Some 326 Filipino irregular migrants, including 67 children, who were deported from Sabah, arrived in Zamboanga City on 8 April after serving time in Malaysian jails. Most of them were originally from Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan in southern Philippines. The deportees were taken to a social welfare center upon arrival and were provided food and free tickets to return to their hometowns. Counseling and orientation sessions on the latest government job programs and skills training were also conducted for them. Unlike before, the Filipino deportees this time said they were treated and fed well while in detention in Malaysia.
Rosalinda Baldoz, Administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), urged Filipino visit visa holders who are working in Dubai to take immediate steps to legalize their stay in the light of a crackdown on immigration offenders being implemented by the UAE. Baldoz explained that visit visa holders could work only after complying with UAE’s labor requirements and after shifting to employment visas on the sponsorship of their prospective employers. UAE’s crackdown on irregular migrant workers was prompted by the arrest of two Filipinas found working in Dubai while on visit visas.
The 25 Filipino crewmembers of the Eastern Challenger, a Philippine-registered container ship that sank off the coast of Tateyama in Chiba prefecture in Japan on 13 April have been rescued. The ship, which was transporting steel from the Philippines to Yokohama, sank after colliding with the Japanese freighter, Tsugarumaru, which, in turn was carrying animal feed ingredients from Chiba to Tomakomai in Hokkaido. Foggy weather has been blamed for the accident.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is currently investigating the cases of two Filipino domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. One of the workers showed signs of torture with burns all over her body, which were allegedly inflicted by her employer’s wife and children. OWWA is preparing to file charges against the domestic worker’s Saudi employer. Meanwhile, OWWA officials are also looking into the case of another Filipina domestic worker who allegedly died in a vehicular accident in Saudi Arabia. They are concerned over some inconsistencies in the records pertaining to the victim’s death.
Acting Foreign Affairs secretary Franklin Ebdalin has ordered the Philippine Embassy in Manama to extend prompt assistance to the Filipino survivors of a recent boat accident in Bahrain and the relatives of the fatalities. Three Filipinos, namely Norman Belardo, Edwin Batacan and Queenie Dunca, were among the 57 people who died; seven other Filipinos survived the tragedy. Ebdalin has also directed Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos Jr. to work closely with POEA and OWWA for any other assistance that may be extended to the victims and their families.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that it has not received any report about Filipino casualties in Iran after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit the western part of the country on 31 March. According to DFA spokesperson Gilbert Asuque, there are no Filipinos in the earthquake-hit provinces since most Filipino workers were concentrated on the industrialized areas of Iran. The tremor has killed at least 70 people and injured 1,200 others.
Adelaida Bondoc Hashizume, a Filipina married to a Japanese national, was released from the Tokyo Immigration Detention Center on 5 April, two days after Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo’s meeting with Japanese Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura. During the meeting, Romulo raised consular and immigration issues affecting many Filipinos in Japan, among them the cases of Hashizume and two other Filipinas married to Japanese nationals, Cecilia de Lima Tajihara and Teresita Torres Murai. The secretary informed Sugiura that the women were either about to file their visa applications or were awaiting the results of their applications when they were arrested. Tajihara’s case is currently under evaluation by Japanese immigration authorities while Murai has opted to return home to the Philippines.
Manila has dispatched its diplomats to Karachi to ask the Pakistani government to release and immediately send home 22 Filipino fishermen who were among the crew of a boat that strayed into Pakistan’s territorial waters. The Chinese vessel Chen Shi Sung was intercepted by Pakistani authorities on 28 March.
The People’s Republic of China has given the Philippines an Approved Destination Status, making it easier for Chinese tourists and travelers to visit the country. According to consul general Emelinda Lee-Pineda of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen, the Chinese government has vowed to promote the Philippines as a tourist destination. Moreover, Chinese tourists may soon be able to take direct flights to and from Xiamen.
Pablo Olarte, a former mayor of Agoo, La Union, was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on 12 April on charges of involvement in large-scale illegal recruitment. Olarte is the proprietor of Sabloak Philippines, a consultancy firm assisting jobseekers to meet immigration requirements for Canada. The charges against Olarte stemmed from a complaint filed by three jobseekers who claimed that they have paid the former mayor placement and seminar fees but he failed to send them abroad. Olarte said, however, that the three complainants had been unable to complete the requirements for overseas employment.
Sen. Manuel Villar is rallying his fellow senators to pass Senate Bill 639 creating the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bank. According to Villar, who is chairperson of the Senate committee on finance, since the bank would be patronized by OFWs it can corner all the business and profits that other banks and remittance centers are now enjoying. Malacañang has proposed to convert the bankrupt Philippine Postal Savings Bank into an OFW bank, to be known as the Philippine Overseas Postal Bank, a remittance center for OFWs. According to the proposal OWWA would invest one billion pesos from the OFW welfare fund to the bank. While the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to scrutinize the proposal for the new bank, OFWs have expressed concern over the use of one billion from the welfare fund to finance the government’s new project. They complained that the government has been using the welfare fund as a cash cow and have been diverting their money without due consultation.
Remittances from OFWs reached $866 million in February, posting a year-on-year growth of 11.6 percent over the same period in 2005. The total remittances for the first two months of the year reached $1.8 billion, up 12.5 percent from last year. According to the BSP, the increase in OFW remittances can be attributed largely to the expansion of the remittance network of banks that enabled them to capture clients who had previously been using informal channels to send money home to the Philippines.
Sources: Charlie Señase, “OWWA probes report of torture, death of 2 OFWs in Saudi," INQ7.net, 3 April 2006; Jonathan Vicente and William Depasupil, “Filipinos in boat accident get help," The Manila Times, 3 April 2006; Reuters, “DFA: No Filipino casualty in Iran quake," ABS-CBN News, 3 April 2006; “Manila demands Pakistan release fishermen," Daily Times, 6 April 2006; Al Jacinto, “326 Filipino illegal migrants deported from Sabah," Arab News, 11 April 2006; Julie Javellana-Santos, “Overseas Filipinos seek transparency in new bank plan," Arab News, 11 April 2006; Jerome Aning, “POEA warns vs use of tourist visas for UAE jobs," INQ7.net, 12 April 2006; Veronica Uy, “China grants approved destination status to RP," INQ7.net, 12 April 2006; Veronica Uy, “Romulo secures release of detained Filipina in Tokyo –DFA," INQ7.net, 12 April 2006; “Labor tells illegal Pinoy workers in Dubai to get permits," The Sun Star, 12 April 2006; Jun Elias, “Ex-La Union mayor held for illegal recruitment," The Philippine Star, 13 April 2006; Des Ferriols, “OFW inflows surge 11.6% to $866M in Feb," The Philippine Star, 13 April 2006; Guil Franco, “Overseas Filipinos to have their own bank," Khaleej Times, 13 April 2006; “OFW inflows grow 12.5% in February," Manila Bulletin, 13 April 2006; “Philippine FM meet in Japan results in release of OFW in detention," The Philippine Star, 13 April 2006; “BSP still to study proposed OFW bank," Manila Bulletin, 14 April 2006; “Pinoy seamen rescued as RP ship sinks in Japan," ABS-CBN News, 14 April 2006