Where is the Isle of Man?

Destinations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are generally classified by POEA as follows: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania and Trust Territories. These notes are provided to be able to locate some of the "countries" under them:

Americas

Anguilla is an overseas territory of the UK found near Puerto Rico located in the geographic region of Central America and the Caribbean.

The Bahamas is a chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba. It is found in the Caribbean.

Bermuda is an overseas territory of the UK. It is located in Northern America.

Cayman Island is an overseas territory of the UK located in Central America and the Caribbean.

Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Since its depopulation in 1973, it has been jointly operated by the UK and the US as a military base, but largely operated and used by the US. It is located in the British Indian Ocean, under the geographic location of Southern Asia.

Guam is not a country but one of the states in the US. It is the largest and southernmost island of the Mariana archipelago, is the westernmost possession of the United States, and has been since 1898. The Marianas Trench, the deepest known ocean depth (-39,198 ft.), is located southeast of Guam. Guam is found in Oceania.

Turks and Caikos Island is an overseas territory of the UK located in Central America and the Caribbean.


Asia

Under Asia, POEA lists China as a country, separate from the “countries” of Hong Kong and Macau, both special administrative regions of the People’s Republic of China.


Middle East

North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic) has been merged in 1990 with South Yemen and is now called Republic of Yemen.


Europe

Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency, found in Western Europe.

Moscow is the capital of Russia, but POEA lists Moscow and Russia separately as “countries”. Russia is found in Northern Asia.


Trust Territories

The 2005 POEA Report lists the Trust Territories as follows: Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Marshall Island, Micronesia, Palau, Pohnpei, Saipan, Solomon Islands, Tinian, Turkmenistan and Vanuatu Island.

Pohnpei is one of the Federated States of Micronesia, located in the geographic region of Oceania.

Palau, the westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands, opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. Before then, it was part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration for three decades. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. Palau is therefore an independent country, not a trust territory, found in Oceania.

Saipan is part of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, a US overseas commonwealth located in Oceania.

Turkmenistan was annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, and became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President Saparmurat NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. According to the World Factbook, it has extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves that could prove a boon if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. It lies between Iran and Kazakhstan, found in Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea.

Japan and Saudi Arabia top destination of Filipino women in 2005

According to official records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), there were 280,661 Filipino workers sent abroad, 72% were women. Filipino women were deployed in 90 countries in 6 continents (except Antarctica), with Japan hosting 18.5% and Saudi Arabia, 18%.

In Africa, they were deployed in 11 countries: Algeria (1), Angola (3), Republic of Djibouti (1), Equatorial Guinea (15), Ethiopia (18), Gabon (2), Madagascar (2), Namibia (1), Nigeria (3), Sudan (11) and Swaziland (2).

In the Americas, they were deployed in 2 countries of North America and 13 countries in South America. In North America, they were deployed in Canada (764) and the United States of America (812+2 in Guam). In South America, they can be found in 13 countries: Anguilla (2), Bahamas (8), Barbados (12), Bermuda (12), Cayman Island (39), Cook Island (2), Costa Rica (2), Cuba (10), Diego Garcia (22), Haiti (2), Jamaica (4), Trinidad and Tobago (115), Turks and Caicos Island (50).

In Asia, they were deployed in 18 countries: Bangladesh (5), Brunei (689), Cambodia (8), China (197), Hong Kong (17,303), India (9), Indonesia (6), Japan (37,236), South Korea (1,461), Macau (6), Malaysia (1,054), Maldives (13), Pakistan (13), Singapore (2,760), Sri Lanka (7), Taiwan (23,698), Thailand (3) and Vietnam (1).

In the Middle East, they can be found in 14 countries: Bahrain (3,768), Egypt (111), Israel (2,250), Jordan (2,854), Kuwait (21,174), Lebanon (11,716), Libya (43), Oman (1,654), Qatar (7,243), Saudi Arabia (37,080), Syria (7), United Arab Emirates (24,064), North Yemen (24) and Republic of Yemen (8).

In Oceania, 3 countries: Australia (31), New Zealand (4), Papua New Guinea (18).

