nang bansa??

Karamihan sa mga nag aabroad me mga experience na and also a lot of them also had jobs in the first place pero ang habol nila is better salary which they can get in other countries. Of course maraming walang trabaho because we have a big labor force but if only around under 8 pct. is unemployed that is an achievement in itself considering that we were so used to having unemployment in the double digit figures. If you don't trust the figures then that is a different matter altogether.

^^^^^^
you must run for congress and fast. heehehhe jk.

Puede...:lol::cheers:

Anyway, I think what the government can do is pump prime the economy by...

Requiring all government agencies to adhere to the E.O. on buying local products and services.. this will stimulate local industries (especially those which uses alot of local materials...

When using ODA loans, the government should hire local technical people and laborers as well as local contractors utilizing local materials.. the problem is donors are dictating us to use their own labor and materials thus limiting the benefits to the country. Tayo naman magbabayad ng utang bakit lahat ang nagpapautang ang magdidikta kung paano natin gagamitin pera.:ohno:

Importation of unnecessary goods and services must be drastically reduced.

This can be done by imposing non-tariff barriers (to circumvent WTO, FTA rules)...

Or the BSP just simply let the market determine the value of the peso (as prof. Diokno had mentioned around 55 pesos)..to discourage massive importation and make our exports more attractive...


just my two cents..:cheers:

Filipino population in UAE dwindling amid high costs (http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10266701.html)

The Filipino population in the UAE has shrunk by almost 20 per cent, blamed on the high cost of living in the country, the global economic downturn and higher demand for Filipino workers in other countries.

Latest figures released by the Philippines Embassy in Abu Dhabi showed there were 279,602 Filipinos in 2007, well below the estimated 350,000 previously. Filipinos comprise 4.3 per cent of the entire UAE population.

Libran Cabactulan, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News the lower numbers were due to a host of factors.

"There are other areas that are pulling for more Filipinos, like Qatar. The [Filipino] population is rising there. The UAE cost of living is also very high and the rent here is prohibitive. I've had comments from people who say, 'I am just working so I can pay for my apartment' [with no chance to save]," he said.

"There is also increasing demand for health workers in countries like Canada," he added.

He said the global economic downturn might cause the population to decline further as companies seek to downsize and become less likely to hire new people. "I hope it will increase in the future," he said.

The most obvious effect of the economic crisis is on the real estate sector with several companies announcing job cuts, including Damac which has laid off 200 employees and Tameer Holding which is cutting 180 jobs by the end of the year.

Virgie Calvez, labour attache with the Philippine Overseas Labour Office in Dubai, told Gulf News a few Filipinos were affected by the real estate company job cuts.

"It's not just Filipinos, all nationalities working in the sector have been affected. [The companies] are just shedding unnecessary staff in sales and marketing," she said.

However, she said the outlook was not all bleak. The companies, while laying off the workers, gave them the option to stay and look for another job.

"There are still employers looking for people, which is evident from a recent jobs fair we held. Our workers are not giving up," she added.

Despite Calvez's optimism, a few have decided to throw in the towel.

Manila Times

Sunday, December 14, 2008


‘ODA projects ignore poverty alleviation’

By Llanesca T. Panti, Reporter

MOST international aid assistance to the Philippines and other developing countries goes to big projects that have little to do with easing social inequities like poverty alleviation.

This is the conclusion of a new study, “The 2008 Reality of Aid Report,” that the Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing nations merely reflects the donors’ political and economic interests that have little impact on sustainable development, poverty reduction or women’s rights.

Ibon Foundation, one of the authors of the report, pointed out that outside forces have strong influence over Philippine policies.

Ibon’s Sonny Africa cited the 2006 ODA report for the Philippines, which showed that 58 percent ($15.5 billion) were channeled to infrastructure while a measly 13 percent ($1.2 billion) was allotted for social reform programs.

“There is clear preference here. Aid is not effective when it does not address poverty reduction, creating livelihoods, hunger and lack of quality education opportunities in developing countries,” Africa said during the launching of the report on Friday.

Africa stressed that the growth of the economy, foreign direct investments and trade in the country are mere development means, not development ends.

“There is still inequality, exploitation of employees, lack of social services such as quality education and health centers and equity that is needed for sustainable development,” he said. “To achieve aid effectiveness, there should be development, and development is only achieved by protecting these human rights.”

The report said that the flawed priorities are the result of a lack of democratic and local ownership of development policies in recipient countries such as the Philippines.

Democratic and local ownership of policy-making, according to the report, is aid spending that is based on priority of the receiving country, and not of the donor.

“Aid policies should be determined by citizens, legislatures and the government to ensure that policies are made with a full awareness of the facts and the reality on the ground,” said the report “Aid Effectiveness: Democratic Ownership and Human Rights.”

Policy conditions—such as tying aid with other projects imposed by donor countries—were hit by the report as a factor that could undermine the potential for democratic ownership.

“Donors tie aid to benefit their country suppliers, link it with trade to advance geo-political interests,” it said. Lost in this power grab are the programs for health, education and gender equality, it added.

The reports recognized a World Bank observation that conditions attached to assistance programs are declining, but expressed concern that these conditions are all non-binding.

“The binding ones have remained largely unchanged,” it said. “These promote unhealthy economic policy constrictions such as privatization of essential services.”

The report revealed that since 2003, less than a third of bilateral development assistance—which developing country partners can use to meet development priorities that they have determined—has been available for actual aid.

As a percentage of bilateral aid, country programmable aid has been less than 32 percent on average since 2003, down from 49 percent in 1990.

The overall aid spending of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has stagnated since 2005, according to the report, with assistance pegged at $107.1 billion in 2005 to $103.7-billion increase in 2007.

Official development assistance performance measured against the United Nations target for aid spending of 0.7 percent of the donating country’s gross national income also fell from .33 percent in 2005 to .28 in 2007.

The report called for a change of approach to foreign aid from the traditional donor-recipient power-based model to the one that sees both donor and recipient sharing responsibility in promoting the right to development.

“This set up will respond to the conditions of the people living in poverty and make donors and recipient governments accountable for their development and human rights obligations,” it closed.

The report noted that foreign aid tends to be an aid-for-trade since it is focused on export industries and international markets. From 2002 to 2005, aid for trade investments grew by 22 percent, it said.

“Aid policies should be geared on poverty reduction, defending the rights of the poor. The aid-for-trade, however, would put small and local producers, traders and entrepreneurs at a disadvantage because they thrive on domestic and regional markets,” observed the report by Reality of Aid Network.

Strong regional and domestic markets, not the trade-focused aid, are the real backbone of economic development, it said.

The Reality of Aid Network is composed of 40 civil society organizations working in international cooperation, with networks in 22 donor countries in Asia, the Americas and Africa.

ODA should be utilize to create employment and livelihood opportunities in the country.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/propertyfocus/propertyfocus/view/20081212-177632/Financial-planning-for-OFW-families

Financial planning for OFW families
By Ma. Salve Duplito
INQUIRER.net
12/12/2008

THE STEREOTYPE OF THE FINANCIAL advisor in a pinstriped suit servicing only well-heeled clients dies hard, but believe it or not, banks these days are beating a path to the doors of the not too well off to teach them about financial planning. The result: A growing army of financially savvy Filipinos who now dare to upgrade their dreams to “higher class” like achieving millionaire status and traveling abroad.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands, for one, has for the last few years been quietly preaching financial management to the families of Filipinos working or living overseas in posh hotels, malls and through highly targeted small events.

This has been a major shift in the way banks do business. For years, banks rolled the red carpet only for Filipinos with at least P5 million. But as remittances from those who work abroad sent to their families here ballooned from $6 billion in 2000 to almost $15 billion in 2007, they scramble to get a bigger slice of the pie by giving the value-added service of teaching clients’ beneficiaries how to reach their financial goals.

Sure, the red carpet rolled may not be as long or as thick as when it’s for high net worth individuals. But the additional attention has done wonders for the banks—and remittance receivers. BPI has been the top remitter in the industry for the last five years.

Most of BPI’s financial caravans held once a month are elegant affairs, from the embossed invitations to follow-up calls, to the financial team in smart suits to the posh hotels where these are held. Some of these caravans are held in nearby Quezon City and Cavite (where most of the really rich ones are located, BPI says), but once in Davao, BPI almost took over an entire hotel.

BPI clients who have at least P50,000 in their accounts are taught basic savings and investments techniques that will help them achieve financial empowerment and independence. Mixed with the lectures are ideas on entrepreneurship like franchising and practical tips on how to apply for auto loans for “hakot-tubig, “ (water delivery)” for instance.

Those who have at least P200,000 in their accounts get treated to “Financial 101” courses for a select group of 20 people per course with near personalized attention from bankers and an economist giving a briefing for privileged clients. They also have Vicki Belo-type seminars to address their craving for “the good life” and even a Fun Caravan for the younger generation with “Bingo” games and spruced up financial courses.

“We really try to take care of the overseas Filipino’s beneficiaries. We try to look at their psyche. We understand that the overseas Filipino have already seen the best toilets in the world and had coffee in the best hotels and they want their family here to experience the same thing,” says Teresita B. Tan, senior vice-president and group head for the overseas banking and channel services group.

Tan’s group also holds “Discovery” caravans for beneficiaries who have minimum amounts in their accounts. Held in malls, they bring entertainers and help the attendees learn the rigors of frugality and merchandise substitution.

“It’s really a party where they learn how to manage their money and hear testimonials from others who have made it big. You will be inspired when you hear them talk,” Tan says.

Recognizing their higher standard of living is one of Tan’s premises in approaching overseas Filipinos and their families.

“Some may still be domestic workers, but they are not stay-in and they have their own homes. They know they are doing clean and honest work. From the clothes they wear to the homes they live in, you will see that their value system has expanded and it is just right that they are treated as middle class” Tan says.

Asked how overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries here can maximize services from banks and get closer to their financial dreams, Tan gave the following advice:

1. Invest in a retirement home. A home is one of the most expensive item any person will buy in his entire lifetime and when the cash comes in, remember that financing for real estate is one of the lowest out there in the market.

2. Save at least 10 percent of your income for your retirement. Regular savings is the foundation of financial planning. Building it slowly but surely is the surest way to retire rich.

3. Open a franchise or small business. This will allow Filipinos working overseas a chance to have an easier time to reintegrate with life here once they come home.

4. Use remittance records to improve your credit score. Remittance records are now considered good indications of credit score or credit history. If the records show that overseas Filipinos can send money home regularly enough to finance a business loan, auto loan or even home loan, beneficiaries and their relatives abroad will have an easier time managing their financial needs.

5. Maximize zero opening balance in bank accounts. Banks normally charge P200 every time bank account balances slide below the minimum balance of P3,000 to P5,000 for most banks, and that can look deceptively cheap. But collectively, it can shave off a substantial amount when withdrawals are made often. However, working hard to increase savings account balances will also improve a depositor’s credit score and qualify him for more services from banks.

6. Look for web services that lower fees and increase interest on deposits. BPI Direct, the bank’s online-only service, offers interest on deposit that are two to three percentage points higher than the usual savings account. It also has a “Save Up” feature to automate savings, and allows overseas Filipinos to pay bills, tuition fees and manage their investments wherever they are.

