Final Statement of the Symposium on Filipino Migrant Workers in Asia
11-18 September 1993, Hong Kong

I. Introduction

1. International migration has reached unprecedented dimensions in today's global economy. It is a growing phenomenon within Asia whereby the Philippines is one of the major countries of origin for these migrants in Asia. They are temporary workers, with either fixed term contracts or are undocumented workers, the majority of whom are women. As delegates of the Episcopal Conferences and Commissions of the Church in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, we gathered in Hong Kong to share our experiences with each other and with the Filipino migrants.

2. A deeper understanding of the reality of migration and the impact on the lives of our people prompted us to discern in the light of the Gospel and the Social Teaching of the Church, the challenges for the Church in Asia. Our renewed commitment to be in solidarity with the cries of our less privileged brothers and sisters, has brought us together to discover new ways of being at their service. Our recognition of the need to put on the "mind and heart of Jesus" continuously challenges us to become guardians of justice, development and freedom and ensure that we can work together for a more human life for individuals, families and for society as a whole.

3. In our search and journey together with the Migrant Workers, we see the need to "serve the Asian peoples in the quest for God and for a better human life" (FABC V, Bandung, Indonesia). This calls for a commitment on our part to the perspective of the Gospel and the Social Doctrine of the Church, articulated in the Final Statement of the Colloquium on the Social Doctrine of the Church in the Context of Asia (January 1992, Thailand) thus:

We Denounce:

• The economic system, which through its primacy of money and market, constitutes a violent aggression on the rights of the Asian poor to live with human dignity as sons and daughters of God;

• The political systems and powers, which for vested interests compromise the life and freedom of the Asian poor to grow into full human persons;

• The consumerist and materialist culture that gives primacy to anti-Gospel values and looks at persons and the environment as objects of consumption or as mere commodities, thus depersonalizing people and destroying human life and life-support systems;

• The violation of human rights not only of individuals but also of communities in the name of law and development, of religion and race.

We See the Need:

• To keep questioning the model of development that pervades the world and has been imposed on our Asian societies, with its damaging effects on our values, traditions and ways of life;

• To see the unity of human beings with the whole of created reality, the presence of it in God, and the responsibility of human beings to respect, revere and care for the earth;

• To be in touch with our cultural heritage to discover therein values that are truly human and can serve as the basis for alternative models of authentic development.

• To adhere to Gospel values as the final norm of judging all development models.

4. We, as Church, in our efforts to be totally immersed in the struggles and lives of our people, need to become more aware of the underlying values behind the different models of socio-economic development. Our reflection on the Gospel and the Social Teaching of the Church has challenged us to take a closer look at both the "sorrows and fears" and the "joys and hopes." It is fairly obvious that besides the economic benefits for the people, there are other religious and cultural implications, which will have to be taken into consideration, in order to have a more holistic understanding of migration of people. Migration has both positive and negative effects on the country of origin as well as the receiving country. We realize that we need to bring more humanizing dimensions to the human person, to restore dignity to the value of family and marriage. This calls for a more "God-centered" perspective of the issues related to migration.

II. Overview of the Reality of Migration

5. Since the establishment of the Philippines Labor Program in 1974, as a consequence of the economic crisis determined by international events, millions of Filipinos have sought jobs abroad. The majority worked in the Middle East, as construction or maintenance workers. West Asia remains the region of employment for over 60 percent of Filipino migrants occupied mostly in the maintenance sector, the health industry and domestic services. In recent years, however, an increasing number of Filipinos are working in countries of East and Southeast Asia, particularly as domestic workers in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, factory workers in South Korea and Taiwan, and performers in the entertainment industry of Japan. There are also thousands of undocumented workers in all these countries.

6. The explosion of Filipino "forced" migration results from a world economic system, which through the primacy of money and market constitutes a violent aggression on the rights of the Filipino poor to live with human dignity, as sons and daughters of God in their own countries. Some of the countries in East Asia have rapidly reached industrialization and full employment, and are now experiencing labor shortages in some sectors of the economy. In the Philippines the economic stagnation and the high level of population growth have contributed to unemployment. The wage differential with East Asian societies constitutes an irresistible magnet for workers seeking better employment or a way out of a hopeless future.

7. The demand for workers, particularly in the small industries of Asian countries, is not reflected in the migration policies, which remain mostly closed to unskilled labor. At the same time, a large recruiting industry has flourished in the Philippines, as well as in the receiving countries, contributing to inflating the dreams of overseas work. The services provided by the recruiters and brokers have increased migration costs to the point that for many workers migration begins with a debt. The possibilities in Asian economies, the restrictive migration policies, the illegal practices of unscrupulous recruiters and the migration mentality in the Philippines collude to generate irregular migration.