In Europe, 22 countries: Austria (3), Azerbaijan (5), Belgium (3), Cyprus (980), Finland (1), France (2), Republic of Germany (3), Greece (4), Hungary (1), Iceland (1), Ireland (257), Isle of Man (2), Italy (61), Republic of Montenegro (8), Moscow (1), Netherlands (2), Norway (1), Portugal (2), Russia (3), Spain (87), Switzerland (4) and the United Kingdom (1,400).

In the Trust Territories, they can be found in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island (68), Fiji (1), Marshall Island (1), Micronesia (3), Palau (64), Pohnpei (6) and Saipan (231).

Most of the women deployed were domestic workers (in Saudi Arabia) and entertainers (in Japan). The national policy on the export of labor is for it to serve only as a stop-gap measure for the lack of local employment in the Philippines, but the operational policy seems to be the opposite. Soon, we are going to clean up and entertain Antarctica.

How Now, Lebanon?

How do you deal with 6,282[1] overseas Filipino workers, 5,977 (95%) of whom are women, 132 (2%) males, and 175 (3%) of them not even bothering to fill up the intake sheets, and if they did, they only wrote their names? It would have been more manageable had it been that all of them are members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), but they are not. Out of the 6,109 intake sheets received by OWWA, only 2,812 (46%) are members and 3,295 (56%) are non-members.

There are 3,887 (62%) repatriated workers coming from Luzon, 777 (12%) from Visayas, 994 (16%) from Mindanao. This does not include those who did not fill out the intake sheets (3%) and the 449 (7%) who did not specify their province of origin.

Of those coming from Luzon, 1,044 (27%) come from Region II, 716 (18%) from the National Capital Region (NCR), 598 (15%) from Region IV, 592 (15%) from Region I, 514 (13%) from Region III, 233 (6%) from Region 5 and 190 (5%) from the Cordillera Administrative Region.

In the Visayas, 452 (58%) come from Region VI, 179 (23%) come from Region VIII and 146 (19%) from Region VII.

From Mindanao, there were 297 (30%) from Region XI, 188 (19%) from Region IX, 142 (14%) from the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), 136 (14%) from Region X, 132 (13%) from Region XII, and 99 )10%) from Caraga.

Most of them would prefer being redeployed outside the Philippines, some opted to go for training for work programs here and abroad, others plainly gave up, lost their minds, or worse, lost their spirit to try anything.

The government has always responded with livelihood training and loan programs which, while temporarily alleviating the situation, is far from self-sustaining and far from the appropriate response to widespread poverty, the overarching reason why Filipinos seek employment abroad.

As NGOs, we must stop demanding creative solutions solely from government, and create it on our own. Postpone marching on the streets and start doing our own spade work as development workers. That is what Gawad Kalinga and some NGOs are doing. That is what very few people are doing.

Then we can truly answer the question, “How Now, Lebanon?” with “Here’s How, Philippines!"

[1] Leovy S. Aguila, Head, Documentation Team and Consolacion C. Marquez, Member, Lebanon Crisis Committee, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Lebanon-Israel Conflict, Total No. of Repatriates, 16 October 2006, 2 pages. This includes the 175 who did not fill up the intake sheets.

Plants for Your Health at Home

Recently, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Philippines has undertaken a huge project of planting trees along national highways to fight pollution. This is a laudable project indeed considering that each year, there are more and more vehicles on the road, and less and less control on outdoor pollutants. While in general trees (such as rubber plants) absorb pollution in the air, some plants, not necessary trees, have higher capacity to clear the air we breathe. Some of these include bamboo palms, areca palms, dwarf cavendish, rhapis excelsa, peace lilies and sansevieria (mother-in-law's tongue), to name a few.

While our concern for outside pollutants need our concerted effort, equally important is the pollution inside our homes. Carpets, shopping bags, gas cookers, photocopiers, tissue paper, TV sets, computer screens, varnishes, adhesives, floor coverings, synthetic furnishings, wood stains pour chemicals into our homes known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Examples of these chemicals we are exposed to indoors are acetone, mythel alcohol, benzene, ammonia, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, trichloromethylene, chloroform and other chemical toxins.

Certain plant species varied in their uptake of different chemicals, but were found to be very effective at uptake of VOCs. NASA scientists brought houseplants to create breathable atmospheres for space exploration, which can actually help us purify our homes. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than outdoor air, and our increasingly sedentary life means we spend up to 90% of our time indoors.