Tan says the “Save Up” product has been the most successful she has handled so far, with more than 100,000 accounts since its launching in September. The account also insures the owner up to five times of his balance, an attractive benefit for overseas Filipinos, most of whom do not have personal life and accident insurance.

7. Maximize equity build-up loans for first-time homebuyers. For any homebuyer, coughing up the 20 percent to 30 percent equity is not easy at all. Banks that allow buyers to save for the equity allow them to get the property at the price they want while stretching the time to pay up the amount. This build-up period also boosts their credit score.

8. Keep daily consumption the same despite increases in income. When a movement in the peso-dollar exchange rate, for example, squeezes out more pesos from those dollars, Tan advises keeping the budget the same and saving the windfall.

Recap: More than a month ago our family somehow ended up
to host this coming Dec. 25, 2008 Christmas Luncheon.
Since neither I nor my wife were not blessed with epicurean/ culinary skills,
we opted to order out from a good restaurant or catering place.

Now, 10 days to go before this Christmas Luncheon we have MISERABLY FAILED
this is what we are doing::ohno:
http://www.bostonmarket.com/img/catering/mainTop.jpg

We will serve:
USDA Choice Roasted Sirloin
Homestyle Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Savory Stuffing
Buttered Corn
Cranberry Walnut Relish
Cornbread
Assortment of Apple Gallette & Pumpkin Pie Slices

:ohno::ohno::ohno:
JP

^^ Hmm....it's more American fare the Filipino, but I'm sure it'll be a lovely, nice, warm, and cozy Christmas dinner for you and your family. :okay:

^^ Kimbro, that was an act of desperation in our part.

I am not particularly delighted with this choice.:ohno:
We have to let BOSTON MARKET cater for us because we dilly dallied until the very last minute.

I am so ashamed, just think what just what those who will partake of the luncheon say.

Quelle horror!

Kimbro, that was an act of desperation in our part.

I am not particularly delighted with this choice.:ohno:
We have to let BOSTON MARKET cater for us because we dilly dallied until the very last minute.

I am so ashamed, just think what just what those who will partake of the luncheon say.

Quelle horror!

Hey now! Don't knock Boston Market, they do have good food, and they do come in handy when you're in a crunch. :lol:

It doesn't matter what people will say. Food is food, meant to be consumed. What matters is family and friends finding the time to congregate and to celebrate the season. :colgate:

he he at least it's not KFC.

^^ :lol: Again, inserting your witty humor, Marites. :bow:

green is in. :lol:

There are unemployed people because it's either they are lazy to find a job or that they do not have the qualifications needed by the employer. There are small jobs out there but due to the selective attitude of some Pinoys, they do not get employed. Also, employers are selective of the people they hire. Even if it is a construction work, or a professional employment, there are certain qualifications that has to be met.

The President invites investors all the time to come and do business in the Philippines in order to be able to create additional jobs for the Philippine workforce. Also, foreign job markets are open for Filipino workers.

GMA meets with business executives in Doha

JC Bello Ruiz (http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN20081215143553.html)

DOHA, Qatar (Via PLDT) — President Arroyo said yesterday that the Philippines is "one of the more resilient countries" in weathering the global financial crisis because of the remittances of the country’s biggest export, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as Qatar business executives employing Filipinos said they will need some 37,200 more workers next year.

The President met with officials of 22 Qatar-based firms employing a great number of Filipinos at the Sheraton Doha Hotel and Resort where she is staying until Monday.

Qatar currently hosts an estimated 190,000 OFWs. This year, 56,277 documented OFWs were deployed here, making Qatar the fourth top host of OFWs in the world, and the 3rd in the Middle East, after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Mrs. Arroyo said the 37,200 potential new jobs will offset the 1,500 potential job losses in Qatar which Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Isaias Begonia said is not attributed to the world economic crisis but to a performance evaluation system of companies in the State of Qatar.

The President showed her appreciation to the employers as she assured them that her government is doing its best to equip OFWs with better skills to qualify them to meet the standards of Qatar employers as well as those in other countries.

"Before, we were spending millions to train our workers. Now we’re spending billions to help Filipinos qualify for jobs abroad," she said, referring to the scholarships granted to Filipino engineers. She said investments in training OFWs have translated to doubled amount of remittances.

"We are proud to contribute to your economy and in turn you also contribute to our economy," she said.

All the officials of the 22 employers, including Chief Executive Officer R. Seetharaman of Doha Bank, which employs 150 Filipino employees, had good words for OFWs in Qatar.

The new job requirements in Qatar are in energy, petroleum, natural gas, hospitals, car dealerships, transportation, construction, heavy equipment, and retail industries, according to Begonia.

The President instructed Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Administrator Jennifer Manalili to conduct more job fairs outside Metro Manila to meet the new job requirements in Qatar.

Larry Estrada, chief executive officer of California-based construction company Bechtel Corp., which is currently developing the Doha International Airport, acknowledged the improvement in skills of Filipinos in the construction industry. Filipinos compose more than half of Bechtel’s employees in Qatar, according to Estrada.

Mrs. Arroyo was given military honors upon arriving in Doha at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 13. She was welcomed by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar.

The President said that the Emir was "very happy" over the recently signed protocol regarding a standard employment contract as point of reference between Qatar and the Philippines’ labor ministries.

As of presstime, the President was meeting with the Philippine ambassadors in Middle East countries, including Wilfredo Cuyugan, Philippine ambassador to Syria where there are 15,000 OFWs, 80 percent of which are undocumented, who said the Philippine embassy in Damascus will open in February next year.

The President’s delegation include Cabinet Secretaries Margarito Teves of Finance, Marianito Roque of Labor and Employment, Peter Favila of Trade and Industry, Nasser Pangandaman of Agrarian Reform), and Angelo Reyes of Energy; Hermogenes Esperon Jr., presidential adviser on the peace process; Rafael Seguis, chief of the Mindanao peace panel; Roy Cimatu, Middle East special envoy; Amable Aguiluz V, envoy of the President to the Gulf Cooperation Council; and a number of legislators.

The President met with members of the Filipino community at the Aljamalis Auditorium. She told them that while she acknowledges that the remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are a huge help in keeping the national economy afloat, she longs for the day when going abroad for work will be only a career choice, not "the only choice" for Filipinos who want to get better opportunities in life.

"Malapit na ang Pasko at yun ang panahon when you’re at your most homesick. Kaya gaya ng sabi ko, sana darating ang araw na ang mga Filipinos will go abroad because of a career choice, and not because it is the only choice for your hard work," she said.

"Maraming salamat sa inyong mga sakripisyo at inyong malasakit. Salamat sa inyong serbisyo sa bansa kung saan kayo naglilingkod at sa bansa kung saan kayo nanggaling, walang iba kundi ang bansa nating Pilipinas."

As requested by the Filipino Community Organization Alliance led by President Florante Cobrito Sr., the President directed the Professional Regulation Commission to conduct engineering licensure examination here for those engaged in Qatar’s booming construction industry.

Development Bank of the Philippines Chairwoman Patricia Santo Tomas, a former labor secretary, said they have a program for OFWs where their deposits would double in nine years.

POEA reports

Despite the global economic crisis, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported yesterday that more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were sent abroad as OFW deployment reached 1,221,829.

POEA Administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili said the number of OFWs deployed from January to November this year went up to to 1.2 million, 24.4 percent higher than the 982,286 reported during the same period in 2007.

"As of Nov. 30, our workers deployed were already more than a million and it’s expected to further increase by end of the year. We still have to count the number of OFWs who left the country this December," she said.

In her report to acting Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, the number of newly hired Filipino workers was placed at 410,805 which was higher than the 348,231 OFWs who were rehired by their employers.

Of the total number of OFWs deployed, 759,036 were in the land-based sector, while the number of seafarers who boarded foreign vessels was pegged at 350,002 during the 11-month period.

However, POEA still needs to process the contracts of at least 190,000 Filipino workers to meet this year’s target of 1.3 million in terms of OFWs’ contracts processed.

Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito Roque, who is now with President Arroyo in an official trip to Qatar, ruled out any massive displacement of OFWs in various host destinations due to the adverse impact of the global financial crisis.

"OFWs’ employment termination this year is at the same level as that of 2007," he said.

The DoLE has started profiling displaced Filipino workers to determine their skills. France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Guam may be countries where displaced OFWs may be redeployed, Roque said. (Raymund F. Antonio (http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN20081215143553.html))

he he at least it's not KFC.

Hey, hey Senorita Marites!:ohno: I bought a few of Yum (http://www.yum.com/)shares which owns KFC, Taco Bell OLE, OLE and Pizza Hut AMORE! :banana:

http://www.yum.com/images/bg_default_seven.jpg

These junk food chain is found all over Philippines, including MetroManila and Baguio! Yum, Yum, YUMMY! :) :banana:

Recap: More than a month ago our family somehow ended up
to host this coming Dec. 25, 2008 Christmas Luncheon.
Since neither I nor my wife were not blessed with epicurean/ culinary skills,
we opted to order out from a good restaurant or catering place.

Now, 10 days to go before this Christmas Luncheon we have MISERABLY FAILED
this is what we are doing::ohno:
http://www.bostonmarket.com/img/catering/mainTop.jpg

We will serve:
USDA Choice Roasted Sirloin
Homestyle Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Savory Stuffing
Buttered Corn
Cranberry Walnut Relish
Cornbread
Assortment of Apple Gallette & Pumpkin Pie Slices

:ohno::ohno::ohno:
JP

juan pilgrim, i dared to cook and prepared the all-american pilgrim's meal of roast turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing, yams, corn bread, baked potatoes and bought a pumpkin pie cuz thats something beyond my experimental cooking skills. it was quiet challenging starting with the turkey. it took me about 4 hours to baked a 12-lb turkey. i just took directions from friends and family that you do this and do that. while the turkey is baking, i started preparing the other menus reading directions on how to make the corn bread, stuffing, yams and what not until when the turkey and ham are fully soft and tender and brown. voila i made my first thanksgiving dinner just offered to a few guinea pig guests and friends. i had frozen pizza and lasagna just in case the meal didnt turn out ok. but baking a turkey is a real challenge especially the basting part where u have to take it out of the oven so many times.

the foods you ordered for christmas looks yummy... u all have a good noche buena american style!

^^thanks MATUDNILABABY, it is not easy to be all grown up here in the U.S.
I've been here in the U.S. for about 4 years, We can't be freeloaders all the time,
kaya kahit na nag-aalangan kami ng wife ko, we agreed to host a meal this holiday season.

We both know close to nothing when it comes to cooking, pa-prito prito lang o pa-laga laga.
We have a nice crib and we have hosted parties before pero kadalasan pot luck.
and an older more experience friend or relative always take charge of everything.
Now will really be the first time we will be in charge of everything.
Next time We promise to be better prepared.....sigh:ohno:

Taiwan firms fire more than 2,000 OFWs as recession hits
12/16/2008 | 08:08 PM
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/139710/Taiwan-firms-fire-more-than-2000-OFWs-as-recession-hits

MANILA, Philippines — More than 2,000 Filipino workers have lost their jobs in Taiwan due to the global financial crisis and the number could triple by the end of the first quarter next year. That's according to Philippine diplomats.

Antonio Basilio acts as Manila's envoy in Taipei since the two countries have no official diplomatic ties. He said 2,073 workers were dismissed from 49 factories that had retrenched workers or closed shop since October.

