2nd Filipino women migrants summit tackles HSA, POEA guidelines, wage

UNIFIL Press Release
27 August 2007

For reference:  Dolores Balladares
                          Chairperson
                          Tel. No.: 97472986

OFW summit tackles HSA, POEA guidelines and wage
Actions in HK, planned for the year

“The government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should prepare for even bigger and stronger resistance from Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.”

This was declared today by Dolores Balladares, chairperson of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK), following the resolution of the Second Filipino Women Migrant Workers Summit to intensify the campaign against the POEA guidelines, government fees charged to OFWs and the Human Security Act and other human rights violations in the country.

The summit, held yesterday at the Hong Kong University gathered together 110 organizations of Filipino migrant workers, planned mass actions up to the end of the year as well as measures to help families and victims of human rights abuses such as fund raising for children of those killed extrajudicially by elements of the Philippine military.

“Contrary to what the Philippine government wishes to achieve with all its repressive measures, Filipinos in Hong Kong are even more determined now to push through with our demands as the past months exposed the emptiness of the promises of the POEA guidelines, worsened the economic condition of our families, and subjected the people to grave rights abuses,” Balladares added.

Concretely, delegates of the summit agreed to conduct a “Walk for Justice” on September 23 as part of the International Day of Protest against killings and human rights violations. Additionally, the summit decided to conduct a fund raising for children of victims of killings and disappearances around December.

Organized by the UNIFIL , the Filipino Migrant Workers Union (FMWU), and alliances of migrants from Abra, Pangasinan and the Cordillera region, the second Summit also took up issues primarily addressed to the Hong Kong government such as the campaign for a legislated minimum wage as well as the re-development of Central and privatization of public spaces that will lead to the displacement of migrant workers.

Connie Bragas-Regalao, chairperson of Migrante International, keynoted the event where she explained the Philippine migration trend in the face of the national program of the Philippine government and its international context.

“The development program of GMA contains nothing but deployment of millions of Filipinos abroad, institutionalization of more fees, and even more repressive actions against activists in the Philippines and even against Filipino migrant workers,” Regalado added.

Included in the resolution of the summit were congressional lobbying that will be submitted mainly to the Gabriela Women’s Party.

“The summit affirmed the determination of Filipino migrants in Hong Kong to see changes in our condition. It will push us to even more militant fights for our rights and wellbeing,” Balladares concluded.

Keynote Speech at the Summit

Fire, prosecute abusive RP envoy over trafficking of OFW — Migrante

News ReleaseAugust 26, 2007

For reference:  Connie Bragas-Regalado, Chairperson (0927-215-7392)

We challenge the DFA to recall, relieve and prosecute San Francisco Vice-Consul Anthony Mandap over revelations that he trafficked domestic worker Arlene Gado into the United States, says a global alliance of organizations composed of overseas Filipinos and their families.

 

“We’re outraged over the enslavement of domestic worker Arlene by Vice-Consul Mandap and his family.  His actions are reprehensible and is a slap in the face to the millions of OFWs toiling as domestic workers around the world.  We demand justice for Arlene and all Filipino women migrant workers,” says Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante International Chairperson from the sidelines of the 2^nd Women Migrant Workers’ Summit in Hong Kong.

 

Arlene agreed to come to the United States in 2005 to work as a domestic worker in Vice-Consul Mandap’s house.  But upon her arrival, Vice-Consul Mandap sent her to New Jersey – as part of his ‘filial responsibilities’ – to provide continuous care for his incapacitated father-in-law, clean their house, cook their meals, and give massages, manicures and pedicures to their relatives and friends.  She was paid slave wages amounting to only US$250 then US$350 monthly.  A US court recently awarded her US$78,000 or P3.6 million in back wages.

 “We’re certain these so-called ‘filial responsibilities’ shouldn’t come at the expense of the human rights of others.  Besides, what about his responsibilities as a diplomat of a nation propped up by the sweat and sacrifice of countless Filipino migrants,”  added Bragas-Regalado. 

