Where Buffalos Roam
The following was written by a friend in cyberspace. I am taking this opportunity to share it with all of you.
THE RANGE WHERE THE BUFFALOS ROAM
by: Glo Abaeo Tuazon
O give me a home, where the buffalos roam.....where seldom is heard a discouraging word and the skies are not cloudy all day.
I was very sick most of the day, but we have something planned and I so much wanted to see it. A friend told me of a place up the mountains of Samoki, Bontoc, where some incurable ailments were sometimes healed. Not that I'd go there for the purpose but it got me all curious, besides I heard the place was really pretty too. With legs like logs and my head bursting to infinity I followed and trudged uphill.
Taking the route of the Bontoc-Banaue road running parallel the river we took a sudden hitch and left the paved road. From here the ricefields of "Faniash" can be seen. Green in all expanse, broken only by the white, grays and browns of the river traversing next to it. I looked away and started a painful but uncomplaining climb. The pine trees here are huge, some are mother trees I say. Curling up their limbs or stretched all the way to Heaven, like creatures communing with the Great Being. Looking at them made the hike a little bit better, draining away my pains and soothing my thoughts. We came to a place where a previous bonfire took place and was told we need to burn something for the forest dwellers, like a safe passage to the mountains.
And then we came to a small hut. Strewn inside were relics of tobacco leaves hanged on small poles staked to the ground. Bottles of empty and half empty gins were around too and the ashes of old fires. This I learned is one of those places, "wawalikan" or "wawalitan". "Walit" or "walik" to mean the ritual, to invoke and call upon the spirits for the ease of those who are sick, and leave sacrifices that they might delight in. Modern days would see people going to hospitals and resorting to medicinal drugs for cures, but even those sometimes could not heal a man.
In the pagan belief of sacrificing to the spirits, or to ancestors gone ahead, people here sometimes resort to doing this traditional practice, hoping against all hope for a reprieve. I once saw a similar ritual in another place, and i can feel the hair on the nape of my neck rising. I know it would not be far from what they do in these places. In an area ahead called Pula, we smoked the trees again. It reminded me of the American Indian practice of doing the smoke signals.
As we trudged ahead I could sense the life in this place; in the silence of everything, you could almost hear the whispers of the leaves as we passed by. The pine needles cushioning our feet on the forest floor added to the echoing silence, yet nevertheless the chirping of birds were so pronounced that the sounds seem to stretch to eternity. The swishing of the winds through the gaps among the trees annihilated most of my bad moods and pains when we first started. The beauty of the place is unlike the other places I’ve been into. This place is raw beauty; raw and comforting in a different way.
The last few yards to the destination saw the rain catch up on us. I decided I’d love the rain on me this day and like kids catching the rain on a summer day, we welcomed the soaking embrace of cold, cold streams draining the fatigue of the weary souls. The clearing soon appeared, to my surprise. It was a wide span of ground, naked and bald except for the carpet of grass. On the left side was a shallow lake, something like a marshland, a little bit wider than the clearing. Its banks lined with old and ferocious pines and some willows, the branches dipping their fingertips on the waters. My eyes were all aglow with glee, like a kid left on a prairie and running wild among the dandelions. The city left me hungry for places like these. And I took it all in, wallowed in it like an animal caged too long and tasting the first licks of freedom. Every mountain has a certain effect on me, different in every place. Here was freedom and solitude and healing. You can shout your heart out for all the pains you have and the world would care for once. This is "Posong".
In the wonder of it all, I wished for this place (and similar places like these) to stay the way it is; with the herds of cows and buffalos roaming the place wild and free. The untamed rural beauty, something you would give a day (or forever) to stick in the mind, a reminder that God does have a way of making us realize the simplest of everything is much more precious than the complexities of modern services. Given the warmth of the campfire and the smell of smoked meat on the fireside was enough to sate me today, downed with a dose of cold spring water. I don’t mind the dirt and grime, my toothy grin is enough to compliment my aesthetics today. In this place, I found another home in my heart.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Are OFs the Modern Rip Van Winkles
It is true the Overseas Filipinos while a potent force has remained asleep. It reminds me of the story of Rip Van Winkle.
I am sure some of you still remember the story of this adventurous fellow who left his family in the midst of a storm promising his daughter that he will come back with plenty of wonderful stories. But as it happened Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years, as a punishment for accepting a gold coin from the Spirit that was guarding the gold chest of the Hudson pirates. When he finally woke up and went back home, he found that so much has happened; his wife was already dead, and her daughter already a grown up lady. His country has a new name and a new president – George Washington.
What our teachers did not tell us, maybe because we will not understand the implications anyway, was that during the twenty years Rip Van Winkle was asleep his country was undergoing a tremendous change, a revolution. Yes, Rip Van Winkle slept through the social revolution that transformed his country, the United States of America, to what it is now.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once pointed out that: “One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. But today our survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenges of change.”