Basilio told The Associated Press by phone from Taipei on Tuesday that the layoffs are part of the global recession, because Taiwan's economy "is export-dependent."

Labor attache Rodolfo Sabulao said officials project between up to 3,000 Filipinos in Taiwan could be displaced by year's end and another 3,000 could be dismissed by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

More jobless OFWs seen

Layoffs are affecting not just Filipino workers but also other foreign nationals, including Vietnamese, Indonesians, Thais and Indian nationals, Basilio has told visiting Filipino workers.

The layoffs are expected to peak by next quarter of 2009 as big companies whose export markets are the United States and Europe begin to feel the actual impact of the crisis.

He said the number of affected OFWs seeking assistance and processing their documents at the MECO has reached 400 workers a day.

Basilio's admission effectively negated claims by other MECO officials that the picture was rosier contrary to what the migrant groups Migrante International and Asia Pacific Migrants Mission (APPM) had been saying.

Not all is bad, however, said Basilio. He said job openings in the construction and services sectors would still serve as fallback to Filipinos who may desire to continue working in Taiwan. The demand is not as big, though, compared to the manufacturing industry, he added.

Basilio assured that MECO, the Philippines' de facto embassy in Taiwan, will continue to do intervention work to make sure those who lose their jobs get the benefits due them, and if possible including all the expenses paid to brokers.

Under the present situation, he said, the most that the government could do is to provide assistance and wait for the economic crisis to settle down, which hopefully would happen after the 1st quarter of next year.

Basilio said the most unfortunate are newly arrived OFWs who have yet to pay their debts back home.

Earlier, Basilio disclosed efforts for more Filipinos to be employed in Taiwan in line with its planned $15-billion economic stimulation program.

He said that even before this, new job openings for Filipinos still remain in sectors that are not as affected by the crisis, while deployment of new workers has outstripped the number of workers retrenched in November and this month. GMANews.TV with a report from AP

^^ Everyone has to start somewhere sometime. This year is your time. :okay:

Don't worry too much about it, you'll do fine. Your friends and family will still love you unconditionally even if it turns out to be a dud. ;) Unless, of course, you burn the whole place down and they injure themselves escaping from a raging inferno. :lol:

:jk: :nocrook:

By Carmela Cruz, Foreign Policy in Focus. (http://www.alternet.org/immigration/115014/global_crisis_hits_overseas_workers_hard/?page=entire)

When the clock strikes noon, mothers waiting for their children at Camp Crame Elementary School turn their necks and shift their feet, standing patiently in a courtyard shielded by a high tin roof from an extraordinarily bright sky. Within seconds, kids dart out of their classrooms and playfully crisscross the courtyard toward their mothers. These women not only live in the same Quezon City neighborhood — built around the Philippine National Police's headquarters after which the school was named — but also share the common experience of having their husbands, siblings, or parents working abroad to support families left behind.

Luz Mañebog's husband, a camera technician in Doha, Qatar, sends home $479 every month. It's double what he gave her when he was still employed at a large department store in Manila. Since he left five years ago, he has come home twice, each a month-long visit. "He can't stay with us longer than that," she says. "A month's salary gone is all we can afford; it's hard, but I'm used to him being away."

The global financial crisis threatens this overseas workforce and the livelihoods of these divided families. With so many of its citizens overseas, the Philippines is particularly vulnerable to global recessions, for its economy is incapable of finding jobs for its citizens at home, much less for all the migrant workers it sends to other countries. This is one of the hidden story of the crisis.

Global Workers

Some 3,000 Filipinos leave the country each day to work overseas, adding to the eight million workers from other countries scattered around the world. According to a recent report by the World Bank, remittances from overseas Filipinos reached $17 billion last year. That places the Philippines as the fourth largest recipient of remittances in the world after India ($27 billion), China ($25 billion) and Mexico ($25 billion).

But while India and China have much larger economies powered by foreign direct investments and Mexico has oil, the Philippine economy is small. Its poor infrastructure, small-scale agriculture, and limited manufacturing are incapable of absorbing the growing number of Filipinos seeking work at home.

According to the Manila-based IBON Foundation, the Philippines faces "historic joblessness," with an average annual unemployment rate of 11.3% from 2001 (when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was swept to power through a military-backed coup) to 2007. That translates to an "additional 1.4 million Filipinos either jobless or looking for added work and income" since she took office.

Exporting labor has become the passport to safer and greener pastures for both jobless Filipinos and the government, which is already plagued by sporadic political unrests over legitimacy and corruption issues. The Arroyo administration has trumpeted overseas Filipinos as the country's "Bagong Bayani," or new heroes, even though remittances keep families of migrants with enough money for basic needs like food and education but not much left for savings. Remittances, in other words, don't contribute much to national development.

"It's a rational decision of the households," says Manolo Abella, chief technical adviser to the Bangkok-based Asian Program on Governance of Labor Migration, a project of the International Labor Organization and European Union. "I mean, if you get a few hundred dollars a month, you're not going to invest in some big business. And in fact, some of those investments are not really helpful because if one invests in a sari-sari store (a small neighborhood grocery shop) and another invests in another sari-sari store, then what one gains is somebody else's loss."

Delayed Pain?

So far, the flow of remittances from overseas Filipinos has not been adversely affected by the financial crisis. From January to August 2008, remittances from Filipinos across the globe reached about $11 billion, a 17% increase from the same period last year; of this, $5.4 billion came from Filipinos in the United States. By September, remittances reached $12.3 billion. About 2.7 million Filipinos live in the United States employed in a wide range of jobs. Filipinos overseas can be divided into two categories: permanent-resident immigrants and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who are often employed as seafarers, house help, or construction workers.

Esteban B. Conejos, Jr., undersecretary for migrant workers' affairs at the Filipino Department of Foreign Affairs, argued that such a spike in remittances means that there is no "immediate worry of a mass layoff, or a deluge coming back to the Philippines." In a speech during the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development in Manila in October, President Arroyo said the "vast diaspora "of migrant workers are honored by the government and the people for their sacrifice and dedication to their work, their family and the nation. We welcome their contribution."

But the financial crisis will test this resilience. The International Labor Organization predicts that some 20 million men and women could lose jobs because of the global financial crisis, increasing the world's unemployed to 210 million by late 2009. The United States, Canada, and Australia have the highest numbers of Filipino immigrants. But even regions like the Middle East hire unskilled and semi-skilled Filipino contract workers in construction sites, factories, and domestic maintenance. Saudi Arabia alone has one million Filipino workers.

Abella says that Filipinos in the service industry will probably not lose their jobs. But if the situation worsens, workers in construction and tourism are likely among the first to suffer. "If the crisis deepens, and it's expected to deepen, you'd expect that a lot more projects in the Middle East would be postponed or called off because they would say there'd be no more demand," she says. "For example, in Saudi Arabia, they're building five new city centers, that's why there's a big demand in that part of the world, and if there is to be a global economic recession, they would say, 'Hey, let's hold this project.' And when that happens, the number of people (on work contracts), you know these people are coming back and forth, so the number of new people going out to new projects will decline and the number people going back from old projects will increase."

Already some bad news is trickling in, such as a hiring freeze for Filipino workers in Korea in 2009 and the recent layoff of about 300 OFWs in Taiwan. The firing of 900 call-center workers in Manila shows the vulnerability of the business process outsourcing sector that President Arroyo bragged would create 400,000 jobs in recent years, an estimate that has since come up short. Call centers absorb many unemployed young people and underemployed office workers looking for better salaries. Seafarers, who are among the OFW top earners, are also at risk of losing their jobs. According to a Filipino shipping official, as many as 20,000 seafarers could lose their jobs next year.

The shrinking of job markets abroad and the return of the jobless will put a strain on the country. OFW remittances have long taken attention from the country's high unemployment rate, deteriorating agriculture and manufacturing industries, and the inferior quality of public education and free health care.

Power of Remittances

Remittance flows to developing countries in 2008 grew by 6.7% to $283 billion, but this may slow down to 5.8% next year. And it may not even climb to 6.1% until 2010 if the economic slowdown deepens in the 30 member countries of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, particularly the United States and Western Europe, which account for almost two-thirds of remittance flows to developing countries. This would also affect other regions like sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, all of which draw large percentages of their remittances from the United States and Europe.

The global financial crisis, fluctuating exchange rates, and falling oil prices will also determine remittance flows to developing countries. Between 80-90% of OFW deployment is to the Middle East, accounting for $2 billion in remittances last year. This region accounts for a 37.6% growth rate in remittances to developing countries in 2008, but this may fall down to 9% next year. According to the IBON Foundation the number of professionals packing up their bags for overseas work has declined in recent years, even as temporary workers grab any chance to work in countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

For about three decades, families of Filipino migrants have relied heavily on money from their loved ones toiling in faraway places as the Philippines goes through political and economic changes: from dictatorship to democracy in the 1980s, during the trade and financial liberalizations, and through the Asian economic crisis of the 1990s. The Philippine government, too, owes much to remittances for maintaining strong foreign currency reserves and paying its debt-servicing obligations, which stood at 4 trillion Philippine pesos at the end of August.
Impact of the Crisis

Declining remittances could have a profound impact on Philippine politics. The Philippine government, however, has been hard at work highlighting what could be the last batch of good news to come for a while about OFWs and remittances. The next six months are crucial to the Arroyo administration to keep troubles at bay — until the country shifts attention and gets caught up in the frenzy leading to the 2010 national elections. The current administration has shrewdly survived political assaults so far. Such political ingenuity, if it continues, could possibly avert the looming crises of rising joblessness, the return of OFWs, and the impact of reduced remittances in 2009.

Fresh troubles, however, are brewing. The Philippine congress has opened probes into corruption allegations involving high-ranking officials from the national police, the same institution that has protected the president against challenges to her hold on power. Also, a new impeachment case was filed against the president for corruption, extrajudicial killings attributed to the military during the past seven years under her watch, and an aborted autonomous agreement with Muslim rebels in the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao, home to the majority of Filipino Muslims. A scam involving a 728-million-peso fertilizer fund for poor Filipino famers, allegedly used in Arroyo's 2004 presidential campaign, is being investigated by the Filipino Congress. Some 9,000 people gathered on Ayala Avenue in Manila's financial district on December 12, to protest the congress's plans to change the constitution without consent of the usually anti-Arroyo senate. This is seen as a move to change the government to a parliamentary model so that Arroyo can stay in power after 2010 by running for prime minister — the safest bet, according to her critics, for her to avoid legal prosecution once stripped of presidential immunity.

Opposition politicians have so far proven ineffective against the administration and its allies in the military and parliament. But if their criticisms of the government resonate with the rumblings of public discontent in 2009 over unemployment, increased food prices, more children unable to go to school, and a decline of remittances further impoverishes the local population, efforts from opposition politicians and grassroots coalitions to stage larger, power-shifting mass protests might finally gain ground.

Government adopts steps to help displaced OFWs (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=427310&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Iris C. Gonzales Updated December 28, 2008 12:00 AM

The government has put in place measures to help Filipinos abroad and returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) cope with the global financial turmoil, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said.

He said the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) have identified sectors that can be developed to augment the job losses of Filipinos abroad.

For instance, Recto said there are training centers for setting up small and medium-sized businesses.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief said OWWA will also put in place training programs for various livelihood projects which could help returning Filipinos earn a living here at home.

