APMM News Digest- January 2012 edition

ARTICLES OF THE JANUARY 2012 APMM NEWS DIGEST


Migrants Are Ready, PH Government Is Not
Migrante Middle East slams PH government’s slow response to OFWs in Middle East Crisis

Migrante Middle East, an organization of overseas Filipino workers based in the Middle East countries, criticized the Philippine government for adapting a wait-and-see stance despite a growing campaign for the rescue, evacuation and eventual repatriation of OFWs in the Middle East, particularly in Syria.

In a report published in the Philippine newspaper The Manila Times, John Monterona, regional director of Migrante Middle East, evacuation efforts have been notably slow for OFWs trapped in many Syrian cities where there has been heavy fighting between the Syrian government army and militants.

As per the report, Monterona and his group has noted around 100 distressed OFWs seeking temporary refuge at the Philippine Embassy’s Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC). The said OFWs have reportedly been there from three to six months and are still awaiting repatriation.

He furthered that requests for repatriation have been sent to the Philippine ambassador to Syria yet no acknowledgment or reply has been received from neither the ambassador nor the embassy’s Assistance to the Nationals staff. The Assistance to the Nationals, or ATN, is a part of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs stationed in Philippine embassies and consulates and is responsible for facilitation of repatriation, coordination with next-of-kin relatives, mediation and conciliation, and providing legal advice, counseling, and prison visitation.

Not learning its lessons

Migrante Middle East noted strongly that the Philippine government seemed to have not learned its lessons from its previous weaknesses of

evacuating and repatriating distressed OFWs during the Libya and Egyptian protests. During those times, said the group, the Philippine government also took a wait-and-see position.

The said administration took weeks to respond amid the clamor of various OFW organizations, including the Migrante Middle East, to ready the government contingency plans so as to have the government could easily respond to OFWs’ need and call to be repatriated.

The administration, the group also said, has taken cue from other governments who were already rushing efforts to immediately evacuate and repatriate their own nationals as the peace and order situation in Libya worsens.

More needing help

While the Philippine government is doing its duty to assist distressed OFWs in crisis-stricken parts of the Middle East and North Africa, said Migrante Middle East, its efforts are “lacking and still wanting.”

The group raised concerns that if the Philippine government, especially its embassies in the region, does not hasten response and action early this on, it will be difficult for them to help especially those in far-flung areas in Syria, like Latakia, Homs and Dera’a.

Migrante Middle East challenged the Philippine administration, especially those taking diplomatic posts, to map early the locations of OFWs in these areas with the help of local agencies and the Syrian authorities as well as identify rallying points in every place. The group roughly estimates 18,000 to 20,000 OFWs, including undocumented migrants, in Syria.

Finally, the group said that Philippine government should learn its lessons from the Libya uprising and start taking action as it will find itself in a difficult situation should a political crisis worsen in a country like Saudi Arabia where 1.2 million OFWs are situated.

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TUTI TURSILAWATI
Another Indonesian migrant worker sentenced to death in KSA

Death penalty victimizes migrant workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who opt to defend their life, human rights and dignity.

Tuti Tursilawati, 27, is an Indonesian migrant worker sentenced to death for the alleged murder of her employer.

She arrived in Saudi Arabia on September 5, 2009 to work as a domestic helper in the city of Ta’if, western province of Mecca.

According to news reports, her employer attempted to rape her on May 11, 2010. In defense of her dignity Tuti hit him with a stick that resulted to his death. She then fled.

She was subsequently arrested by the police in Ta’if. No investigation had been reportedly made about the alleged rape.

Tuti’s family in Indonesia, together with different migrant organizations and serving institutions like MIGRANT CARE, appealed to the Indonesian government to save the life of Tuti. They acknowledge the fact that Tuti might be another Ruyathi binti Sapudhi executed in June 2011 if the government fails to save Tuti’s life.