“Vice-Consul Mandap violated national and international laws protecting the rights and welfare of migrant workers.  He even violated the DFA’s professed vision and mission regarding OFWs.  He is clearly guilty of trafficking and thus, has absolutely no moral basis and credibility as consular official,” she added, asserting that as Arlene’s “employer”, he had command responsibility over the horrendous conditions she lived and worked under.

 

According to Migrante International, Vice-Consul Mandap is guilty of trafficking as defined by Section 4 (a) of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.  This section says the following as an Act of Trafficking in Persons:  “To recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means including those under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment…for the purpose of…forced labor, slavery (and) involuntary servitude.”

 

He also violated:

 

• Article 11 (a) of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families that says “No migrant worker or member of his family shall be held in slavery or servitude”;  and

 

• The Vision of the DFA that says among other things, “Our missions abroad are the partners of Filipinos overseas in the pursuit of the national interest and in the promotion and protection of their rights and well-being.”

 

Section 10 of RA 9208 says the penalty for those guilty of trafficking as defined under Section 4 result in the “penalty of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than P1 million but not more than P2 million.”  #

 

Migrante wants RP consul fired for alleged OFW trafficking

Article posted August 26, 2007 – 04:52 PM

Militant group Migrante challenged Sunday the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to fire San Francisco Consul Anthony Mandap over allegations of trafficking domestic worker Arlene Gado into the United States.

“We’re outraged over the enslavement of domestic worker Arlene by Vice-Consul Mandap and his family,” Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante International chairwoman, said in a statement.

Regalado said Mandap’s action “is a slap in the face to the millions of overseas Filipino workers toiling as domestic workers around the world.”

The group demanded justice for Gado and “all Filipino women migrant workers.”

Involuntary servitude

Gado came to the United States in 2005 to work for a Filipino vice consul but was forced to instead toil for two years in what the state attorney general described as involuntary servitude.

On Thursday, the consul’s mother-in-law pleaded guilty to exploiting Gado, 23, by paying her a fraction of what she was promised and forbidding her from leaving the house without her employers.

Prosecutors said Gado agreed to come to America to work as a nanny in the house of Anthony Mandap, a vice consul in the Consulate General of the Philippines in San Francisco, to care for his three children. She was promised $8 per hour for a 40-hour work week and $12 an hour for overtime.

But Attorney General Anne Milgram’s office said Gado was instead told upon her arrival in California that she was needed by Mandap’s in-laws, Angelita and Norberto Reyes of West Windsor – a suburban community bordering Princeton in central New Jersey.

Mandap’s wife, Maryann, and a daughter of the Reyeses flew with Gado to New Jersey, where her passport and visa were taken away and she told not to leave the house without family members because she would be arrested.

According to prosecutors, Gado provided continuous care to Reyes incapacitated husband, Norberto, including feeding and bathing. She was required to clean the house and cook all meals and was also required to give massages, manicures and pedicures to relatives and friends of the Reyeses.

Gado was paid $250 per month, pay that was increased to $325 in July 2006 when she was required to begin caring for the Reyeses’ infant granddaughter.

All the while, she was told she couldn’t leave the house unless accompanied by member of either the Mandap or Reyes families because she lacked documentation and would be arrested.

Still, she was able to talk by cell phone to a cousin in Michigan, who contacted New Jersey labor department officials over Gado’s low earnings. The labor officials referred the case to the attorney general’s office, which removed Gado from the Reyes home on May 2 and found her shelter though a social agency.

“For two full years, the defendant controlled and exploited this victim, taking advantage of her youth and immigrant status,” Milgram said. “Human trafficking takes many forms, but the common thread is exploitation of the vulnerable, particularly women and children.”

Milgram was once the lead human trafficking prosecutor for the US Department of Justice.

Violation of DFA vision

“We’re certain these so-called filial responsibilities shouldn’t come at the expense of the human rights of others,” Regalado said.