Earlier, Sen. Edgardo Angara said the government should help lower financial costs incurred by OFWs.

The lawmaker urged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to regulate remittance firms in the country to ensure that the costs of sending dollars home are fair and reasonable.

“The cost of transmitting remittances in the Philippines is relatively high, compared to other countries. Lowering this high cost of remittance will mitigate the adverse impact of the global financial crisis to the income of OFWs and their families,” said Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

Citing data from remittance firms, Angara said the cost of sending dollars through Moneygram and Western Union to the Philippines from the United States and other countries ranges from 10 percent to 14 percent of the amount to be remitted.

He said if monetary authorities will regulate remittance firms, the cost of sending dollars home would be cheaper.

“Placing remittance firms in the country under the supervision of the BSP would allow the latter to regulate the remittance fees charged by these firms. Through this, we can show a gesture of concern to our OFWs especially during these tough times of financial crisis,” the lawmaker said.

Total remittances are seen to hit at least $16.6 billion this year, of which $16 billion would likely be coursed through the banking system.

However, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said for 2009, the growth of overseas remittances may slow to six percent compared with the 10 percent to 11 percent growth projected for this year.

According to the latest BSP data, money sent home by overseas Filipinos surged 16.94 percent year-on-year in September from 10.36 percent in August. In September alone, remittances amounted to $1.3 billion, bringing the nine-month dollar inflows to $12.3 billion.

The World Bank has said that reducing remittance fees could increase annual remittance flows to developing countries.

“During this time of financial difficulty, we must seek all possible options to extend assistance to our OFWs. One of these options is to increase their spending power through lower remittance costs. On the other hand, we may see that in the long run the Philippine economy is most likely to benefit from this increased consumer spending,” Angara said.

OFWs are spread out in various countries such as Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and the United States.

A friend of mine who works at LONG BEACH MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER, NEW YORK
is recruiting PHYSICAL THERAPISTS from the PHILIPPINES.

If you or someone you know wants to work as a PHYSICAL THERAPIST here in the U.S.
please PM me.


:horse:

Mods if this post is OT please delete.

why does everyone want to leave the PHils the moment they become the exact asset the country needs in nation building?
what's left are the traditional smiling rich clans of corrupt politicians and businessmen and indifferent masses.
Philippines pays for geek exodus
By Joel Adriano

MANILA - While investigators sift through the wreckage of last month's Philippine ferry disaster which killed over 800 people, one overlooked culprit for the national tragedy is the mounting brain drain of the country's best scientific minds.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) failed to issue proper storm warnings before the Princess of the Stars left port in Manila and into the path of an incoming typhoon. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it recently invested US$40 million in new equipment at PAGASA, but that the agency lacked the qualified meteorologists and climatologists to put the advanced technology to proper use.

That's in part because PAGASA has seen at least five weather



forecasters, two weather observers and a hydrologist all leave the agency in the past year to take higher-paying jobs abroad. When the ferry disaster hit, all of their positions at PAGASA were still vacant.

Other specialized science- and technology-oriented agencies, including the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau, are also fast losing science and technology experts to overseas recruiters and failing to fill their vacated posts. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development has lost some 75 English-speaking staff over the past two years, most of whom have migrated for higher-paying posts in Canada. Others from the agency have headed to richer pastures in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The Philippines has the third-largest population of outward migrants in the world, according to the United Nations. It is no longer just Filipino laborers who are heading overseas for better job prospects than the Philippine economy can provide. In recent years, doctors, nurses, teachers and pilots have all left in their professional droves for overseas opportunities.

Now, a growing number of the country's best and brightest scientists are being lured abroad by higher-paying salaries and better-funded research prospects, taking with them hopes the country will ever make the jump from a slow growing commodity-based to a fast growing knowledge-driven economy.

Many migrant Filipino scientists take higher-paying work with international aid organizations or private firms involved in information technology, consulting and biotechnology and pharmaceutical research, according to DOST under secretary Graciano Yumul Jr. International assistance organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development, have been particularly aggressive in poaching English-speaking Filipino scientists, one Philippine official notes.

The Philippine government already estimates it needs an additional 4,100 agriculture researchers, 2,000 fishery and marine science experts, 1,300 biotechnology staff and nearly 1,000 energy and environmental scientists just to meet rising challenges from higher energy and food costs.

At the same time, the non-governmental Center for Migrants Advocacy expects that more science and technology professionals will look to leave the Philippines as the local economy slows, inflation rises and countries like the US more aggressively bid to fill their severe shortage of science and technology workers.

While Philippine universities and trade schools churn out close to 150,000 science and technology graduates every year, government statistics show most of these are in medicine and nursing and that fewer than 2,000 receive degrees in the so-called pure and natural sciences, such as chemistry and biology. Those low graduation figures have stayed steady over the past 15 years, despite a doubling of overall college enrollment figures over the same period.

Because the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration does not keep records of outward migrants based on profession, precise statistics measuring the scale of the scientific brain drain are not available. The United Nations-affiliated International Labor Organization estimates conservatively that the number of science-oriented professionals that have left the country has exceeded the net addition in new graduates since the 1990s.

Local observers, however, are more alarmed about the gathering brain drain and its long-term impact on the economy. "The impact in the long run is actually happening now," said Patricio Faylon, executive director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development.

"There is a shortage of manpower to do research and once we retire there will be no people to manage our already few labs," said Faylon. "Now you have non-technical people, mostly lawyers and uniformed men, working on science-based planning for sectors such as agriculture and environment."

Regional laggard
The number of scientists and engineers currently engaged in research and development (R&D)activities across the Philippines is about 8,800, representing a 20% decline from the figure recorded in 1996, according to DOST. That figure pales in regional comparison. Singapore, which has a population less than half of Metro Manila, employs 19,377 scientists and engineers involved in R&D activities, according to DOST's 2007 Compendium on Science and Technology Statistics. Regional competitor Thailand boasts more than 30,900 R&D-related staff, while Indonesia has 92,800, and even Vietnam employs 41,100.

That has resulted in lower scientific output. The Philippines recently ranked 29th out of 30 countries surveyed for their respective science and technology abilities, in a survey conducted by the Switzerland-based International Institute of Management Development (IIMD). The IIMD survey of world competitiveness from 2006, which compared various measures across 61 countries, ranked the Philippines 58th in scientific infrastructure. Recent statistics also show the Philippines badly lagging behind regional countries in the number of patents applied for and received.

The main reason for the science and technology brain drain is better pay abroad and lack of opportunity at home. A Filipino scientist working with a private biotech firm can on average earn between three to 10 times more in developed countries than locally, according to local industry sources. Over 70% of local scientists are employed by the low-paying state because of scant employment opportunities in the private sector.

Giovanni Tapang, chairman of Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, laments that the Philippines lacks the domestic industries needed to absorb the scientific scholars and engineers the university system produces each year. He chalks up the deficit to a "market failure", driven in part by the country's rocky politics, which have discouraged investors from making long-term R&D-related commitments to the country.

"The industries present in the Philippines are only light-manufacturing, construction, public utility and mining enterprises dependent on imported equipment and raw materials," said Tapang. He noted that automotive manufacturing in the Philippines focuses narrowly on assembly and testing, while the few foreign semiconductor firms situated in-country work on older technologies and provide little to no technology transfer for product innovation.

The lack of a critical R&D capacity is discouraging new foreign investments in manufacturing, including in the crucial electronics and computer sector, some experts say. US semiconductor giant Intel, which has a manufacturing presence in the Philippines, has developed a fabrication process based on exotic materials such as Hafnium for its next generation of Pentium computer chips. However, the US firm is said to be leaning towards establishing production facilities for the new chips in lower-cost and more science and technology-minded Vietnam rather than the Philippines, according to industry sources.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recommends that developing countries allocate at least 1% of their gross domestic product (GDP) towards science and technology to maintain competitiveness and sustain economic growth. Philippine politicians have failed to make those budgetary earmarks. Despite recent increases in funding for science-related activities, including budgetary earmarks worth 3.7 billion pesos (US$81 million) in 2007, the allocation is still lower than the 3.8 billion pesos made in 1998.

The current budget's allocation for science and technology related activities comes to a paltry 0.14% of GDP, or half the amount of Thailand's 0.26% and about a mere fifth of Malaysia's 0.69%. The figures are even more miserly when measured in per capita terms, with the Philippines spending only $6.20 per head, while Thailand commits $19.70 and Malaysia spends $61.90, according to the World Economic Forum's most recent Global Competitiveness Report.

Apart from meager budgets, Filipino scientists and researchers complain that there are no concrete policies to channel and facilitate research outputs into marketable products or uses. Philippine research grants seldom if ever include monetary provisions for spinning-off research results for commercial applications, including the high costs of acquiring intellectual property rights for new innovations.

Scientists also recommend that the government moves to establish science and technology dedicated universities with better functioning and more modern R&D labs. Instead, the government recently launched its new "Balik Scientist" program, which aims to reverse the brain drain by encouraging overseas Filipino scientists to return home and share their knowledge and experiences with up and coming local scientists.

The government has provisionally targeted alternative energy, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and information and communication technology as areas of priority for what it has referred to as a "brain gain" program. But without financial incentives to lure scientists home, the program has over its first five months received only five applications - considerably fewer than the estimated number of scientists who have left the Philippines over the same period.

Joel D Adriano is an independent consultant and award-winning freelance journalist. He was a sub-editor for the business section of The Manila Times and writes for Asean BizTimes, Entrepreneur Philippines, Masigasig and People's Tonight.

(Copyright 2008 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20090104-181348/Remittances-seen-to-reach-179B-in-09

Remittances seen to reach $17.9B in '09
Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
01/04/2009

MANILA, Philippines--The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects remittances from overseas Filipinos to hit a record $17.9 billion this year despite the global downturn.

Of the amount, $17.3 billion would be coursed through the banking system, based on the latest BSP outlook.

The amount was arrived at using the BSP's minimum growth projection of 6 percent, or less than half the 13-percent expansion expected for 2008, for both cash transfers coursed through banks and those sent through informal channels.

Under the BSP's best case scenario for this year, foreign exchange remittances from overseas Filipino workers may grow by 10 percent.

"We expect the demand for Filipino workers overseas to remain strong due to the diversity and quality of skills they offer, and a gradual increase in the percentage of OFWs gaining permanent residency status," BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in an interview published by New York-based think tank Global Source.

"While we expect the crisis to affect permanent workers, we believe that they have better flexibility to look for replacement jobs compared to workers who rely on contract renewals," Tetangco said.

The BSP chief noted that bilateral talks with host countries have also continued to open up new employment opportunities abroad for Filipinos in terms of translation and transcription services.

"Furthermore, the inelastic demand for medical and healthcare practitioners from the aging population of developed countries account for the continued demand for overseas labor particularly from the Philippines," Tetangco said. "These skilled workers earn more income and remit more foreign exchange."

Last year, the BSP estimated that the banking system had captured $16.3 billion in overseas Filipino remittances, up by 13 percent over a year ago. Including money sent to local households using non-banking channels, remittance inflows last year likely reached $16.9 billion, based on official estimates.

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW010709/content.php?id=053

Gov’t targets 1-M jobs by July Alexis Douglas B. Romero
BusinessWorld
January 7, 2009

THE GOVERNMENT plans to spend at least P1.7 billion to create one million jobs by July through regional livelihood programs, as part of its bid to protect the poor from the impact of the global economic crunch.