It is estimated that an average 1,800 square foot energy efficient home would need 15 average-sized Mother-in-law's Tongue (Sansevieria Launretii) or 6 large Bamboo Palms (Chamaedorea Seifritzii) to maintain a formaldehyde-free air. Some researchers recommend at least 2-3 plants per 100 square feet ideally within your personal breathing zone (next to your work area and sleeping area).

It is surprisingly inexpensive to maintain clean air with house plants that it makes buying expensive air filters impractical and unreasonable.

These plants are available at any regular plant store, but a more complete variety can be found at the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation located at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue, Philippines.

Wacoal conducts free breast cancer seminar and breast examination

The Philippine Wacoal Corporation has organized a FREE seminar on breast cancer and women's health. Doctors and health experts have been invited to answer questions on this subject matter and to conduct FREE breast examinations.

The seminar will be held on 21 October 2006 at the Philippine Stock Exchange, 9a.m. Make reservations at telephone number 884-1517 or email customer.service@wacoal.ph

OFWs Beware! Text Scams on the Loose

FROM MISS VIRGINIA J. PASALO, Chairperson of the Women in Development (WID) Foundation and Trustee Representing the Women Sector, Board of Trustees, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA):

Yesterday, I got this text message from cellphone number +639284207393 which states:

"SMART PADALA:CONGRATULATIONS! YOU WON NOKIA N90 FROM OUR NETWORK TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE PLEASE CALL TOLL FREE HOTLINE 09284203793 DTI PERMIT #2578"

I did not call this number because I do not send money through SMART PADALA and could not explain to myself why I would be in their list of winning numbers.

I got another one today from cellphone number +639207857269:

"Congratulations you won major prize promo raffles by PCSO please call dont text RENE RAMA 09109069804, 9am today release check prize REA RAMA sec. board of judges."

For two weeks now, I send my receipts to 9778, to participate in the Premyo Sa Resibo (PSR), a project of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to make tax collections more efficient. Since I was half-awake when I received the text at 6:55am, I thought I won the daily draw on Friday, October 13, from my receipt at Shopwise.

Doubting, but half-believing, I called the number of a certain Rene Rama, who informed me that the PCSO and SMART have an ongoing promotional activity in celebration of the PCSO Anniversary, and that they held an electronic raffle to share their blessings to SMART subscribers. The prize, P200,000 tax-free, will be under my name, and will be sent through the nearest Western Union nearest my residence. Unable to restrain myself, I asked, "Is this a scam?" He feigned offense and told me, "PCSO does not deal in scams, and anyway, if you do not believe his story, the prize will just be given to charity."

He then asked me to text my name and address at his cellphone number, and to call him immediately after I have done so. So I did. After that, he asked me to buy two SMART Buddy Prepaid Cards because according to him, it was because of SMART that they were able to access my cellphone number. He strongly reminded me that SMART requires not to use the cards, but to text their numbers to his cellphone number after which he will give me the two claim numbers at Western Union. I told him, "Okay, but I can not attend to that now, I will do that later." He replied, "We only work half-day on Sundays."

At 11:35am, impatient to wait for my call (which I intended to make in the presence of authorities), Rama texted an ultimatum,

"Kung hndi n kayo mag claim ibibigay k na s charity us donation. Kung mag claim p kayopls. call me now tnx."

There are several inconsistencies to this story. First, it is difficult to believe that PCSO works overtime on Sunday to inform winners to a raffle draw whose results can be announced on working days. Second, the text said that the prize will be in check, but now it was going to be sent through Western Union. Third, if I sent him the numbers of the SMART Prepaid Cards that he asked me to purchase, he can now key in the numbers and use it himself. Fourth, if I legitimately won a prize, why would he serve me an ultimatum? There are fifth, sixth and so many other inconsistencies, but that is enough to document how it is done, so I could warn others about their operation.

I surfed through the internet and found that some OFWs have similar experiences. When you receive a text message, make sure you are fully awake to understand the text, and do not buy those SMART Prepaid Cards and send the numbers to these con artists. If you do, you would have contributed in financing texts to use to scam others.