Are we, overseas Filipinos, the Rip Van Winkles of our time or are we the modern day heroes we are fondly called, by our presidents of the past and present?
Most of us have left our families ten to twenty years ago, some maybe more, in search of better opportunities. When we go back home what will be our answers to our grown up sons and daughters when they ask, “Dad, what have you been doing all those twenty years that you were away?”
Like Rip Van Winkle I know we will delight our children with stories of the happy and sad experiences we had in the country were we worked; of the loneliness of being away from them especially during the first couple of years. I am sure we will proudly tell them that our remittances contributed to keeping the economy of our country from going down the drain.
Our children will probably say, “That’s true, we heard those stories over and over in the radio, tv, and even read them in the papers.”
I believe it will make a difference if, unlike Rip Van Winkle, we are able to tell them that through all those years that we were away, we kept track of what are happening back home; that we stayed vigilant, and initiated direction actions whenever the need arise; that we took active role in the founding of an OFW led political party that has been responsible for introducing reforms in government; the Party that was responsible for gradually bringing down the level of greed in government offices until it was totally eradicated; the Party that was responsible for introducing more benefits to the working class including their very own parents. If we are able tell them of those accomplishments, our children will surely be proud of us. Not only did we provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and education; we also provided them a better Philippines to live in.
So how do we move on towards making those dreams a reality?
Stay awake, remain vigilant, learn from new ideas, and take courage to face the challenges of change. But that will be subject of another date.
I am sure some of you still remember the story of this adventurous fellow who left his family in the midst of a storm promising his daughter that he will come back with plenty of wonderful stories. But as it happened Rip Van Winkle slept for twenty years, as a punishment for accepting a gold coin from the Spirit that was guarding the gold chest of the Hudson pirates. When he finally woke up and went back home, he found that so much has happened; his wife was already dead, and her daughter already a grown up lady. His country has a new name and a new president – George Washington.
What our teachers did not tell us, maybe because we will not understand the implications anyway, was that during the twenty years Rip Van Winkle was asleep his country was undergoing a tremendous change, a revolution. Yes, Rip Van Winkle slept through the social revolution that transformed his country, the United States of America, to what it is now.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once pointed out that: “One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of the status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. But today our survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenges of change.”
Are we, overseas Filipinos, the Rip Van Winkles of our time or are we the modern day heroes we are fondly called, by our presidents of the past and present?
Most of us have left our families ten to twenty years ago, some maybe more, in search of better opportunities. When we go back home what will be our answers to our grown up sons and daughters when they ask, “Dad, what have you been doing all those twenty years that you were away?”
Like Rip Van Winkle I know we will delight our children with stories of the happy and sad experiences we had in the country were we worked; of the loneliness of being away from them especially during the first couple of years. I am sure we will proudly tell them that our remittances contributed to keeping the economy of our country from going down the drain.
Our children will probably say, “That’s true, we heard those stories over and over in the radio, tv, and even read them in the papers.”
I believe it will make a difference if, unlike Rip Van Winkle, we are able to tell them that through all those years that we were away, we kept track of what are happening back home; that we stayed vigilant, and initiated direction actions whenever the need arise; that we took active role in the founding of an OFW led political party that has been responsible for introducing reforms in government; the Party that was responsible for gradually bringing down the level of greed in government offices until it was totally eradicated; the Party that was responsible for introducing more benefits to the working class including their very own parents. If we are able tell them of those accomplishments, our children will surely be proud of us. Not only did we provide them with food, clothing, shelter, and education; we also provided them a better Philippines to live in.
So how do we move on towards making those dreams a reality?
Stay awake, remain vigilant, learn from new ideas, and take courage to face the challenges of change. But that will be subject of another date.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Please End our 21 Years of Waiting
The following is an open letter of a friend from Riyadh to Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. We are giving space to this letter in the hope that one of our readers might be able to help. Thank you.
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace, Manila
Dear President Arroyo,
For the last 21 years I and my wife have been waging a lonely battle for the delivery of the title to a piece of land we bought back in 1985.
The first ten years of that battle was fought in the halls of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) where three decisions, all in our favor, were rendered by the Honorable Board of said agency.
The other eleven years were spent at the Legal Department under the Office of the President, where the case was appealed by the owners and developers of the subdivision from whom we bought our land. During that period, under three presidents, three more decisions were rendered; again all in our favor. In the absence of an appeal to higher court, the last decision rendered by the Legal Department became final.
Last February, my attorney filed a petition for writ of execution with the local HLURB office in Baguio City. Eager to take possession of the title to our property after 21 years, the first thing I did when I went home for my annual vacation last March was to follow up the status of our petition. I was told by the Baguio office of HLURB that they are still waiting for the records of the case to be forwarded to them by the main office in Quezon City .