8. The receiving countries benefit most from the productivity of migrant workers. However, the restriction of workers to limited contracts, explained as necessary for economic reasons but based on cultural grounds, reduces the worker to an economic factor. The benefits of migration for the Philippines remain questionable. While it helped the economy remain afloat, it did not initiate sustainable development. The assessment of the long term impact on the values and culture of Filipino society requires additional probing. However, the adoption of a consumerist mentality, the emphasis on individualistic values and the weakening of the family foundations express the reciprocal influence of migration and culture in Filipino society. In addition, the loss of educated and skilled citizens to other economies has deprived the Philippines of qualified participants in the development process.

9. The hard work and sacrifices of Filipino overseas workers have enabled them to bring improvements to the quality of life and their family and a better education to their children. At the same time, however, the migratory experience of the Filipinos in Asia remains marred by hardships generated by abuse and irregularities. Working contracts are breached or substituted with less favorable ones upon arrival; wages are retained or unpaid; working time extends longer than reasonable hours; the rate of accidents is high; and participation in unions is discouraged or forbidden. Misunderstanding created by different cultures and traditions contribute to a negative portrayal of Filipinos in the media; they are easily made the scapegoats of problems in the local society and the targets for anti-crime raids.

10. The situation of Filipino women in migration is even more vulnerable. Employed in large number in the domestic and entertainment sectors they are frequently submitted to humiliation, harassment and sexual abuse. Subject to pregnancy controls and barred from marrying citizens of some countries, they suffer serious offense of their human rights.

11. Filipino seafarers and fishworkers, who constitute the single largest national group in the sector, are in particular the target of illegal recruitment and face physical and verbal abuse on board. Compensation for disabilities is seldom available to them and in some cases labor disputes result in loss of life.

12. Often motivated by the needs of the family, migration has serious impact on the family of the Filipino migrant. Family reunification is not available in Asia. The spouse left behind, especially when it is the father, is often unable to take on formation and educational responsibilities towards their children. This is sometimes transferred to the extended family and often results in new problems. The anomaly created by migration is particularly significant because in many cases the mother is the absent parent. Sometimes migration constitutes the occasion for the woman to achieve liberation from impositions of social traditions and acquire new awareness of her identity. Other times migration becomes an occasion for marital infidelity and formation of irregular families. Unrecognized children of migrants are the innocent victims of loneliness and infidelity.

13. Returning migrants experience difficulties in their reintegration process. Employment possibilities are not any better than when they migrated and savings are not sufficient for new enterprises. While some Filipinos, demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit, for others the benefit of migration were shortly outlived, sometimes forcing the worker to return to a job overseas, indicating that migration should be planned to ensure lasting sustenance, rather than immediate improvements.

14. We also noticed the many signs of hope, that serve to reassure us that the Lord is still fully alive among his People:

• Migration is part of the historical experience and a reality of the Church and can be seen as a sign of development and growth of the Church today.

• As a movement of people, it suggests the universality of the Church itself where nationhood and national boundaries become arbitrary. There must be a growing consciousness that the world belongs to everyone and the right to migrate belongs to all.

• Migration is also a sign of growing interdependence among nations, and can be the basis for a new world order, based on the principles of justice and equality. This can only be the result of a greater respect for the human person, and the rights of nations.

15. Other concerns that emerged as a result of a more sensitive listening to the "cries of anguish" of the many thousands of migrant workers, especially the Filipino Migrant Workers scattered all over Asia, include the following:

• The migrant workers and human labor cannot be reduced to mere marketable commodities. Economic reasons cannot become the sole reason for the promotion of contract migration.

• We need to acknowledge the fact that certain aspects of contract migration which are criminal and evil should be eliminated. Without the recognition that certain inherent injustices exist in the recruitment processes and contract formulation, the workers themselves will continue to suffer personally, at the level of the family and the society as a whole.

• We recognize that the right to have a job in one's own country (of origin) is a basic right, and comes before the right to migrate.

• The increasing number of women migrant workers has far-reaching implications and effects on family life. As more women in the host country are allowed to join the workforce, the homemakers' role and child-rearing responsibilities are left to women migrant workers. The women migrant workers in turn relinquish their own countries. The effects on the family, especially on the children raised under such circumstances are only now beginning to surface in the increasing incidence of broken marriage, juvenile delinquency, marital infidelity, to name a few.

16. In summary we can say that:

• It is the right of every person and each country to make choices in deciding to migrate, in order to improve one's quality of life.

• That migration should not result in the loss of human dignity, subjecting people to inhuman working and living conditions.

