New Year Prayers

While the magnificent fireworks display of Sidney was being flashed all over the world, we said goodbye to the year that passed and welcomed the year 2007 with Hope.

Last year we saw the continuous slide in the Overseas Filipinos’ actual monthly earnings, as well as the increase in country’s poverty rate. The irony is that all these happened amidst the alleged improvement in our economy. This year let us hope and pray that any real economic gains that our country will achieve will trickle down and be felt by the lowest of the low in our society.

Last year we also saw the cold response of OFWs to the overseas absentee voters continuing registration, and to the call to allow postal voting in selected places like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. This was in contrast to the eagerness displayed by thousands of alleged Makati residents who tried to beat the 31 December voters’ registration deadline back home. With the prospect of a no election year gone with the bowing out of the chacha dancers in the lower house, let us pray and hope to see an OFW community more responsive and participative to the political happenings back home.

Last year we also saw the bold steps taken by the government for the welfare OFWs in the domestic services. The first of those steps was the invention of the so-called ‘super maids’. This was followed by setting the minimum salary at USD 400, and the minimum age of would be super maids at 25. This year let us pray that the POEA will also look into the flight of OFWs bound for Taiwan. Let us pray that the POEA will be able to oblige the local recruitment agencies to lower their placement fees, considering the fact that those Taiwan bound OFWs will also have to pay ‘monthly fees’ to the broker in Taiwan, aside from other expenses like medical exam, alien registration certificate, beddings, etc.

Lastly, let us also pray that during the elections this May, the overseas Filipinos will make a positive contribution to the shaping of our country’s future, by their active and intelligent participation.