National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Chairman Domingo F. Panganiban told reporters in Malacañang yesterday that implementation of the local programs is part of the emergency employment program the Palace announced in October last year.

Under the said program, each Cabinet member was tasked to implement projects in the region he oversees and ensure that these generate jobs.

The Cabinet members were also asked to coordinate with local officials and nongovernmental organizations to ensure effective monitoring and service delivery.

"Upon the instruction of the President, NAPC was ordered to prepare a comprehensive livelihood emergency employment program...

Approximately, the livelihood programs would create 250,000 within the next two months and one million before the end of July," Mr. Panganiban said via phone patch after a Cabinet meeting in Iligan City.

Mr. Panganiban said the programs will be implemented starting Jan. 15. He said among the jobs to be created are for street sweepers, construction workers for government-owned drug stores and irrigation projects, producers of organic fertilizers, soap and hollow blocks makers, and livestock producers.

The NAPC chief said funds for the programs will come from the savings of government agencies and the P300-billion economic sustainability plan incorporated in this year’s proposed P1.415-trillion budget that will be discussed in the bicameral conference committee when Congress resumes session this Jan. 19.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Lorelei C. Fajardo said the government may spend P1.7 billion for the livelihood programs, but Mr. Panganiban said this may still increase once the programs expand.

In a separate phone patch interview, Press Sec. Jesus G. Dureza said the regional projects are on top of the existing livelihood projects being implemented by the government.

Click on link above for the complete article.

So far, agreement on shorter work hours (http://www.bworldonline.com/BW010709/content.php?id=005)
BusinessWorld Online
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
BY EMILIA NARNI J. DAVID, Reporter


EMPLOYERS AND LABOR groups are willing to compromise on working hours to prevent retrenchments as an economic downturn takes hold.

Organized labor, however, does not want employee benefits reduced and adds that management should be willing to drop the perks it enjoys.

Employers, meanwhile, want laws eased to allow for additional concessions from workers.

"The Labor Code is very rigid. All we can do is cut working hours and the like because we do not want to let go of our workers," said Vicente R. Leogardo, Jr., director-general of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP).

"It would be better if employers were allowed to reduce the fringe benefits like allowances of workers."

Echoing calls by other business groups, Mr. Leogardo said labor laws should be relaxed in times of crisis so industries are able to survive.

The Labor Code does not allow the diminution of benefits given to employees based on collective bargaining agreements. Any changes to the Code to allow for such will have to be legislated by Congress.

While labor groups agreed that reduced work hours would help cut company costs and reduce pressures to lay off workers, they said limiting guaranteed employee benefits is another matter.

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines secretary-general Ernesto F. Herrera said it is impossible to reduce benefits provided by law.

"What the employers should do if there is nothing else that can be done is to reduce work hours, but there should be negotiations between management and labor," he said.

Renato B. Magtubo, chairperson of the Partido ng Manggawa, said any decision to costs cut must favor labor.

He said there are other avenues by which companies can mitigate the impact of the economic crisis, like not targeting higher profits and cooperation between labor and management to pursue worker loans from the government.

Other labor groups said cost cutting should start from top-level management.

"The idea of ECoP to reduce benefits is symptomatic and does not really address the problem. What we need to is for workers to be able to have some money to pump-prime the economy and that is what benefits give," Alliance of Progressive Labor secretary-general Joshua Mata told BusinessWorld.

Before employers cut labor costs, top management should first cut corporate perks, he said.

"I cannot speak for companies on that matter because each company has its own policies regarding management. But definitely when the fallout is hard, companies will examine the appropriate cause of action on top level perks," Mr. Leogardo replied.

"We do not want to follow in the heels of what happened to the automotive industry in the United States."

Shorter working hours and forced leaves have been adopted by some industries, most notably the electronics industry, to prevent retrenchment.

The Department of Labor and Employment has said that it will release retrenchment and shutdown figures by January 20.

Filipinos are No. 1! (http://www.asianpacificpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c421e892f19011eb8f2447200a5_Filipinos_are_No__1_.do.html)

For the first time, Filipinos are the largest source of immigrants and temporary workers for Canada, overtaking the traditionally largest source country China.

The number of Filipinos who chose to move to Canada permanently and temporarily rose to 19,064 immigrants and 15,254 temporary workers in 2007, surpassing China’s numbers.

Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies, says that the increase is partly explained by Canada’s focus on temporary workers, and the fact that many Filipinos fill caregiver and service-sector jobs particularly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia, which have all recently signed labour agreements with Manila.

Jedwab also said the figures represent changing economic conditions in those countries where Canada has traditionally sourced its immigrants and temporary workers, particularly bustling China and booming India.

During 2005-07, the number of Chinese people who moved to Canada decreased by one-third, while those from India (the second largest source) dropped by 20 per cent over the same period.

The number of Filipinos migrating to Canada, meanwhile, has more than doubled over the past decade.

"Fewer Chinese workers are coming in because of the economic boom there, and we are filling service-sector jobs with Filipinos," explained Jedwab.

Altogether, Canada granted 236,758 permanent residency Canadian visas last year and 115,470 temporary Canadian work permits. The latter category nearly doubled since 1998.

Flordeliz Dandal, executive director of the Kababayan Community Centre in Toronto, said Filipinos who move to Canada are still largely focused on sending remittances to family left in The Philippines.

"Most Filipinos who come to Canada are really motivated to work and then send their salaries back home," Dandal said. "They don’t care about politics, and they don’t yet have time to engage in Canadian political life unless they have been here a long time."

While Overseas Filipino Workers in much of Asia are being effected by the global financial crisis, with the Philippine labour department this week reporting some 2,000 job losses for workers in Taiwan and thousands more in South Korea, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said Filipino workers "so far" remain in high demand in Canada, as well as in Middle East countries and Australia.

Romulo met separately with Philippine Labour Secretary Marianito Roque and Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco last week to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on the more than 8 million Filipino migrant workers and their billions of dollars in remittances, which continue to prop up the Philippine economy.

"Fortunately, so far, Filipinos are not affected by the financial crisis," said Romulo at a press conference in Manila.

"Governor Tetangco assured me that the remittances of the Filipino workers are expected to even improve during the first half of the 2009 but as to the second half, he [referring to Tetangco] could not make a projection yet," added Romulo.

All the same, the Philippine government is monitoring the impact of the financial crisis on its OFW’s.

At the onset of the global financial turmoil that originated in the U.S., The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued instructions to all Philippine embassies and consulates to monitor possible job displacement of Filipino workers – particularly in the U.S., where there are more than two million Filipino migrant workers.

In terms of the number of Permanent Residents in Canada, Chinese-Canadians and Indian-Canadians still make up the two largest groups, with the Filipino population making up the third largest group.

Significantly, the Filipino population in Canada has more than doubled in the past 10 years, boosting the steadily growing Canadian population to 33,441,300 people. Canada remains an attractive option for immigrants, particularly Filipinos.

With their solid training, firm grasp on English and extensive family networks, Filipinos find the transition to life in Canada relatively painless.

And Canada has been grateful for the contributions of workers from abroad, establishing a vast network of settlement services to help them feel at home.

In fact, a recent HSBC survey has given Canada the top spot in terms of how friendly and welcoming locals are to newcomers.

According to the HSBC Bank International’s Expat Explorer Survey, people who relocate to Canada have "a relatively easy time befriending locals, joining a local community group and learning the language."

Ninety-five per cent of those surveyed said that they have made friends with Canadian locals. (Germany was ranked a close second at 92 per cent, followed by Australia at 91 per cent).

The study surveyed 2,155 expats in 48 countries and measured the countries’ relative friendliness based on four categories: number of respondents who joined a community group, number who learned the local language, percentage who bought property, and respondents’ ability to befriend locals.

Meanwhile, teachers, nurses and caregivers remain the most popular choices of occupation for Filipinos, with two-thirds of those pursuing these professions being women. It is no coincidence that these occupations are in high demand overseas in countries like Canada.

This will affect allmost every economy of the world. With this grim scenario for many among Filipinos, American dreams could be just things of the past. Let us not burden more from our relatives there, rather let us just try to be realistic that we must strive to work for own future. Who knows that predictions of the future lies is in Asia. We have a beautiful and nature rich country. This may be the right timing also for our country to bring back those brain-drain of the past.



Job losses rise in Dec., unemployment 7.2 pct.
Caps year with most annual job losses in the post-World War II era

Data: MSN Money and ComStock
BREAKING NEWS

updated 8:44 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2009
WASHINGTON - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.

The Labor Department reported Friday that the jobless rate rose to 7.2 percent in December and payrolls dropped by 524,000 jobs, capping a year when job losses were logged every month and presaging more job losses to come.

That marks the highest jobless rate since January 1993.

The net number of jobs lost for all of 2008 was 2.6 million. It marks the first annual job loss since the previous recession in 2001. It's also the most annual jobs lost since 1945, when employers slashed nearly 2.8 million jobs, though the number of jobs in the United States has more than tripled since then.

Employers are chopping costs as they try to cope with dwindling appetite from customers in the United States as well as in other countries, which are struggling with their own economic problems.

Already longest recession in 25 years
The U.S. recession, which just entered its second year, is already the longest in a quarter century, and is likely to stretch on well into this year. The fact that the country is battling a housing collapse, a lockup in lending and the worst financial crisis since the 1930s make the current downturn especially dangerous.

All the problems have forced consumers and companies alike to retrench, feeding into a vicious cycle that Washington policymakers are finding difficult to break.

President-elect Barack Obama has said a bold approach is needed to bust through this cycle and revive economy.

"I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible," he said Thursday.

"If nothing is done, this recession could linger," Obama warned on Thursday. "The unemployment rate could reach double digits."

Obama, who takes over Jan. 20, is promoting a massive package of tax cuts and government spending that could total $775 billion over two years. With add-ons by lawmakers, the package could swell to $850 billion, his advisers say.

Even with a new government stimulus, the unemployment rate is expected to keep rising this year. Some think it could hit 9 percent or 10 percent at the end of this year.

This week alone, drugstore operator Walgreen Co., managed care provider Cigna Corp., aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., data-storage company EMC Corp. and computer products maker Logitech International all announced major layoffs to cope with the recession.

SOURCE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28574446

^^this hit the entire U.S. like a Tsunami,
and the effects will definitely reverberate throughout the World, the Philippines included.

So let's brace ourselves.
We need each other now, working together as one, more than ever.





:horse:

^^ The best alternative to prepare for the crisis for OFWs:

If you have an unproductive real estate property in the Philippines, rethink of putting up your money in agriculture and food production with all the available capital and money you saved up.

I think planting camote should be taken seriously nowadays when the global economy that is highly dependent on value of papers are caving in. :lol:

Ignorance of stocks, bonds and other papers of wealth is a bliss.

CEO of Corporate America: Suicide is the only option. I lost my billions of fortune on stocks.

Pinoy farmer: What is a stock? Can you eat that?

:lol:

Meeting the job crisis (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/jan/11/yehey/opinion/20090111opi1.html)

The economist and former budget secretary, UP Professor Benjamin Diokno, recently made the gloomy forecast that 11 million Filipino workers would become jobless this year as a result of the global economic meltdown.