Having known from experience how slow things move if no one follows up personally, I went to HLURB Quezon City to ask when the records will be sent to Baguio. The staff at the Appeals Division informed me that they do not have the records of the case. In fact they do not know its present status and where the records are. I have to tell them that it is with the Legal Department in Malacanang. I was then asked to request the Legal Department to forward the records of our case to HLURB so that our petition can be acted on.
I went to Malacanang the following day, April 2, 2008, and as instructed requested the office of the Honorable Manuel Gaite to forward the records of our case, OP Case 98-F-8397, to the Appeals Division of HLURB.
When I returned here in Riyadh after my vacation, I made it a point to call either Richard or Olga of the Legal Department to inquire if the records were already forwarded to HLURB. Unfortunately, though, up to now after almost five months the records are still with Malacanang. I was told last week that the task was reassigned to another lawyer because the previous lawyer handling the task resigned. Only God knows what reason will be given to me the next time I call Malacanang; and only God knows how long will I and my family still wait.
Your Excellency, kindly knock at the doors of your staff at the Legal Department so that they may wake up from their deep slumber, and end our waiting.
Most sincerely,
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace, Manila
Dear President Arroyo,
For the last 21 years I and my wife have been waging a lonely battle for the delivery of the title to a piece of land we bought back in 1985.
The first ten years of that battle was fought in the halls of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) where three decisions, all in our favor, were rendered by the Honorable Board of said agency.
The other eleven years were spent at the Legal Department under the Office of the President, where the case was appealed by the owners and developers of the subdivision from whom we bought our land. During that period, under three presidents, three more decisions were rendered; again all in our favor. In the absence of an appeal to higher court, the last decision rendered by the Legal Department became final.
Last February, my attorney filed a petition for writ of execution with the local HLURB office in Baguio City. Eager to take possession of the title to our property after 21 years, the first thing I did when I went home for my annual vacation last March was to follow up the status of our petition. I was told by the Baguio office of HLURB that they are still waiting for the records of the case to be forwarded to them by the main office in Quezon City .
Having known from experience how slow things move if no one follows up personally, I went to HLURB Quezon City to ask when the records will be sent to Baguio. The staff at the Appeals Division informed me that they do not have the records of the case. In fact they do not know its present status and where the records are. I have to tell them that it is with the Legal Department in Malacanang. I was then asked to request the Legal Department to forward the records of our case to HLURB so that our petition can be acted on.
I went to Malacanang the following day, April 2, 2008, and as instructed requested the office of the Honorable Manuel Gaite to forward the records of our case, OP Case 98-F-8397, to the Appeals Division of HLURB.
When I returned here in Riyadh after my vacation, I made it a point to call either Richard or Olga of the Legal Department to inquire if the records were already forwarded to HLURB. Unfortunately, though, up to now after almost five months the records are still with Malacanang. I was told last week that the task was reassigned to another lawyer because the previous lawyer handling the task resigned. Only God knows what reason will be given to me the next time I call Malacanang; and only God knows how long will I and my family still wait.
Your Excellency, kindly knock at the doors of your staff at the Legal Department so that they may wake up from their deep slumber, and end our waiting.
Most sincerely,
Thursday, February 21, 2008
OWWA's Undeclared Priority
Last September the Filipino cyber community was flooded with letters of appeal addressed to various government agencies back home, particularly OWWA, seeking assitance for and in behalf of Roberto Panganiban, an OFW in Dubai who was sent home after being diagnosed of cancer.
After four months of waiting and follow up none of the government agencies concerned lift a finger to find out what help can be given to Roberto, one of those 'modern day' heroes.
Last December Roberto wrote Malacanang and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas telling them that he can no longer stand nor move his legs. I thought that was a last effort on his part to touch the heart of those who have the power to ask the PCSO, PGH, and yes OWWA to come to the rescue of Roberto. But nobody moved. Last Thursday, February 7, Roberto joined his Master.
The case of Roberto is a classic example why OFWs have always complained about OWWA. To many OWWA is just good at collecting fees. In the vernacular, maraming nagsasabi na ginagatasan lang ng OWWA ang mga OFW. And the government cannot blame those people for such comments, because the fact is helping the OFWs is not OWWA's priority. Otherwise OWWA should be spending more than the 3% of fund balance that it currently spends on services. Administrartor Marianito Roque was quoted once as saying that the main goal of OWWA at present is to achieve the TEN BILLION PESOS reserve which is estimated to be the amount needed to repatriate almost all the OFWs in the Middle East in case of civil disturbance in the region. Kaya seguro hindi nila matulungan si Roberto even if his is a case of life and death. Reading what the OWWA administrator said, I asked myself: why are we being tasked to build up our own repatriation fund? Is it not enough that we contribute to the nation's economy? And where is the repartriation fund that Congress is supposed to budget for every year as mandated by the Migrant Workers Act?