• Migration should not be forced and that respect for human dignity and human rights must be given serious attention. Family life and marriage should be considered sacred and not made secondary to an economic and political agenda.

• There is a great need to create more awareness of the extent to which migration, espcially in the Philippines, has to be more critically understood and appropriate policies drawn up by all in the Church.

• We are confronted by a deepening dependency on forced migration to solve the problems of an ever more stagnating economy. We urge both Church of Origin and Receiving Church to study and to tackle in a prophetic way the root causes of migration. This includes issues related to poverty, international debt, lack of development, corruption and unjust economic structures within the country of origin and in its relations with its neighbors.

III. Pastoral Vision and Implications for the Church in Asia

17. In our attempts to formulate a Vision for the Church in Asia with reference to the reality of the lives of Overseas' Contract Workers and the implications for themselves and their families, it seems central that we identify the emerging consciousness of the Vision, as articulated by the Federation of Asian Bishop's Conference.

"We recall again the words of Pope Paul VI spoken in Manila. 'Asia is a continent, the past history of whose people manifests the sense of spiritual values dominating the thoughts of their sages and the lives of their vast multitudes.' Manifest, too, have been the discipline of ascetics, a deep and innate religious sense, filial piety and attachment to the family, the primary of the spirit, an unrelenting search for God and hunger for the supernatural.

"And yet the present troubled moment of history of our peoples, already referred to with some anxiety by our First Plenary Assembly, threaten precisely those meanings and values which form our spiritual heritage. The modern world, despite its undeniably great achievements, brings about the gradual disintegration of our traditional societies and the effects on people's lives which follow on it. The loss of a sense of belonging in community, depersonalized relationships, disorientation and loneliness, — these have become part of the lives of so many of our people. With its accompanying secularization, too, with its worship of technology, narrow materialism and secularism, its fever for consumerism, its ideological pluralism — realized in diverse ways in different societies -- our age quite swiftly erodes religious values and often suffocates the aspirations of the human spirit, especially among the young. The generations growing up in our time tend to lose the sense of God, the sense of His presence in the world, of His providence over their lives. Believers of all religions, including Christians, are not immune from these influences. They, too, are tempted to give up prayer and things of the spirit." (No. 7-8 FABC Second Plenary Assembly 1978)

The Role of the Receiving Church

18. It is this understanding of the reality of Migrant Workers in Asia and the impact on their lives that prompts us to be committed to be at their service. We see the urgent need to become a welcoming and caring Receiving Church. Migrants should be able to relate, participate and integrate themselves with the local Church in their various activities, and at the same time be able to share their faith and cultural heritage with the local Church and people.

19. We see the need to accompany the Migrant as a Human Person, following the example of Christ himself. This journeying of the Church together with the Migrant Worker is the sign of solidarity within the universal Church and a sharing in the common evangelizing mission entrusted to all the followers of Christ. Growing in faith as a local Church, made up of people of different nationalities is the new sign of unity, so that we can truly witness to the call of Jesus, "Father, may they all be one, so that you and I are one." This shared missionary thrust is thus truly a journeying of peoples.

20. The Receiving Church, besides promoting unity, has also to recognize the need for diversity of expressions. It is a spirit of mutual acceptance that will serve as the starting point for greater mutual enrichment, through a process of inculturation.

21. It is essential that the Receiving Church, with greater compassion and solidarity, discern continuously the numerous needs of the migrant workers. This can be realized only through a new consciousness that the foreign migrant workers are not "strangers in their land" but full members of the local Church.

22. With the increasing situations of dehumanization among migrant workers, it is time for the Church to formulate more creative initiatives to respond to their plight. This calls for a constant journeying during this painful and difficult time in their lives. The sacramental and spiritual services of the Receiving Church will be a source of great strength in overcoming their numerous trials and difficulties. It is also necessary that the special needs of the migrants become the concern of the total Church and that appropriate services and programs for their integral human development be set up.

23. The protection of the rights of these migrant workers has also to be the responsibility of the local community and can be the catalysts for the protection of and promotion of their dignity. It is also the responsibility of the local community and can be the catalyst for the protection of and promotion of their dignity. It is also the responsibility of the Receiving Church to work closely with the local Government to make services available to the migrants who are a very important part of the labor force and contribute to the economy and society.

24. The migrant is thus another link between the Receiving Church and the Church of Origin. An on-going sharing of experiences will lead to mutual enrichment.

25. It is also necessary to invite migrants to strengthen the faith of their fellow migrants through their proclamation and witness of life in the living out of the Gospel and its values. The gathering of small communities of migrant workers can be a place for deepening their faith, through prayer, worship, and the word of God. Their fellowship and mutual care in times of difficulty is one of the stages in becoming a new Way of Being Church.