Diokno said the manufacturing, telecommunications and banking sectors in many destination points of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would have no job openings for some time.

His projection of 11 million Filipinos going jobless was too overblown. That would mean almost one-third of the total Philippine workforce of about 37 million would be without jobs.

While Labor Secretary Marianito Roque concedes that the world economic crisis would cause job losses, he says it would not be in the magnitude of Diokno’s prediction.

“The number of Filipino workers affected by the crisis is not that high but is within manageable levels,” Roque said in a press statement. “Our safety nets can handle it.” He pointed out that 11 million jobless workers would be four-fold the current unemployment rate.

Based on statistics of the National Statistics Office (NSO), the country’s unemployment rate as of October last year was 6.8 percent, meaning 2.6 million Filipinos were without jobs, compared to 35 million gainfully employed at the time.

The underemployment rate stood at 17.5 percent, accounting for 6.028 million Filipinos in part-time jobs.

The Philippines experienced its highest unemployment rates in the early 1970s at the height of the oil crisis when they first soared to double-digit levels. In 1973, it hit 11.5 percent and peaked at one point to 12.7 percent.

In the following decades, the unemployment rate tapered off as the government launched its overseas employment program, resulting in the deployment of more than eight million OFWs today, or nearly one-tenth of the nation’s total population.

These OFWs have strengthened our economy with their yearly remittances, which were estimated to have hit $16 billion last year.

With the US and other rich economies facing an economic recession, thousands of OFWs are being retrenched. Textiles and electronic industries in export economies, like Taiwan, have suffered the brunt of the economic downturn.

Test of resiliency

We are facing today a job crisis that puts to the test our resiliency as a people in coping with adversity and our creativity to generate jobs to cushion its impact. What is the government doing about it?

“Our livelihood and loan programs are in place for displaced workers,” said Secretary Roque. He was referring to the program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, giving substantial loans to qualified retrenched OFWs to enable them to set up small and medium-scale business.

The government’s overseas employment program has remained a strong buffer against growing unemployment. Roque has vowed to intensify his department’s search for new labor markets abroad. Over the years, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has deployed an average of one million OFWS annually.

While Roque admits that hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were being retrenched, there are new job openings in other labor markets. He said the rich economies would continue holding their Filipino medical and household workers and will have more openings for nurses in the months ahead.

Saudi Arabia alone has an immediate need for 60,000 nurses to work in its expanding health-care system. Filipino nurses in the kingdom enjoy a high monthly salary of $600 to $1,000, in addition to free housing, transportation, gratuities and other fringe benefits.

Qatar has told President Gloria Arroyo that it can absorb as many as 37,000 workers.

Canada has opened its doors wider to Filipino workers to fill many shortages in its professional and industrial sectors. Four of its provinces have signed labor agreements with the labor department for the hiring of Filipino construction, medical and hospitality workers.

Emergency employment programs

Malacañang has taken the lead in creating emergency employment programs. In her first full Cabinet meeting this year in Iligan City, President Arroyo discussed with her secretaries a government plan to create two million jobs this year, the first million to be generated in the first half of 2009.

This program seeks to double the yearly one-million-job target of the Arroyo administration in the past few years.

The government is also looking to the potentials of the retail and business processing outsourcing sectors in creating more job opportunities for Filipino workers.

There is growing public confidence that 2009 will be a good year despite the temporary setbacks caused by the global crisis. We hope and pray the government job-generating initiatives will help us pull through the passing economic storm.

Meeting the job crisis (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/jan/11/yehey/opinion/20090111opi1.html)

The economist and former budget secretary, UP Professor Benjamin Diokno, recently made the gloomy forecast that 11 million Filipino workers would become jobless this year as a result of the global economic meltdown.

Diokno said the manufacturing, telecommunications and banking sectors in many destination points of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would have no job openings for some time.

His projection of 11 million Filipinos going jobless was too overblown. That would mean almost one-third of the total Philippine workforce of about 37 million would be without jobs.

While Labor Secretary Marianito Roque concedes that the world economic crisis would cause job losses, he says it would not be in the magnitude of Diokno’s prediction.

“The number of Filipino workers affected by the crisis is not that high but is within manageable levels,” Roque said in a press statement. “Our safety nets can handle it.” He pointed out that 11 million jobless workers would be four-fold the current unemployment rate.

Based on statistics of the National Statistics Office (NSO), the country’s unemployment rate as of October last year was 6.8 percent, meaning 2.6 million Filipinos were without jobs, compared to 35 million gainfully employed at the time.

The underemployment rate stood at 17.5 percent, accounting for 6.028 million Filipinos in part-time jobs.

The Philippines experienced its highest unemployment rates in the early 1970s at the height of the oil crisis when they first soared to double-digit levels. In 1973, it hit 11.5 percent and peaked at one point to 12.7 percent.

In the following decades, the unemployment rate tapered off as the government launched its overseas employment program, resulting in the deployment of more than eight million OFWs today, or nearly one-tenth of the nation’s total population.

These OFWs have strengthened our economy with their yearly remittances, which were estimated to have hit $16 billion last year.

With the US and other rich economies facing an economic recession, thousands of OFWs are being retrenched. Textiles and electronic industries in export economies, like Taiwan, have suffered the brunt of the economic downturn.

Test of resiliency

We are facing today a job crisis that puts to the test our resiliency as a people in coping with adversity and our creativity to generate jobs to cushion its impact. What is the government doing about it?

“Our livelihood and loan programs are in place for displaced workers,” said Secretary Roque. He was referring to the program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, giving substantial loans to qualified retrenched OFWs to enable them to set up small and medium-scale business.

The government’s overseas employment program has remained a strong buffer against growing unemployment. Roque has vowed to intensify his department’s search for new labor markets abroad. Over the years, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has deployed an average of one million OFWS annually.

While Roque admits that hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were being retrenched, there are new job openings in other labor markets. He said the rich economies would continue holding their Filipino medical and household workers and will have more openings for nurses in the months ahead.

Saudi Arabia alone has an immediate need for 60,000 nurses to work in its expanding health-care system. Filipino nurses in the kingdom enjoy a high monthly salary of $600 to $1,000, in addition to free housing, transportation, gratuities and other fringe benefits.

Qatar has told President Gloria Arroyo that it can absorb as many as 37,000 workers.

Canada has opened its doors wider to Filipino workers to fill many shortages in its professional and industrial sectors. Four of its provinces have signed labor agreements with the labor department for the hiring of Filipino construction, medical and hospitality workers.

Emergency employment programs

Malacañang has taken the lead in creating emergency employment programs. In her first full Cabinet meeting this year in Iligan City, President Arroyo discussed with her secretaries a government plan to create two million jobs this year, the first million to be generated in the first half of 2009.

This program seeks to double the yearly one-million-job target of the Arroyo administration in the past few years.

The government is also looking to the potentials of the retail and business processing outsourcing sectors in creating more job opportunities for Filipino workers.

There is growing public confidence that 2009 will be a good year despite the temporary setbacks caused by the global crisis. We hope and pray the government job-generating initiatives will help us pull through the passing economic storm.

America (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy6wo2wpT2k) from Westside Story
Qy6wo2wpT2k

I think every immigrant to America experienced something like what the song says. ;)

^^ "Twelve in a room in America" :lol:


gee!... I must have seen that movie a 100 times.. from Betamax days to HD-Video. :D

^^ :lol: Yup! And yet the same rings true, back then and now. :colgate:

http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20090111-182672/A-boon-to-OFWs-Cheaper-calls

A boon to OFWs: Cheaper calls
By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
01/11/2009

MANILA, Philippines—“Whenever we ask OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) what they need during this global financial crisis, the answer is the same: Any little way we can save, we will welcome it,” said Perry V. Bayani, head of Smart Communications Inc.’s sales and business development and international services group, during a pre-launch briefing for Plug ’N Talk (PNT).

Smart’s newest offering is said to be the first USB communications device in the Philippines that allows those outside the country to call and text from an Internet-connected PC to any Philippine mobile and landline number using their Smart SIM.

PNT is positioned as a niche service for Internet-connected Filipinos abroad who want to call Philippine landline or mobile numbers for as low as P6.50 a minute.

The setup allows a subscriber to access the Smart network via the Internet at home, at work, or in an Internet café, and enjoy call rates for as low as P6.50 per minute. The price of text messages is as low as P1. There are no international roaming or hidden charges.

“Plug ’N Talk is a breakthrough product because we’ve taken the communications experience beyond the phone-to-phone scenario,” said Rufino S. Fermin, Smart’s manager for international services and OFW market. Now OFWs simply have to connect to the Internet, plug in their Plug ’N Text USB device, which has a 1-GB variant that can be used for storage, and then use a soft phone interface on their PC to call anyone in the Philippines.

Fermin added that PNT’s value proposition over other services using VOIP such as Skype is that PNT’s call rates are slightly lower yet the voice quality is much better. The interface also allows users to text, get top ups, and purchase online items from partner-merchants for loved ones in the Philippines.

The Smart Plug ’N Talk will be initially available at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 1 and the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

“We are launching it in the Philippines first since many OFWs are expected to be home for the holidays,” said Ramon Isberto, public relations chief of Smart. “This way, they will get better access to the product and they can bring it with them when they go abroad again.”

The product will soon be made available in the United States and Japan, as well as in the Middle East and Europe.

The PNT kit is priced at P1,800. It includes the Plug ’N Talk device, an earpiece and a free Smart Pinoy SIM with free P20 load.

The PNT system may be used on any Windows OS. A version for Mac OS is currently being developed and will be launched soon.

According to figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, there are about 8.7 million Filipinos abroad as of end-2007.

At any one time, Smart has 900,000 to 1 million roaming subscribers on its network. Fermin said that these subscribers can choose to avoid costly roaming fees by using PNT instead.

Smart claims to be the Filipino’s biggest mobile network to the world, serving 34.2 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-September 2008.

Its products and services are available in over 200 countries abroad having ties with over 400 international network partners. Through PLDT Global, Smart also serves the mobile communication needs of Filipinos in Singapore, Hong Kong and Italy via 1528 Smart.

keeping people connected
families together
nations united.

Good news!



:horse:

have not heard of any LA area where there is large pinoy presence... naka kalat man...
even the pinoy stores... Pinoy, Pinay & Bibingkahan in Cerritos... L.A. Rose & Lorenzana Grocery in downtown LA... Sari-sari in Garden Grove... Manila Grill in Fullerton yata??

wala nag tapok...

you havent been to west covina at the corner of asuza and amar. the three corners are mostly pinoy stores from goldilocks, jollibee, max, seafood city, island pacific, red ribbon, chowking, pinoy pinay, bibingkahan, ito po ay atin, new manila, cebu la fortuna, totos lechon, valereos bakeshop, forex cargo, pinoy doctors and dentist's offices. pinoy real estate agents offices, mami king, travel agents and beauty salons at iba pa

you havent been to west covina at the corner of asuza and amar. the three corners are mostly pinoy stores from goldilocks, jollibee, max, seafood city, island pacific, red ribbon, chowking, pinoy pinay, bibingkahan, ito po ay atin, new manila, cebu la fortuna, totos lechon, valereos bakeshop, forex cargo, pinoy doctors and dentist's offices. pinoy real estate agents offices, mami king, travel agents and beauty salons at iba pa

Ngi... your right...
I kept on thinking of Daly City... I forgot about west covina.