When we questioned why OWWA funds were used to repatriate the OFWs stranded in Lebanon during a meeting with CFO Chair Dante Ang two weeks ago, the good chairman of CFO said "mga Filipino pa rin naman ang mga yon, kaya kahit hindi sila member ng OWWA bayaan na natin." Oo nga naman, bakit natin ipagkakait ang tulong sa kapwa Filipino. But here is a case of a bonafide member of OWWA asking for help. The member is dying yet OWWA said NO, that case of Permanent Disability is not covered by the member's "insurance poliicy". On one hand OWWA makes use of the members money to help non-members; on the other OWWA refuses to help a legitimate dying member. Where is justice in this case?
A couple of days ago, I was informed by Miss Jennifer Gonzales, executive director of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, that OWWA is now willing to pay the family of Roberto some One Hundred Twenty Thousand Pesos in insurance benefits.
I would have jumped with joy. But then I thought of the days when Roberto was agonizing in pain. And I asked myself, why only now?
To this date, the government is still to fulfill one of two wishes Roberto had asked. That is, for the POEA to investigate the work invironment of the Maritime Industrial Services, Roberto's employer in Dubai, to determine if it was the cause of cancer that killed Roberto, so that the lives of other Filipinos still working in that company may be spared.
This time we pray, POEA and OWWA will act without hesitation.
After four months of waiting and follow up none of the government agencies concerned lift a finger to find out what help can be given to Roberto, one of those 'modern day' heroes.
Last December Roberto wrote Malacanang and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas telling them that he can no longer stand nor move his legs. I thought that was a last effort on his part to touch the heart of those who have the power to ask the PCSO, PGH, and yes OWWA to come to the rescue of Roberto. But nobody moved. Last Thursday, February 7, Roberto joined his Master.
The case of Roberto is a classic example why OFWs have always complained about OWWA. To many OWWA is just good at collecting fees. In the vernacular, maraming nagsasabi na ginagatasan lang ng OWWA ang mga OFW. And the government cannot blame those people for such comments, because the fact is helping the OFWs is not OWWA's priority. Otherwise OWWA should be spending more than the 3% of fund balance that it currently spends on services. Administrartor Marianito Roque was quoted once as saying that the main goal of OWWA at present is to achieve the TEN BILLION PESOS reserve which is estimated to be the amount needed to repatriate almost all the OFWs in the Middle East in case of civil disturbance in the region. Kaya seguro hindi nila matulungan si Roberto even if his is a case of life and death. Reading what the OWWA administrator said, I asked myself: why are we being tasked to build up our own repatriation fund? Is it not enough that we contribute to the nation's economy? And where is the repartriation fund that Congress is supposed to budget for every year as mandated by the Migrant Workers Act?
When we questioned why OWWA funds were used to repatriate the OFWs stranded in Lebanon during a meeting with CFO Chair Dante Ang two weeks ago, the good chairman of CFO said "mga Filipino pa rin naman ang mga yon, kaya kahit hindi sila member ng OWWA bayaan na natin." Oo nga naman, bakit natin ipagkakait ang tulong sa kapwa Filipino. But here is a case of a bonafide member of OWWA asking for help. The member is dying yet OWWA said NO, that case of Permanent Disability is not covered by the member's "insurance poliicy". On one hand OWWA makes use of the members money to help non-members; on the other OWWA refuses to help a legitimate dying member. Where is justice in this case?
A couple of days ago, I was informed by Miss Jennifer Gonzales, executive director of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, that OWWA is now willing to pay the family of Roberto some One Hundred Twenty Thousand Pesos in insurance benefits.
I would have jumped with joy. But then I thought of the days when Roberto was agonizing in pain. And I asked myself, why only now?
To this date, the government is still to fulfill one of two wishes Roberto had asked. That is, for the POEA to investigate the work invironment of the Maritime Industrial Services, Roberto's employer in Dubai, to determine if it was the cause of cancer that killed Roberto, so that the lives of other Filipinos still working in that company may be spared.
This time we pray, POEA and OWWA will act without hesitation.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
My OFW Daughters and the Rising Peso
Today I am sharing with you the post of former Congressman and SBMA administrator Felicito C. Payumo in the Inquirer as it is very much related to my earlier post.
MANILA, Philippines- -MY THREE OFW daughters came home, briefly, for the wedding of their brother. Over breakfast, I asked Ani, who works in New York City doing structured finance for a financial guarantee company, if she thought that the United States is deliberately keeping the value of the dollar low. She said she didn't think so--not as matter of policy. "Because of the recession or its anticipation, the Fed is being
pressured to reduce interest rate to perk up the capital market. But as the interest rate is slashed, funds tend to leave the United States to seek higher interest rates elsewhere. As a consequence, the dollar falls, but it's not as if the United States has designed to keep it low."
"But isn't the recession caused by the deluge of manufactured goods from third world countries?" I countered. "China now swamps the US market with food, apparel, toys, electronics and hi-tech gadgets. This takes away jobs from Americans, so the United States now wants the dollar kept weaker vs. other currencies so that manufactured goods from other countries will be more expensive, that is, less competitive. So, it is
by design," I pontificated to end the argument.
