1. “Kung uuwi kami ng Pilpinas wala kaming trabaho doon, kaya kahit mahirap ang buhay artista dito sa Korea habang hindi pa nahuhuli dito na muna kami.” This is a familiar word from non-documented Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in South Korea, saying that they have decided to stay on in Korea even though they have overstayed their visas and have become non-documented, because it will be extremely difficult for them to find jobs in the home country. Forced migration through the Labor Export Policy remains one of the major sources of government revenues and in spite of the much hyped high gross domestic product (GDP) of the country reaching to 7.5 in 2013, yet still many Filipinos are compelled to leave their home and community to seek jobs overseas.
2. In South Korea, due to impact of global economic crisis on various industries and on income of families belonging to the low and middle income families, the government’s immigration bureau fiercely conduct crackdown on non-documented migrant workers. South Korea’s Employment Permit System (EPS) as labor policy for migrant workers since its inception in 2004 has been proven as form of modern day slavery if not a legalized human trafficking wherein migrant workers have to work from 10-12 hours per day or more and are exposed to the dangerous working conditions and often experience physical and psychological abuse done by their employers. It perpetuates easy supply of cheap labor force from labor sending countries and failed to provide humane and non-discriminatory working environment for migrant workers and instead of reducing the number of migrant workers who become non-documented it has in fact increased due to only three job transfers during their term of employment.
3. The Philippine Embassy here in Seoul, South Korea has failed to negotiate for better working conditions for OFWs. It has found subservient to the host country’s policies and even when rights are migrants and marriage migrants are violated they hesitate to do proper actions such as mediating to stop the bureau of immigration’s crackdown or proposed strategies to legalize non-documented migrant workers. The Embassy in South Korea is not different from other countries that have concentration of OFWs, it bows down to the exploitative schemes of employers and profit-orientation of host countries and lacks genuine interest to give aid and assistance to migrant workers in distress, whose rights and welfare were the reasons for the creation of such government offices.
4. Meanwhile organizations of OFWs in Korea have opposed attempts of both the South Korean and Philippine governments to divest OFWs of the direct benefits of their pension immediately after their term of employment ends through the ‘equalization scheme’ of SSS-NPS agreement. In the same way, migrant workers organizations from various countries have raised their opposition to the revision of the EPS provisions on payment of their severance pay which originally given prior to departure from the country but has been attempted that this will be paid after departure. Protests on this revision has stopped the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) from finally revising the provision for this benefits of migrant workers.
5. There in the home front, President B.S. Aquino has not instituted social justice for the people, but rather preoccupied himself in pleasing his political allies and his own party, a political practice that feeds on graft and corruption. His government has tried so hard to hide the ugliness and rottenness of the political and economic system and that fiscal management of the nation has been abused especially at the high places of the executive and legislative powers, where funds intended for social development of the nation such as the Presidential Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and recently the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) were are all found unconstitutional. There has been a conscious collusion of financial managers and the President B.S. Aquino in the irregular appropriation of such funds.
6. Since B.S. Aquino started his term in 2010 as president of the country, there has been an increaisng number of OFWs deployed that reached to 1.5. million, 3.4.% higher than in 2009. This is an indicator that the government has not created significant amount of decent jobs for millions of Filipinos and it satisfies itself with the regular monthly remittances of OFWs that buttress the national economy and releases government from responsibility of providing quality social services for the people. Migrante International pegs the number of overseas Filipinos between 12 to 15 million, to include non-documented OFWs.
7. This government at home, while emphasizing local job generation as its core program to reduce unemployment, continues to take pride in the “remittance boom” to further promote labor export. To do this, it has become more aggressive in lobbying for job markets abroad in the past four years. Even funds for labor outmigration management through agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are directly sourced from OFWs or recruitment agencies and employers through various fees. However, the so-called remittance boom does not necessarily translate to economic growth, nor does it automatically translate to higher investments or economic relief for families of OFWs.
8. OFWs have been subjected to state exactions which caused OFWs and their families to become debt-ridden, contributing greatly to the widespread landlessness and poverty of many. It is not unheard of for peasant families to mortgage or sell their small parcels of land or to submit their children to unpaid labor just to be able to pay debtors or produce the sum needed to pay for exorbitant pre-departure and placement fees. The continuous onslaught of state exactions on OFWs, combined with the BS Aquino government’s lack of welfare service and assistance to OFWs in distress and the overall economic conditions of OFWs and their families amid widespread corruption and criminal neglect of the government are enough reasons for Filipino migrants to call for BS Aquino to step down from office.
9. Worse of all the BS Aquino’s remorseless subservience to US-imposed policies and dictates has totally stripped the country of its sovereignty and independence, and has further endangered the lives of millions of OFWs around the world through signing into the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) which is paving the way for US re-occupation and re-colonization of the Philippines. Under the EDCA, a much bigger, uninhibited and unlimited number of US troops and their armaments are allowed to be stationed on Philippine soil. US troops can now easily set up base virtually anywhere in the country for an indefinite period of time.
10. KASAMMAKO declares that President Benigno Simeon Aquino III failed to institute social justice for the Filipino people and have not used government’s financial resources to better the lives of millions of people. We make the following calls to President B.S. Aquino and President Park Geun-Hye of the Republic of Korea and these are strategic imperatives to better the lives of the OFWs in South Korea and most importantly, so that justice, peace and sovereignty will reign in the lands:
We call on President B.S. Aquino to step down or get impeached.
Stop the crackdown of non-documented OFWs and all migrant workers in South Korea! Replace the Employment Permit System (EPS) with humane and non-dsicriminatory Work Permit System!
*Repeal the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that undermines Philippine soverieignty.
*Stop forced labor migration, create decent jobs at the home country and institute social justice.
*Stop extra-judicial killings and political repression of social activists including indigenous peoples who defend their lands from transnational and national mining corporations.
*Resume peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP
*Stop post deportation/departure payment of severance pay.
CARLO OLIVER
Chairperson
PHOTO credit: Kilusang Mayong Uno