The Role of the Church of Origin

26. In its letter "The Church on the Move," The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People says, "A similar inclination leads her today to leaven the reality of immigration with the Gospel and if possible, to make it a means for fulfilling her mission."

27. If the migrant worker is to become truly evangelizing, it is crucial that one be first evangelized through proper faith formation, through worship and participation in the sacraments. This has to be strengthened in the Church of Origin.

28. Integral Evangelization requires that we become witness in our lives to the values and norms of the Gospel based on our baptismal consecration. We have many examples of Christian witnessing done by our Filipino migrants. On the other hand, without the proper integral faith formation, especially when migrants are motivated solely by economic reasons, they very often become counter witnesses to the Gospel in the countries to which they are sent. This is a serious source of concern expressed by many from the receiving countries. In the context of Asian countries where the majority of the population are non-Christians, the Church has to be aware of this very grave concern. The ability of the Receiving Church to be pastorally concerned is limited, when the majority of the migrant workers do not even attend Church services or are unwilling to be in touch with the local Church. This attitude has very often resulted in involvement in drugs and vice. There is the need to inculcate the consciousness that it is the urgent responsibility of the Church of Origin that Integral Evangelization is possible only when the migrants themselves have been evangelized. Missionaries cannot preach the Gospel without the proper internalization of the faith.

29. It is thus the responsibility of the Church of Origin to not only prepare the Migrants but also to ensure that proper legislation has been set up to protect the dignity and rights of all. Both the Church of Origin and the Receiving Church need to make a clear statement about policy matters, so that the migrant workers, the Government officials and all concerned will be guided by the moral dictates of the Gospel and based on the social teaching of the Church on labor. This will ensure that justice is given to all. Injustices and inhuman policies towards the migrant workers will have to be denounced by the Church. We should be able to reach out to civil officials to make these officials aware of the needs and aspirations of the workers. We need to take an active role in the protection of the migrant workers' rights and be "defenders of the oppressed" (the migrant workers) and must be ready to face the consequences to achieve our goals.

Other Pastoral Concerns

30. There is also the need for greater on-going dialogue between the Church of Origin and the Receiving Church. The many cries of anguish of the pastoral workers, who are daily confronted with very serious problems related to marital infidelity and children born outside wedlock, are concerns that need to be urgently brought to the attention of the Church of Origin. The preparation of pastoral workers who can be at the greater service of the migrant workers is needed, to be done in collaboration with the Receiving Church.

31. Pastoral care cannot be restricted to only the administration of the sacraments but also in ensuring that attempts have to be made to understanding the causes behind the numerous dehumanizing concerns related to migration and migrant workers. Pastoral care begins with Christ and the pastors and pastoral workers as cooperators. It is essential that we have a deeper understanding and greater involvement in the lives of other people.

32. There is a very urgent need to take seriously the implications of migration on marriage and family life. The social, spiritual and moral implications need urgent assessment by all. Husbands separated from wives, and children from parents are direct consequences of contract labor migration, showing signs of breakdown of both marriages and families. The most important basic unit in the Philippines both for the Church and society, namely the family is being endangered by contract migration. This has to become a pastoral priority of all in the Church.

IV. Conclusion

33. In the light of the above challenges posed by migration and its impact on the workers, the Symposium has recommended that a series of programs and plans of action be implemented for the OHD-FABC, the National Episcopal Commission and at the diocesan and parish levels.

34. We, the participants from both the Church of Origin and the Receiving Church, see the need to work more closely with each other in creating greater awareness, so that we can be at the service of the migrant workers. The above reflections that we have made will serve as our basic orientation, in the formulation of new initiatives bearing in mind the uniqueness and diversity of each of our countries.

35. It is our firm belief that this journey of faith, through a process of dialogue and discernment that the participants have experienced, calls for a commitment on our part. This is best expressed in the words of the Fifth Plenary Assembly of the FABC No. 9.1.

"At the center of this new way of being Church is the action of the Spirit of Jesus guiding and directing individual believers as well as the whole community to live a life that is Spirit-filled -- that is, to live an authentic spirituality. It is nothing more and nothing less that a following of Jesus-in-mission, an authentic discipleship in the context of Asia."

This for us means pastoral care of migrants and to be co-workers with them, in order to bring more humanizing dimensions to every facet of life today, so that all can live with dignity as persons, experience freedom as a community and work together for the common good of the whole of humanity. This calls for a prophetic discipleship and integral evangelization in the context of Asia today. Our pastoral program of action has to reflect this integral dimension of service, development and justice and this means integral evangelization.