"But if that is so, how come the Euro remains strong even though Chinese products are all over the stores in Europe," my other daughter, Ela, joined in. She works with a retail company in London, so she should know. I could only reply, "Maybe the Euro is getting strong because the dollar is getting weak."
All the while, my third daughter, Aileen, was listening but remained clueless in the discussion. She had dabbled in the theatre earlier but now works for a hip-hop magazine in Manhattan. All these were strange to her. "Ah, basta. What I know is my dollars now get me fewer pesos to buy gifts for my former yaya," Aileen, ended the argument...and the tutorial lessons.
I asked myself "if my daughter who has no dependents immediately felt the effect of the rising peso, what about the dependents of the rest of the 8.2 million overseas Filipino workers?" That's 10 percent of all Filipinos, and assuming they each have five dependents, they would number 41 million or nearly 50 percent of our total population. And the profile isn't pretty. Household and related workers category topped the list at 28 percent of land-based new hires. This was followed by construction workers (14 percent), and factory workers (14 percent). The rest are in the service industry with professional, medical and technical workers in the minority. An estimate of OFW money flows puts $11.2 billion (80 percent of total official remittance) for living expenses, medical and educational expenses, house construction and improvements, and consumables. The majority are unable to set aside for savings or investments. And this was before March 2004 when $1 exchanged for P56.36. Since then the peso has strengthened so that the OFWs and exporters have lost 26.5 percent of their income. Today, the value of the dollar is about P41. That means for every $100 they receive, OFW dependents now get P1,500 less.
But what about the cost of living? When I checked, the general price level had increased by 43.1 percent from March 2004 to October 2007, with year 2000 as a base. The sharpest increases were noted in fuel, light, water and services (79 percent), pushed obviously by the increase in crude oil price. Food and beverage prices which account for half of the consumer basket rose by 37 percent.
What do these all mean? It means that our OFWs and their dependents, which account for half of our population, are being hit by a double whammy of decreasing incomes and rising prices.
No wonder, everyone throws his two cents' worth on how to alleviate their plight--from having a fixed exchange rate for OFW remittances (in effect a subsidy, but who would bear the cost?), or a forward cover (which very few OFWs avail of), to prepaying and refraining from taking dollar loans and switching to borrowing in pesos, to suspending
collection of the EVAT for fuel, as suggested by Sen. Mar Roxas (which makes the most sense) as EVAT is directly borne by the end-consumers, that is, the masses.
The response from the government is, unfortunately, a tepid one—a one-percent reduction of the tariff on fuel imports by oil companies at certain trigger prices. Not only does it come too little, too late—it is misdirected. It is the oil companies who will benefit from the tariff reduction, as a militant labor group observed, so much so that President Macapagal-Arroyo will have to tell them to pass on the savings to the consumers. The Department of Finance opposes the suspension of the EVAT because that would mean P54 billion in foregone revenues. It fears that the budget deficit will increase and this may trigger increase in prices. But what can be worse as inflationary trigger than a direct tax such as the EVAT on rising oil prices borne directly by the masses? As to the concern on foregone revenues, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has lost that much amount already in defending the dollar!
Meanwhile, we can only cry with our OFWs. Yet we hail them as our heroes. But then, praise is cheap.
MANILA, Philippines- -MY THREE OFW daughters came home, briefly, for the wedding of their brother. Over breakfast, I asked Ani, who works in New York City doing structured finance for a financial guarantee company, if she thought that the United States is deliberately keeping the value of the dollar low. She said she didn't think so--not as matter of policy. "Because of the recession or its anticipation, the Fed is being
pressured to reduce interest rate to perk up the capital market. But as the interest rate is slashed, funds tend to leave the United States to seek higher interest rates elsewhere. As a consequence, the dollar falls, but it's not as if the United States has designed to keep it low."
"But isn't the recession caused by the deluge of manufactured goods from third world countries?" I countered. "China now swamps the US market with food, apparel, toys, electronics and hi-tech gadgets. This takes away jobs from Americans, so the United States now wants the dollar kept weaker vs. other currencies so that manufactured goods from other countries will be more expensive, that is, less competitive. So, it is
by design," I pontificated to end the argument.
"But if that is so, how come the Euro remains strong even though Chinese products are all over the stores in Europe," my other daughter, Ela, joined in. She works with a retail company in London, so she should know. I could only reply, "Maybe the Euro is getting strong because the dollar is getting weak."
All the while, my third daughter, Aileen, was listening but remained clueless in the discussion. She had dabbled in the theatre earlier but now works for a hip-hop magazine in Manhattan. All these were strange to her. "Ah, basta. What I know is my dollars now get me fewer pesos to buy gifts for my former yaya," Aileen, ended the argument...and the tutorial lessons.