Currently, there are 26 Indonesian migrant workers facing death penalty in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, five of whom have received a death sentence: Tuti, Sutinah, Siti Zaenab, Aminah and Darmawati.

The Indonesian government through its former president BJ Habiebie is trying to negotiate with the employer’s family and officials of the Saudi government to save the life of Tuti. Most often, efforts to release the victim always involve ‘blood money’ as payment to the employer’s family.

The Saudi government’s policy of granting pardon or forgiveness to victims like Tuti solely depends if the condition set by the employer’s family is met.

This seemingly unending pattern of abuse and exploitation experienced by migrant workers who in act of self-dedense would kill their abusive employer and the demand for payment of the employer’s family forcing the victims’ families to give-in to the latter’s demand put the migrant workers always at the losing end.

So far, no employer in KSA has been persecuted and punished for abusing and exploiting the migrant workers like Tuti. And no migrant workers gained justice from the abuse and exploitations that they suffered.

Unless significant reforms have been made in KSA -putting strong and relevant support and services mechanisms that will truly protect and uphold the life, human rights and

dignity of migrant workers - and the sending government becoming proactive in protecting their migrant workers against all forms of abuse and exploitation, cases like that of Tuti will continue.

Meanwhile, with the swelling cases of migrant workers unfairly trialed under the judicial system of the KSA, Tuti’s family will have no choice but to give-in to the demand of her employer’s family and depend on Indonesian’s government’s efforts hoping it will save the life of Tuti.

Sources: Migrant Care and Asia Human Rights

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Aksi Bersama Buruh Migran Dan Buruh Lokal Tuntut Kenaikan Gaji

Central,Rabu (25/01) tepat dihari ke-3 tahun baru China, Asian Migrant Coordinating Body (AMCB), International Migrants Alliance (IMA) dengan bebarapa organisasi buruh lokal salah satunya adalah Hong kong Confederation of Trade Union (HKTCU) mengadakan aksi bersama yang menuntut kenaikan upah. Aksi ini dimulai pukul 10.30 pagi dan berkumpul di depan bawah gedung HSBC-Central kemudian berjalan menuju ke rumah kediaman Chief Excutief Donald Tsang.

Lee Chuk Yan salah satu anggota parlement HK dalam pidato solidaritasnya mengatakan pemerintah seharusnya memberikan kenaikan upah bagi seluruh pekerja di Hongkong dan perbaikan jam kerja menjadi 8 jam/hari. Aksi kali ini diikuti lebih dari 500 demonstran dan dari ATKI-HK sendiri mengirimkan 25 orang perwakilan.

Menurut penuturan salah satu partisipant yang keberatan disebutkan identitasnya aksi kali ini sengaja dilakukan dihari ketiga di tahun baru China karena menurut kepercayaan China di hari ini tidak baik mengucapkan selamat tahun baru dan mereka tetap melakukan karena ini sebagai tanda perlawanan. Meskipun hari itu cuaca sedang tidak mendukung karena hujan, namun acara tetap berjalan lancar. Aksi ini ditutup dengan dibukanya konferensi pers yang dihadiri oleh berbagai stasiun TV dan Media lokal.

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Filipino migrants resist new health insurance hike

Filipino migrant organizations in the Asia Pacific are now up in arms over an increase in premiums for mandatory health insurance being proposed by the Philippine government. The planned hike in PhilHealth quarterly payments, previously pegged at 160% but later reduced after widespread protests, will increase regular contributions by all migrant workers across-the-board if adopted and implemented.

Early last January, the Philippine Insurance Health Corporation through its Board of Directors announced it will raise Philhealth premiums beginning July 2012. A circular (No. 022) was later issued by the same Board to he National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) affirming the increase, which will affect not only overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) but all workers in the Philippines.

The circular specifies that the previous PhP220 quarterly Philhealth contribution of OFWs will be increased to PhP600, amounting to PhP2,400 annually. On January 13, the Board backtracked and lowered the planned increase to PhP300 per quarter, or PhP1,200 annually. It also rescheduled the implementation of the hike to 2013, instead of this year.