Ngi... your right...
I kept on thinking of Daly City... I forgot about west covina.

i havent been to daly city myself but they used to have a fil-am mayor there and so was carson. the is a small street named manila way now in west covina where there pinoy business district is.

Overseas Filipinos
According to Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Filipino

Total population
11,000,000 estimates [1]

Regions with significant populations
United States 4,000,000 [USA]
Saudi Arabia 2,000,000 [2]
Malaysia 636,544 [3]
Canada 437,940 [4]
UAE 450,000 [5]
Japan 258,977 [JPN]
United Kingdom 200,000 [6]
Italy 200,000 [7]
Mexico 200,000 [8]
Qatar 200,000 [9]
Taiwan 158,116 [TWN]
Singapore 150,000 [10]
Hong Kong 130,810 [HKG]
Australia 129,400 [AUS]
Kuwait 144,955 [SAU]
South Korea 70,000 [11]
Germany 65,000 [12]
France 65,000 [13]
Guam 45,600 [GWM]
Greece 40,000 [14][not in citation given]
Bahrain 36,718 [POEA2004]
Israel 37,155 [POEA2004]
Lebanon 30,000 [LBN]
Spain 26,505 [15][not in citation given]
New Zealand 16,938 [NZL]
Norway 19,291 [15][not in citation given]
Netherlands 18,456 [15][not in citation given]
Macau 18,447 [POEA2004]
Sweden 17,343 [15][not in citation given]
Thailand 5,000 [16]
Nigeria 2,324 [SAU]

Ang daming pinoys Abroad..

Nations with large Filipino constituencies

United States.

Despite race relations problems of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the American Northwest, most Filipino Americans today find it easy to integrate into American society, with a majority belonging to the upper middle class. When compared to other East and Southeast Asian-American groups, Filipino Americans have the second highest median household income, exceeding that of the U.S. general population, surpassed only by Asian Indians [24]
United States Median Household Income: 2004.[24]

Ethnicity Household Income
Asian Indians $68,771
Filipinos $65,700
Chinese $57,433
Japanese $53,763
Koreans $43,195
Total US Population $44,684

Filipinos are as the second-largest Asian American group in the country; Tagalog is the fifth most spoken language in the U.S. Filipinas comprise a large portion of the roughly 4,000-6,000 women who annually come to the U.S. via international marriage agencies[25]. The US State Department estimated that there are 4 million Filipinos in the US as of 2007. [26]

United Kingdom.

Nurses and caregivers have begun flocking to the United Kingdom in recent years. The island-nation has welcomed about 20,000 nurses and other Filipinos of various employment and lifestyle during the past 5 years. According to news reports, the United Kingdom is home to around 200,000 OFWs.[27] See also: Filipino British

Iraq.

In spite of the Philippine government ban on OFWs working in Iraq, an estimated 1,000-3,000 Filipinos work there. Most work on US Military bases around the country as cooks and laundry service, sometimes as third-country national security guards. This is the only foreign nation in which Filipino men outnumber Filipino women.

Canada.

Only a small population of Filipinos resided in Canada until the late 20th century. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has estimated that as of 2006 there were over 400,000 Canadians of Filipino origin.[4] Due to Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Western Canada and the Philippines; contracts in Atlantic Canada; consistent hiring of workers in Central Canada; and increased activity in Northern Canada, it is estimated that there will be some 500,000 Filipinos in Canada as of 2020. See Filipino Canadians.

Spain.

With around 25,000 citizens, the Filipinos form the second largest Asian community in Spain behind the Chinese.[citation needed] Although many Filipinos did immigrate or ran away to Spain after the United States took over the islands in 1898, most of the Filipinos moved to the old metropoli during the 1960s and 1970s seeking jobs, which in many cases were related to housekeeping or industrial activities. There's also a significant group of Spaniards of Filipino origins (some of whom are from 3rd and 4th generations) including some famous people like Isabel Preysler, mother of famous singer Enrique Iglesias.[citation needed]

Ireland.

As of 2008, the Philippine embassy in London reported that there are 11,500 Filipinos in Ireland.[28]

Hong Kong.

There are approximately 140,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, of whom most are domestic helpers (30,000 of them being members of the Filipino Migrant Workers Union). Filipino maids are known by the locals as amahs, or more often feiyungs (less politely bun mui or bun bun). A Hong Kong work visa requires some amount of higher education; and in some cases Filipino women with college degrees and perfect command of English are willing to work as maids and nannies for a salary higher than they could make at home in professions.[HKG]

Singapore.

Over 136,000 Overseas Filipinos work and reside in the nation-state of Singapore.[POEA2004] Moreover, about 200,000 Filipinos visit the country annually, making them one of the biggest foreign tourists of Singapore.[citation needed]

Taiwan.

According to the 2006 data of the government of Taiwan, there are 96,000 Filipinos currently living in Taiwan. Of these, 58,704 are in manufacturing industries and 34,602 are in social or personal services (e.g. maids).[ROC] However, according to 2004 data by the Philippine Government, there are 2,037 Filipinos living in Taiwan permanently, 154,135 are in Taiwan for work contracts, and 4,500 go to Taiwan irregularly, which make a total of 160,672. It is not known why there is such a big difference between these two numbers (96,000 vs. 160,672).

Middle East.

Many Filipinos work in the Middle East (mostly Saudi Arabia and UAE) as engineers, nurses or hospital workers, accountants, office workers, construction workers, restaurant workers and maids. It is estimated[who?] that more than 2 million Filipinos have made the Middle East their home.[citation needed]

Japan

Some 250,000 Filipinos are listed to be living within Japan's geographic confines.[JPN] However, this number is speculated to be larger, surpassing the one million mark, in relation to many unlisted and illegal Filipino nationals in the Land of the Rising Sun.[citation needed]

South Korea

According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, as of December 2006, some 70,000 Filipinos work and live in Korea. Of this number, some 6,000 are permanent residents, some 50,000 work legally, and some 14,000 are "irregular" or do not have the proper documents.[11]

Lebanon

As many as 30,000 OFWs are working in the nation of Lebanon. Due to the recent turmoil between Lebanon and Israel, however, many have been repatriated back to the Philippines, while others have been relocated to Cyprus, a part of the Philippine evacuation plan.[LBN]

Australia

In 2000, Australia recorded about 127,000 Filipinos and/or Filipino Australians.[AUS]

Greece

The Philippine Embassy has reported an estimated of 40,000 Filipinos in Greece.[14]

Malaysia

As Sabah is very close to the Philippines, there are many Filipino residents, as well as illegal immigrants there. Filipinos make up about 30% of the entire population of Sabah and they enumerate up to 900,000. Many Filipinos in Malaysia residents come to work in construction industries, fisheries, and other labor intensive sectors in hopes of a better living. Most live in stilt slums scattered behind cities or on offshore islands. The Philippine government also has promised to establish a consulate provide any necessary help to its nationals. Historically, The Philippines has a dormant claim on the territory. Native Sabahans themselves are closely related to southern Filipinos.[citation needed]

New Zealand

There are about 17,000 Filipino residents and citizens in New Zealand called Kiwi-Pino's, Filipino-New Zealanders. New Zealand, as in the past, are currently recruiting Filipino qualified nurses. Filipinos in New Zealand, as well as prospective immigrants, often lean towards information technology, nursing and, more recently, telecommunications for careers.[citation needed]

Norway

People with Filipino background in Norway is estimated to about 9,000, most of them living in the Oslo urban area. Most of the Filipino immigrants to Norway are females, representing 76 % of the total of 9,000.[citation needed]

Ang daming pinoys Abroad..

About a tenth of the Philippine population is said to be living and working overseas, that's roughly 9 million migrants abroad. Not counting Filipinos that have become naturalized citizens of their adoptive countries. It's also estimated that about a thousand Filipinos per day leave the Philippines headed to places around the world.

sabi nga sa news hundred thousands of filipinos leave the country every year to work or migrate abroad. akalain mo kahit sa madagascar may pinoy kang makikita.:)

^^^ even the remotest -smallest town in America, you would still find filipinos, mostly filipinas married to "cano"...

I remember being assigned in Vernon Alabama long long time ago for about 4 months and I've run into a couple of filipinas living in a small town of less than 2,000 population....

^^ kahit siguro sa antartica at artic may mga pinoy na nakatira at nagtatrabaho. tinalo pa natin ang china kung tutuusin mas malaki ang populasyon nila sa atin pero ang mga pinoy makikita mo san mang sulok ng mundo.

There was some documentary a few years back about Filipinos living in North Korea. Wala talagang pinalalagpas ang pinoy kahit teritoryo ni Kim Jong-Il pinatos. :lol:

kahit siguro sa antartica at artic may mga pinoy na nakatira at nagtatrabaho. tinalo pa natin ang china kung tutuusin mas malaki ang populasyon nila sa atin pero ang mga pinoy makikita mo san mang sulok ng mundo.

We are mobile nation. Thanks in part to our exposure to the myriad of foreign cultures that have influenced our country. Compared to the Chinese, we do have an edge above them in terms of assimilating into our host/adoptive nations' mainstream society.

We are mobile nation. Thanks in part to our exposure to the myriad of foreign cultures that have influenced our country. Compared to the Chinese, we do have an edge above them in terms of assimilating into our host/adoptive nations' mainstream society.

I agree. tayong mga pinoy madaling mag adapt kahit san man mapunta. Tayo din ang may pinakamaraming overseas workers sa buong mundo dahil bilib sila sa talento natin. Magaling, masipag at matiyaga tayong mga pinoy pag dating sa trabaho.:)

I saw on UniversiTV once... A sociologist said that Filipinos are internationalists. We embrace other cultures and don't find it hard to adapt to other countries. :)

He added that sometimes buying products from other countries is not really Pinoy colonial mentality but enjoying what's good other nations can offer. :okay: Like me, I love European trance/house music, American movies, Chinese/Japanese cuisine and Japanese technology yet I still don't lose my identity as Pinoy and still patronizes our local products.

^^ That's a positive way at looking at things, a new perspective on the Filipino psyche. :okay:

I bumped into a pinoy army guy in the mall who was originally from Guam and Hawaii, he was stationed in southern California for a while. He mentioned pinoys in Hawaii and Guam are more friendly and will acknowledge fellow pinoys, but he said in Southern California they will just ignore their fellow pinoys and and are not very welcoming. Is it true?

^^ For the sake of discussion, do you really have to acknowledge another fellow Filipino when you see them?

^^ For the sake of discussion, do you really have to acknowledge another fellow Filipino when you see them?
I supposed not. I guess he meant if youre a newbie to the area and you don't know anybody, it's easier to get to know others in Hawaii and guam as opposed to Cali and being pinoy enclaves you'd expect to fit in better because of the similarities, culturally speaking.

The lower shopping floors of Worldwide House is the commercial area for Filipinos in HK just like Lucky Plaza in Singapore.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/HK_World_Wide_House.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/HK_World_Wide_House_Shopping_Arcade.jpg

In HK, its easy to spot the Filipino from the rest of the crowd!

so when will the order from high command come? when will the take-over begin? haven't we got enough agents stationed around the globe already?