I asked myself "if my daughter who has no dependents immediately felt the effect of the rising peso, what about the dependents of the rest of the 8.2 million overseas Filipino workers?" That's 10 percent of all Filipinos, and assuming they each have five dependents, they would number 41 million or nearly 50 percent of our total population. And the profile isn't pretty. Household and related workers category topped the list at 28 percent of land-based new hires. This was followed by construction workers (14 percent), and factory workers (14 percent). The rest are in the service industry with professional, medical and technical workers in the minority. An estimate of OFW money flows puts $11.2 billion (80 percent of total official remittance) for living expenses, medical and educational expenses, house construction and improvements, and consumables. The majority are unable to set aside for savings or investments. And this was before March 2004 when $1 exchanged for P56.36. Since then the peso has strengthened so that the OFWs and exporters have lost 26.5 percent of their income. Today, the value of the dollar is about P41. That means for every $100 they receive, OFW dependents now get P1,500 less.
But what about the cost of living? When I checked, the general price level had increased by 43.1 percent from March 2004 to October 2007, with year 2000 as a base. The sharpest increases were noted in fuel, light, water and services (79 percent), pushed obviously by the increase in crude oil price. Food and beverage prices which account for half of the consumer basket rose by 37 percent.
What do these all mean? It means that our OFWs and their dependents, which account for half of our population, are being hit by a double whammy of decreasing incomes and rising prices.
No wonder, everyone throws his two cents' worth on how to alleviate their plight--from having a fixed exchange rate for OFW remittances (in effect a subsidy, but who would bear the cost?), or a forward cover (which very few OFWs avail of), to prepaying and refraining from taking dollar loans and switching to borrowing in pesos, to suspending
collection of the EVAT for fuel, as suggested by Sen. Mar Roxas (which makes the most sense) as EVAT is directly borne by the end-consumers, that is, the masses.
The response from the government is, unfortunately, a tepid one—a one-percent reduction of the tariff on fuel imports by oil companies at certain trigger prices. Not only does it come too little, too late—it is misdirected. It is the oil companies who will benefit from the tariff reduction, as a militant labor group observed, so much so that President Macapagal-Arroyo will have to tell them to pass on the savings to the consumers. The Department of Finance opposes the suspension of the EVAT because that would mean P54 billion in foregone revenues. It fears that the budget deficit will increase and this may trigger increase in prices. But what can be worse as inflationary trigger than a direct tax such as the EVAT on rising oil prices borne directly by the masses? As to the concern on foregone revenues, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has lost that much amount already in defending the dollar!
Meanwhile, we can only cry with our OFWs. Yet we hail them as our heroes. But then, praise is cheap.
Friday, January 04, 2008
A Christmas Petition
The year 2007 saw the continuous decline of the US dollar against major currencies, including the Philippines peso. With the decline, the income of Overseas Filipinos (OFs) in the Middle East also depreciated in value. But the dollar’s decline against the peso was just one side of a double-bladed attack. At the jobsites, the cost of living – basic commodities, services, and apartment rent – also went up. The OFs in the Middle East were caught between two mountains, each trying to squeeze whatever is left out of their blood.
Back home, prices of basic commodities and services also continued to rise despite the government’s claim of a strong Philippine economy. This added more pressure on the OFs, who are trying to maintain the same amount of dollar remittance despite the increase in their own expenses, and their families back home who, with less peso remittance income received, also are trying to cope with the ever increasing cost of living.
Alarmed by this worsening situation, two appeals were sent by the OF community to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in August 2007. Both appeals urged the government to find ways and means to mitigate the impact of the dollar’s continuous decline on the income of Overseas Filipinos. No less than Vice President Noli de Castro himself accompanied the petitioners to the Office of the President. But after the photo sessions and a little media coverage, no result has yet come out of those petitions.
During the Christmas and New Year season, a group of over a thousand overseas Filipinos from the Gulf States greeted President Gloria Arroyo with yet another appeal, following up on the petition sent in August. The petitioners are aware that their appeal might again fall on deaf ears. Yet they also believe that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo must be kept aware that the OFs in the Middle East are still waiting for their actions.
The Christmas-New Year Petition was led by the Economic Sector leaders of the Riyadh OFW Consultative Assembly. Members of the group and community leaders who played vital roles in the launch of the petition were Pete Vicuna of Saudi Telecom, Ed Estrada of National Food Industries, Julius Cordova of Dallah Hospital, Gil Mamaril of Faisaliah Group, Janice T. Banga of Hammadi Hospital, Jackie Mendoza of Oleya Medical Center, Willy Morden of Royal Saudi Naval Force, Joel Macaburas and Rodel Cansanay of Sabic, Florante Supapo of Mirnah Company, Rose Cansanay of Riyadh Military Hospital, Jubie Paner of King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital, Jilbert Mejia of Rezayat, Earl Mateo of Picpa Riyadh and Tasnee, , Alan Caseres, Noel Lansangan, Marco Ibanez, and George Bocobo all of Saudi Telecom Company, Ernesto Santos of GHD Group in Qatar, Vic Candilanza of UAE, and Freda Contreras of Kuwait.