The change of mind was apparently prompted by migrant protests in Hong Kong, Philippines and Saudi Arabia, which erupted only a few days after the Board’s initial decision. Led by Migrante International (MI) and its overseas chapters, the actions voiced the outcry of the sector through pickets in Philippine consulates, press releases and petitions.

MI chairperson Garry Martinez said that OFWs are outraged by scheduled premium increase policy, saying that they are already burdened with many tax impositions. He said that the Benigno Aquino administration has already slashed budgetary expenditures for OFW services, but it continues to charge other questionable fees on OFWs without implementing proper consultation processes with the sector and other stakeholders.

In Hong Kong, the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-HK) said that the news of increased premiums is also most unwelcome to OFWs in the special administrative region.

UNIFIL chairperson Dolores Balladares said that the government had previously forced OFWs to become mandatory Philhealth members.

“Now it’s again forcing us to pay higher premiums. This is an added burden to all OFWs. We’re already burdened by so many financial requirements such as the illegal recruitment fees of recruitment agencies. Many of us are also buried in debt to trying repay loans made to financing agencies,” she pointed out.

She also expressed fear that the increased fund in PhilHealth will only be used for corruption.

“There are still controversies surrounding PhilHealth and how it’s being run. Among these is the issue of bogus claims being funded. What happened to the P530 million (US$ 123,255.81) transferred from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Medicare account to the electoral coffers of ex-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? OFWs are war that increasing Philhealth’s funds will lead to worsened corruption in the agency,” she said.

Unifil also decried the lack of consultations regarding the pending premium hike. Balladares said that OFWs were not consulted either when the mandatory membership for OFWs to PhilHealth was implemented.

“These new policies that are seriously detrimental to the welfare of OFWs are being implemented without so much as a single consultation with the affected sector,” she said.

Balladares insisted that the Philhealth and the government’s whole health service program is increasingly turning into a “users pay” scheme instead of a government provided service.

“First the government cuts the budget for OFWs and for health services – right now only P1.25 is alloted for every Filipino’s health needs. Now, the government wants OFWs and every other Filipino with Philhealth coverage to pay higher premiums. How can that be right? The government is advancing the concept of higher payment for better health service. OFWs are always cast as the ones with money while the government’s responsibility to us – including health care provision – is deliberately neglected,” she said.

Aside from Philhealth, the Social Security System (SSS) is also proposing a hike in premium fees, while contributions to Pag-Ibig had been made mandatory for OFWs since last year.

Temporary victory

The Philhealth Board’s later decision to lower the hike was instantly lauded by these migrant organizations as a victory for OFWs everywhere that is a direct result of their actions. However, they cautioned that it is merely temporary and that the backtracking may even be a mere tactic by the Aquino government to avoid massive protests and make the hike more palatable to its migrants.

“There is still a threat that the Philhealth is still contemplating to increase our health insurance premium and that this will take effect next year, 2013,” said Migrante-Middle East coordinator John Monterona, adding that MI maintains its position that the premium hike is illegal due to its violation of the mandate of the amended Migrant Workers Act of 2010 or Republic Act 10022.

“The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 10022, Rule XVII, Sec.4 states that ‘all fees for services being charged by any govt. agency on migrant workers prevailing at the time of the effectivity of the law shall not be increased.’ Clearly the wording of this provision is mandatory,” Monterona explained.

Monterona added Philhealth has a lot of explaining to do before it can even plan to impose an increase on OFWs premiums, such as liquidity problems it incurred during the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the quality of its services to workers.

“Philhealth cannot justify a premium hike with the current sorry state of services and benefits rendered to its stakeholders, including OFWs and their dependents,” Monterona said. He ended by declaring that Migrante International and other migrant organizations will continue to resist plans by the Aquino government to impose the Philhealth hike next year.

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Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)
Office Address: G/F, No.2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR

Tel. no.: (852) 2723-7536
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