PLEASE GIVE THIS WARNING TO OFWS.

Fast Facts on OFWs in Korea

Fast Facts on OFWs in Korea
(01 January 2003- 30 June 2006)

General Classification of Workers

The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) classifies workers as follows:

a) Administrative and Managerial Workers

b) Clerical and Related Workers

c) Production and Related Workers, Transport Equipment Operators and Laborers

d) Professional, Technical and Related Workers

e) Sales Workers

f) Service Workers

2003

The Philippines sent 40 males to North Korea working mainly as Production and Related Workers, Transport Equipment Operators and Laborers.

In South Korea, a total of 4,009 workers were sent, 3358 are males and 651 women. Ninety-three percent (93%) work as production, transport equipment operators and laborers. Of the 3,718 classified under this category, 88% are men and 11% women. Two hundred sixty-two (262) work under the general classification of Professional Technical and Related Workers, 204 (78%) of them are women working as choreographers (37), composers (164), pharmacists (92), sculptors, painters and related artists (1).

2004

The Philippines sent 1 women domestic helper (DH) to North Korea.

In South Korea, a total of 3,525 workers were sent, 2,510 males and 1,015 women. Eighty-one percent (81%) work in production and related workers, transport equipment operators and laborers. Of those who work under this classification, 2458 (86%) are males and 411 (14%) are women.

Under the general classification of professional, technical and related workers, 44 (7%) are males and 590 (93%) are women. Women work as composers, musicians and singers (587), engineers (1), authors, journalists and related workers (2). Thirty-eight (38) of the 44 males work as composers, musicians and singers, while the remaining 6 work as surveyors/geodetic engineers(3), 2 as NEC engineer (2), engineers, electrical and electronics 1).


2005

No Filipino was deployed to North Korea for 2005.

In South Korea, 6,900 were deployed, 5,437 males and 1,461 females. More than eighty-nine percent (6170) of total deployment work in production. Of this figure, 5335 (86.5%) are males, 835 (13.5%) are women.

There were 714 OFWs under the general classification of professional, technical and related workers, 94 (13%) are males, 620 (87%) are women working as composers, musicians and singers (613), commercial artists and designers (2), and performing artists (5).

2006 (Jan 01-Jun 30,2006)

No deployment for North Korea during the first half of 2006.

POEA posted a higher number of workers (6337) deployed to South Korea than the annual deployment for the years 2003-2005. Of this number 5,416 are males and 919 are women, 2 did not state their sex. A total of 6095 (96%) of workers are still classified under production and related workers, transport equipment operators and laborers. Of this figure, 5340 (88%) are men, 753 (12%) are women.

Data also showed that 228 worked in the professional, technical and related workers. Of this number, 161 (71%) are women, 67 (29%) are males. The women worked as composers, musicians and singers (147), engineers (1), electrical and electronic engineers (2), performing artists (8), industrial engineer (1), engineering technicians civil (1), draughtsman (1) .

Has the OFW Bank Fizzled?

After the Lebanon crisis, plans to set up the OFW Bank has temporarily been shelved. Originally, the plan is to convert the Philippine Postal Savings Bank into an OFW bank and will be initially funded at P1B ($19.1 million, based on an exchange rate of P52.35 per US dollar) from the Overseas Workers Welfare Fund (OWWA) fund.

Migrant workers organizations and NGOs expressed their opposition by submitting their position papers to concerned government agencies and their representatives in Congress, enlisting media for its advocacy, and participating in various fora such as the forum sponsored by the Center for People Empowerment and Governance (CenPEG) and its partner organizations held 07 June 2006. In this forum, officials of OWWA and representatives of migrant NGOs such as Women in Development (WID) Foundation, KAIBIGAN ng OFWs, Migrante International, Philippine Association of Maritime Training Centers Inc. (PAMTCI), and United Filipino Seafarers (UFS), and other migrant NGOs also acknowledged that while the intention is good, they expressed doubt about the intent, integrity and merits of the proposal.There are five (5) bills currently filed in the 13th Congress that seek the creation of a bank for OFWs: Senate Bill No. 639 by Sen. Manuel B. Villar, Jr.; House Bill No. 723 by Rep. Judy J. Syjuco; and HB No. 1565 by representatives Jaime C. Lopez and Prospero Nograles. In all these bills, the funding will be sourced mainly from OWWA, which is money held in trust for OFWs as these funds come from $25 membership fee paid by OFWs.
Some of the provisions invite curiousity such as the manner of granting contracts which includes private negotiations instead of public bidding. Words like “particularly,” “preferably” and “priority” which were used in the bills confuse and blur meaning. In the bills, it was stated that the OFW Bank “grant loans particularly to OFW’s and their family members” or “to grant loans and other financial assistance preferably to Filipino overseas workers, their spouses, their compulsory heirs.” It is evident from the bills that the OFW Bank will not serve the OFWs exclusively, but will be given priority.
Doubt was also cast in the Villar’s version, which included provisions on acquisition or ownership of “housing projects preferably for the benefit of Filipino overseas workers, their spouses or compulsory heirs.” Villar is a real estate developer.

The Lebanon crisis placed the OWWA in the spotlight particularly questioning its use of funds, and whether these funds are actually intact. OFW groups went to town digging old suspicions (OWWA Medicare Funds used by PGMA to campaign in last elections) and reviving buried (almost buried) cases of failed OWWA-funded projects (that is clearly not for OFWs) such as those implemented by RII Builders, owned by Reghis Romero, a close ally of the Ramos Administration who was unable to pay his company's loan and calling on the government guarantee to bail him out. Being perceived as another predator to OWWA funds is a political suicide considering the proximity of the election season. Weighed under these considerations, proponents of the OFW Bank have chosen to wait. Migrant groups however are expecting a WAKE.

Supermaids

WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT (WID) FOUNDATION[1]

POSITION PAPER ON “SUPERMAIDS”

We believe that foreign DOMESTIC WORK is DECENT WORK only under the following basic conditions:

1. That foreign domestic workers enjoy adequate laws in countries of destination that can be enforced to protect them;
2. That appropriate conditions for work and safety are existent;
3. That salaries are pegged at international standards for the same work;
4. That foreign posts have adequate mechanism to monitor their conditions at worksite on a quarterly basis;
5. That bilateral agreements are forged to ensure their safety in times of war and calamity;
6. That government has the social infrastructure to deal with the personal and social cost resulting from the diaspora of women.[2]

While we believe that that they should be equipped with the necessary skills to handle household gadgets and basic language in their destination countries, this is not a remedy to ensure their safety, provide them with dignity and protect them from the abuse of foreign employers and recruitment agencies.

We cannot agree to a “BAND-AID MAID” strategy that the “SUPERMAID” idea is trying to peddle. It should incorporate government effort to first address the basic conditions enumerated for making foreign DOMESTIC WORK truly DECENT WORK.

(Statement issued August 6, 2006)
[1] Women in Development (WID) Foundation, Inc. is a private development organization working towards the economic and political empowerment of women. We can be reached at this address: WID Foundation, 2nd Floor, OFW Telemoney Center, RCBC Savings Bank Building, 527 EDSA, Pasay City, telephone number 8893992 or email http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/ym/Compose?To=ofw_remit@yahoo.com

[2] Seventy-four percent (74%) of the total OFW deployment (281,812) for 2004 are women, 72% for 2005 (out of a total of 280,661). In 2004, their major destinations in Asia are Hong Kong where 99.9% are working as domestic workers, in Japan where 99% of them work as overseas performing artists (OPAS) and in Taiwan where 53% of them work as caregivers and caretakers. For the same period (2004), the major destinations in the Middle East include Kuwait, where 89% of them work as domestic workers; Saudi Arabia, where they work as domestic helpers (26%) and nurses (18%); United Arab Emirates, where they work as domestic workers (32%) and 35% are working in other service sectors (such as waiters, launderers cleaners, etc.) making the service workers the largest presence in that country; and in war-torn Lebanon where 100% are domestic workers. In Lebanon, domestic helpers are called "filipinas" even by the Filipino priest who provided them shelter during the outbreak of the 2005 Israeli-Lebanese war, and this reference to them was echoed by a Philippine labor attaché redeployed in Beirut, who commented on TV that most of the employers "took their filipinas with them."