The petitioners hope that this document will not end up in some dark corner in Malacanang, or in the CD copies that were distributed to media and overseas Filipino organizations. They hope that this petition will spark the launch of a national discourse on other fundamental issues that affect the welfare of overseas Filipinos and their families, and for the overseas Filipinos themselves to engage in intense dialogue to find the will and leadership to mobilize their organizations and resources and participate actively in the much needed reshaping of the economic and political landscape back home.
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President, Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace, Metro Manila
Philippines
Thru: Honorable Ma. Lourdes P. Varona
Correspondent Secretary
Dear President Arroyo,
Last August, when the value of the US dollar dropped from P55 to P45, we sent you a petition seeking intervention of government in the alarming appreciation of the peso, and requested that the peso-dollar exchange rate be pegged at P50 to $1.
While so many suggestions on ways to control the peso’s hurting appreciation were floated by finance experts from both government and private sectors, the government failed to implement any that will help ease the our problem.
Meanwhile, during the five months that passed the dollar continued to decline and is now trading at almost P40 to $1. And there seem to be no end in sight to this down trend yet.
Therefore, we the undersigned overseas Filipinos in the Middle East are again appealing to you to please do what is needed to bring back the exchange rate to P50 to $1. Make this your gift to us, your heroes, this New Year.
Happy New Year, Madame President.
(Please see attached list of signatories)
Back home, prices of basic commodities and services also continued to rise despite the government’s claim of a strong Philippine economy. This added more pressure on the OFs, who are trying to maintain the same amount of dollar remittance despite the increase in their own expenses, and their families back home who, with less peso remittance income received, also are trying to cope with the ever increasing cost of living.
Alarmed by this worsening situation, two appeals were sent by the OF community to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in August 2007. Both appeals urged the government to find ways and means to mitigate the impact of the dollar’s continuous decline on the income of Overseas Filipinos. No less than Vice President Noli de Castro himself accompanied the petitioners to the Office of the President. But after the photo sessions and a little media coverage, no result has yet come out of those petitions.
During the Christmas and New Year season, a group of over a thousand overseas Filipinos from the Gulf States greeted President Gloria Arroyo with yet another appeal, following up on the petition sent in August. The petitioners are aware that their appeal might again fall on deaf ears. Yet they also believe that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo must be kept aware that the OFs in the Middle East are still waiting for their actions.
The Christmas-New Year Petition was led by the Economic Sector leaders of the Riyadh OFW Consultative Assembly. Members of the group and community leaders who played vital roles in the launch of the petition were Pete Vicuna of Saudi Telecom, Ed Estrada of National Food Industries, Julius Cordova of Dallah Hospital, Gil Mamaril of Faisaliah Group, Janice T. Banga of Hammadi Hospital, Jackie Mendoza of Oleya Medical Center, Willy Morden of Royal Saudi Naval Force, Joel Macaburas and Rodel Cansanay of Sabic, Florante Supapo of Mirnah Company, Rose Cansanay of Riyadh Military Hospital, Jubie Paner of King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital, Jilbert Mejia of Rezayat, Earl Mateo of Picpa Riyadh and Tasnee, , Alan Caseres, Noel Lansangan, Marco Ibanez, and George Bocobo all of Saudi Telecom Company, Ernesto Santos of GHD Group in Qatar, Vic Candilanza of UAE, and Freda Contreras of Kuwait.
The petitioners hope that this document will not end up in some dark corner in Malacanang, or in the CD copies that were distributed to media and overseas Filipino organizations. They hope that this petition will spark the launch of a national discourse on other fundamental issues that affect the welfare of overseas Filipinos and their families, and for the overseas Filipinos themselves to engage in intense dialogue to find the will and leadership to mobilize their organizations and resources and participate actively in the much needed reshaping of the economic and political landscape back home.
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President, Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace, Metro Manila
Philippines
Thru: Honorable Ma. Lourdes P. Varona
Correspondent Secretary
Dear President Arroyo,
Last August, when the value of the US dollar dropped from P55 to P45, we sent you a petition seeking intervention of government in the alarming appreciation of the peso, and requested that the peso-dollar exchange rate be pegged at P50 to $1.
While so many suggestions on ways to control the peso’s hurting appreciation were floated by finance experts from both government and private sectors, the government failed to implement any that will help ease the our problem.
Meanwhile, during the five months that passed the dollar continued to decline and is now trading at almost P40 to $1. And there seem to be no end in sight to this down trend yet.
Therefore, we the undersigned overseas Filipinos in the Middle East are again appealing to you to please do what is needed to bring back the exchange rate to P50 to $1. Make this your gift to us, your heroes, this New Year.
Happy New Year, Madame President.
(Please see attached list of signatories)
Saturday, December 15, 2007
MPI Study on OWWA
A couple of months ago the Washington-based Migrant Policy Institute (MPI) released a study on OWWA. Titled "Protecting Overseas Workers: Lessons and Cautions from the Philippines " the paper was written by MPI's Dovelyn Rannveig Agunias, together with Neil G. Ruiz of the Brookings Institute.
Following are my reactions:
1. It is surprising to note that as of May 2007, OWWA reported having just over a million members. Those numbers almost just equal the number of Overseas Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.
2. Spending only 3 percent of the Fund balance for services to members and their beneficiaries is a disservice. Direct services to members and their beneficiaries must be given first priority; achieving Fund stability must only come second.
3. The OFW OWWA members must not be tasked to raise the Ten Billion Pesos ($200 million) needed to repatriate OFWs in the Middle East in case of civil disturbance. What must be done is for the government to increase the amount of annual Emergency Repatriation Fund appropriation required under RA 8042, which is currently set at 100 million pesos per year. Portion of the Foreign Exchange savings realized by government from OFW remittances must be set aside for this purpose.
4. The 10 billion pesos set aside for use in case of mass repatriation must instead be used to start up an OFW Cooperative Savings and Insurance System that will provide savings, remittance, pension and insurance services to the member-owners. An OFW Healthcare system, which should address the healthcare needs of retired OFWs including the construction of an OFW hospital, should also be considered. If these types of services are provided, it may not even be hard to ask the member-OFWs to increase their annual contributions.
5. OWWA’s role under RA 8042 is to manage the contingency fund needed for large-scale repatriation. RA 8042 provided for the sources of that fund, and OWWA members’ contribution is not one of them. OWWA, as the lead agency during the repatriation of Filipinos from Lebanon in July last year, should not have used 169 million of OWWA fund. The 169 million should have come from the Emergency Repatriation Fund, which is being given an appropriation of 100 million pesos every year.
6. Administrator Marianito Roque was quoted as saying that the repatriation program, which aims to “facilitate the immediate repatriation of distressed and physically ill contract workers, as well as the remains of those who die while working abroad” as the backbone of the agency. This is great, but is not what we see in Saudi Arabia. In many cases, it is the Filipino community who takes care of their fellow distressed OFWs and raises the money for their tickets. There were even cases where POLO and OWWA officers refused to entertain distressed OFWs saying their safe house is already full. Most recent of these cases is that of Catherine Sarabia in Riyadh.
7. The 75 million disbursements on loans to members must not be classified as expenses as those are to be repaid by the borrowers at a later date.
8. I agree that OWWA must consult extensively with different stakeholders, especially the OFWs on key migrant related issues. This is one area where OWWA has miserably failed, both at home and onsite.
Following are my reactions:
1. It is surprising to note that as of May 2007, OWWA reported having just over a million members. Those numbers almost just equal the number of Overseas Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.
2. Spending only 3 percent of the Fund balance for services to members and their beneficiaries is a disservice. Direct services to members and their beneficiaries must be given first priority; achieving Fund stability must only come second.
3. The OFW OWWA members must not be tasked to raise the Ten Billion Pesos ($200 million) needed to repatriate OFWs in the Middle East in case of civil disturbance. What must be done is for the government to increase the amount of annual Emergency Repatriation Fund appropriation required under RA 8042, which is currently set at 100 million pesos per year. Portion of the Foreign Exchange savings realized by government from OFW remittances must be set aside for this purpose.
4. The 10 billion pesos set aside for use in case of mass repatriation must instead be used to start up an OFW Cooperative Savings and Insurance System that will provide savings, remittance, pension and insurance services to the member-owners. An OFW Healthcare system, which should address the healthcare needs of retired OFWs including the construction of an OFW hospital, should also be considered. If these types of services are provided, it may not even be hard to ask the member-OFWs to increase their annual contributions.
5. OWWA’s role under RA 8042 is to manage the contingency fund needed for large-scale repatriation. RA 8042 provided for the sources of that fund, and OWWA members’ contribution is not one of them. OWWA, as the lead agency during the repatriation of Filipinos from Lebanon in July last year, should not have used 169 million of OWWA fund. The 169 million should have come from the Emergency Repatriation Fund, which is being given an appropriation of 100 million pesos every year.
6. Administrator Marianito Roque was quoted as saying that the repatriation program, which aims to “facilitate the immediate repatriation of distressed and physically ill contract workers, as well as the remains of those who die while working abroad” as the backbone of the agency. This is great, but is not what we see in Saudi Arabia. In many cases, it is the Filipino community who takes care of their fellow distressed OFWs and raises the money for their tickets. There were even cases where POLO and OWWA officers refused to entertain distressed OFWs saying their safe house is already full. Most recent of these cases is that of Catherine Sarabia in Riyadh.
7. The 75 million disbursements on loans to members must not be classified as expenses as those are to be repaid by the borrowers at a later date.
8. I agree that OWWA must consult extensively with different stakeholders, especially the OFWs on key migrant related issues. This is one area where OWWA has miserably failed, both at home and onsite.
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