* * *

seriously now, correct me if i'm wrong, but i think there are 2 more places left for pinoys to conquer: the poles of the earth

^^ There isn't any landmass where the North Pole is, just the frozen Arctic Sea. In the South Pole, you have Antarctica; and the people that live there are transient scientists in camps/stations, not permanent settlements. :colgate:

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa305/judedefensor/September2008021.jpg
A Filipino store in Stockholm, Sweden.

This is what bothers me with alot of Filipino stores and establishments abroad. They look like those bodegas that you see in NY's outer boroughs such as Brooklyn or The Bronx.

I have yet to see a Filipino establishment that is nice and neat.

^^ Well, they're just trying to mimic what the sari-sari stores back in the Philippines looks like. Maybe something about it makes it familiar, homey, and not-so-foreign to an expat Pinoy. Dare I even say that it can be an "iconic" ethnic feature, one that is instantly recognizable as a Pinoy-owned business. ;)

^^ For the sake of discussion, do you really have to acknowledge another fellow Filipino when you see them?

For me, I usually initiate by atleast smiling at them. Sometimes, I get ignored alot of times I get a smile back. The only place I can safely say that there are filipinos everywhere I look would be Toronto/Mississauga, especially at the mall. I get ignored there, sometimes I just made myself look like fool by acknowledging them. I think at one point, up in Detroit Michigan.

Here in town, I usually greet first as usual, but then again, even the local americans here are very courteous so everybody greets one another. As far as fellow filipinos here in town, like I said I initiate it because half of the time and since there are really very few filipinos arond when they see me, they are always unsure if I am a filipino or not because I do look like a bumbay in person. So, to let them know I'm also filipino, I would say "kumusta" then they would respond in tagalog as well, even just a simple "mabuti naman" answer.


You'd be surprised though, if there is someone who is part filipino and part caucasian, they are the ones who would always spot me as a filipino so, they would ask me if I am a filipino first then greet me...

Where I am, it's overwhelmingly pootie! :lol: So, I seldom see another Pinoy here in my area, unless when I'm in church (I attend a Filipino Seventh-Day Adventist Church). Most of the Filipinos here in the Metro Orlando area live on the east side of town, about a 30-45 minute drive away. Or, in the Kissimmee-St. Cloud area which is in Osceola County, south of Orlando. Where I live, I see more Koreans and Vietnamese than Pinoys.

bka di natin mamalayan, kasing parehas n pla ntin population ng CHina! ANd Filipinos will take over the world!!:lol:joke

buti n lng at may TFC, Pinoy TV atbp, na minemaintain ang pagiging proud-to-be-pinoy ng mga OFW..

This is what bothers me with alot of Filipino stores and establishments abroad. They look like those bodegas that you see in NY's outer boroughs such as Brooklyn or The Bronx.

I have yet to see a Filipino establishment that is nice and neat.

ganyan talaga ang pinoy. hahaha i think the picture really defines the filipino culture. not in a negative but a positive way. hehehe
but the store must be really improved, i think it needs some bahay kubo ddesign. hehe

there's still a way to make it look Filipino yet clean and neat at the same time. :yes:

ganyan talaga ang pinoy. hahaha i think the picture really defines the filipino culture. not in a negative but a positive way. hehehe
but the store must be really improved, i think it needs some bahay kubo ddesign. hehe

That's the concept I'm thinking. Its a problem here in HK. There is hardly any Filipino store here that looks clean or neat. The worst thing about this is how the locals or foreign expats will view Filipinos if that is how they present themselves.

Honestly, I would like to see the locals and expats in HK view Filipinos more than just amahs, musicians or domestic helpers. Its time Filipinos especially in HK get the upmost respect that they deserve!

Anyone been to "Manila Way" somewhere near L.A.? May Jollibee, goldilocks, Chowking etc etc doon. :lol:

^^ Where exactly in Los Angeles are you referring to?

^^I think it's in West Covina. The place is called "Manila Way" with some Filipino stores lining the road.

^^ Yeah, there is a Manila Way in West Covina. But West Covina isn't anywhere near Los Angeles. :colgate:

^^ Yeah, there is a Manila Way in West Covina. But West Covina isn't anywhere near Los Angeles. :colgate:

Its part of LA County about 30 mins from Downtown LA

^^ 20 miles or so from the City of Los Angeles is hardly considered "near." But you are correct, it is in Los Angeles County.

Filipino maid caught with employer’s cash, jewelry
Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=118517&d=25&m=1&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

JEDDAH: Police in Jeddah arrested yesterday a Filipino housemaid who stole cash and jewelry worth SR180,000 from her employer in the Eastern Province before fleeing here.

Col. Misfar Al-Juaid, spokesman for the Jeddah police, said the woman traveled to the city by road avoiding checkpoints. He said she was given shelter by Filipino nationals. “Detectives investigating the case traced her here. She was staying in Jeddah with a Filipino worker. The woman confessed that she stole the valuables and cash from her employer’s house while the family were out to attend a function,” he said.

“She traveled by different cars and buses hoping police would not find her. She hoped to find a job in Jeddah as a housemaid and planned to go back to the Philippines at the first opportunity,” he added.

Filipinas marry foreigners for money not love (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/147157/Filipinas-marry-foreigners-for-money-not-love)
CHERYL ARCIBAL, GMANews.TV


MANILA, Philippines- The inability of the Philippine economy to produce high-paying jobs especially for women has pushed Filipinos to marry foreigners as a way to provide for their families, the study Country Gender Assessment by regional lender Asian Development Bank said.

The number of Filipinos marrying foreigners have also tripled in just a span of eight years from 7,819 in 1998 to 24,954 in 2006.

It is also estimated that currently, 300,000 Filipinos, 92 percent of whom are women, are married to foreigners mainly from the United States, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

"(I)n the Philippines (as elsewhere), the phenomenon of 'mail order brides' is not uncommon. In the absence of employment prospects and with families to care for, many women view marrying a foreigner as an easy ticket to an overseas life with steady remittances. With the advent of the Internet, chat rooms, and text messaging the marriage migration numbers are on the rise," the ADB said.

Data from The Commission on Filipinos Overseas showed that Filipino women marrying men from East Asian countries tend to be younger and less educated. These foreign men also usually are at least 40 years older than their Filipino brides.

"Reports indicate that more women apply for 'marriage visas' to Japan as a result of Japan reducing its official demand for entertainers," ADB said.

In 2005 Japan has imposed a stricter immigration policy following Tokyo's inclusion in a US watchlist of high incidence of human smuggling.

ADB said Manila should undertake measures to protect Filipino women as those who marry foreigners that they do not know face enormous risks.

"Many of the men live in remote areas and are unsuccessful with women from their own culture, who they feel are spoiled and have too many freedoms. Instead, they want women with 'traditional' family values who, once in the country, have nowhere to turn and are completely at their mercy," ADB said.

Among the recommendations of the ADB was to tap remittances from overseas Filipinos for productive investment and sustainable livelihood opportunities for women so that migration becomes a choice rather than a necessity. - GMANews.TV

Heck, everybody know these already LOL Is why there are alot of pinays married to a gentleman 3 times their ages.... The good part there is that somehow the majority with the exception of some few, filipina wives stay with their foreign hubbies until his last breath. Although, just based on my own observation, it is slowly changing, many pinays leave as well but the number of those who stick around with their hubby is still higher, I don't know, probably because they got used to their hubbies and that they have kids with the foreign hubbies.

Arroyo announces P1-B fund for displaced OFWs (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/02/04/09/arroyo-announces-p1-b-owwa-fund-displaced-ofws)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/04/2009 12:31 PM


President Arroyo laid down her government’s solution that would help overseas Filipino workers displaced by the global economic crisis.

During her trip to Bahrain, Mrs. Arroyo told OFWs deployed there that her government has set aside a P1 billion fund to help affected workers displaced due to the crisis.

“For our government, it is now pay back time. The heroic efforts of our expat workers, of you, our expatriate workers, will not go unreciprocated. So we are calling our program, a program full of reciprocitym which shall be carried out para tulungan yung mga nawalan ng trabaho," the President said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the Filipino Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund would come from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The OWWA, together with the Department of Labor and Employment, have been tasked to find jobs or retrain retrenched workers.

Mrs. Arroyo said more job employment opportunities await Filipino workers in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia.

"Ngunit gusto kong ibalita na mas marami naman ang bagong trabahong inaalok. At kanina nakausap ko na yung opisyal ng Saudi Arabia, sabi nila, ok ang Saudi at ok ang inyong mga trabaho," she said.

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives and government officials like Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap accompanied the President during her one-day working visit to Saudi Arabia.

According to the Philippine Information Agency’s website, President Arroyo’s visit is part of the government’s effort to further strengthen its economic and bilateral relations with Bahrain, which is host to thousands of Filipino overseas workers.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo will make a sidetrip to Washington DC to attend the national prayer breakfast of members of the United States Congress on Thursday.

President Arroyo has no scheduled meeting with US President Barack Obama, but she is expected to meet him at the Thursday morning breakfast where Obama is the guest speaker.

She will be back in the Philippines this weekend. -- Roland Blanco, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau, Riyadh and ANC’s Dateline Philippines

Check this link http://www.cimbclicks.com.my/wu2_tnc.htm

They might change the image on the website by the time anyone opens the link so Ill just tell you whats in it. I found this on the Website of CIMB, one of the biggest banks in Malaysia. They have a promotion for using one of their bank services. People from Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia can join. And the image on the website is a maid. I actually called their customer support and asked them..."Im a Filipino and I had been working with an IT firm for 5 years, does that mean Im not qualified to join this promo since Im not a maid?" And I got an enthusiastic "you can absolutely join sir"...It made me chuckle and asked a rethorical question "are you serious?" to which I got another very enthusiastic response, "yes sir, that is correct!" :lol::lol:...The agent seemed very happy that he was able to assist me with my concern...He didnt get my sarcasm or maybe he did and he just didnt care because maybe to him the image on the website is a fact...But I decided not to do business with bank for now...haha

No offense on Filipino maids all over the world. What would the world be without them, who as Mike Rowe had coined, "people who do the "dirty jobs" to make our civilized world a little more civilized" or something like that. That's not my intention at all. Being a maid, nanny, a cleaner etc is a decent and honest source of income...right? I posted it to show how some people see the Filipino (realistically). I used to think that Malaysian percieve Pinoys as more of musicians and IT professionals in Malaysia but I guess their perception changed **sigh**...

To be fair though, it is not only Filipinas who marry for money.

But let us look at the other side of the story. Why do some western men prefer to look in the Philippines for wives?

Last week, the House passed the then-$819 billion stimulus bill.

These are some included spendings on that stimulus:


- $198 million for U.S. military benefits for Filipinos who fought for the U.S. during WWII

- $6.2 billion for home weatherization

- $50 million for port modernization and water and wastewater infrastructure needs in Guam

-$100 million for children to learn green construction

- $75 million for "smoking cessation activities"

- $87 million for the "design of a new polar icebreaker"

- $335 million for HIV/STD screening

- $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees

~~~~~~~~~~~

At least some of our tax dollars are going to our kababayans and those grey areas, I don't know if you guys agree on paying for them... :lol:

America (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy6wo2wpT2k) from Westside Story
Qy6wo2wpT2k

I think every immigrant to America experienced something like what the song says. ;)

What is also reflective there is it's usually the women immigrants who prefer staying in America over the men who always dream of returning to the motherland.