“Besides, what about his responsibilities as a diplomat of a nation built on the sweat and sacrifice of countless Filipino migrants.”

Regalado said Mandap violated national and international laws protecting the rights and welfare of migrant workers.

“He even violated the DFA’s professed vision and mission regarding OFWs,” Regalado said.

“He is clearly guilty of trafficking and thus, has absolutely no moral basis and credibility as consular official.”

Mandap’s side

Mandap, meanwhile, clarified that he was not the one accused in the case.

He said he requested Gado to assist his mother-in-law in taking care of her ailing husband “in keeping with our filial duties as Filipinos.”

“I was not aware of any problem that arose between them until Ms. Gado filed a complaint,” he said.

He also denied withholding Gado’s passport.

“I took it back to San Francisco only last February—almost two years since Ms. Gado arrived—for the purpose of getting her visa renewed. Once I determined that there was no need to renew her visa (it was valid for the duration of my status as her employer), I sent it back to my in-laws immediately,” he said.

He added: “The allegations of human trafficking are absurd and grossly exaggerated.”

Mandap said while he believes in the innocence of his mother-in-law. The family decided it would be in her best interest to accept the plea offer as she could no longer withstand the rigors of trial due to her advanced age.

He also said his mother-in-law also has to take care of her ailing husband.

“The case, for all intents and purposes, is closed. My mother-in-law has pleaded guilty, and agreed to pay restitution. The state of New Jersey has also determined that there is no liability on the part of her other family members, including me. They have closed all investigation into the matter,” he said. - GMANews.TV

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Migrante hits Palace inaction on plea for forex intervention

Article posted August 13, 2007 – 04:45 PM An alliance of organizations composed of overseas Filipinos and their families on Monday joined the Jeddah-based OFWs in pressing the Arroyo administration to find ways to help their families cope with the continuing rise of the peso against the US dollar.

In a statement, Migrante International criticized the Arroyo administration for its failure to address the negative impact of the strong peso on OFW families.

“While Arroyo raises our hands high for the billions of dollars we infuse into the economy, the strong peso she crows about punches us in the stomach. Comprehensive measures need to be taken to address the very real impact the rising peso has on migrant families,” says Connie Bragas-Regalado, chair of Migrante International.

Jeddah-based OFWs calling themselves as V-Team – Advocacy and Community Service launched a petition on Aug. 1 for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to take steps towards a “fixed 10% premium above the exchange rate prevailing in the market or a flat rate of fifty (50) Pesos to one dollar to be given to legitimate OFWs.”

The OFWs said the peso equivalent of the remittances they are sending to their families in the Philippines has practically been reduced by 20 percent as a result of the appreciation of the peso.

Bragas-Regalado said an OFW family receiving around US$200 monthly remittance loses around P1,000, or an equivalent of the price of one sack of rice, with the dollar’s fall from approximately P50 to now P45 to the US dollar.

“This means less food on the table, less allowance for the children and even less money in case a family member becomes ill. Coupled with the reality that the rising peso is not resulting in lower prices for the people, the situation of OFW families is indeed dire,” she added.

“In their bid to compensate for their shrinking remittance, tales of OFWs bypassing meals or taking out loans with high interests just so they can add to their remittance abound. Considering that a family of six needs P730 daily or P21,900 monthly to meet their basic needs — even the new POEA stipulated US$400 salary for domestic workers falls short since it only now amounts to P18,000 compared to about P20,000 when the peso was P50 to the dollar,” Bragas-Regalado said.

According to Migrante, the harsh impact of the strong peso on migrants and their families demands comprehensive attention in the short and long term.

“Foremost is an end to the Arroyo charade that the strong peso is a barometer for development especially given that the record-high exchange rate happens while more than 68 million Filipinos live below P96 daily and more than 3,000 Filipinos are forced to work overseas to survive,” she concluded.

The Jeddah-based OFWs are seeking the same treatment given to exporters for whom the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) put up a $1-billion standby fund to help them cope with the strong peso. – Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV