PSAP-PAROLA.ORG | Philippine Seafarers Assistance Programme

STRENGTHENING THE REINTEGRATION OF
OFWs IN PHILIPPINE SOCIETY

A Preliminary Report on
The OFWs’ World Conference 2004
16-18 December 2004
Manila, Philippines

by

Atty. Joseph Sedfrey S. Santiago, LL.M.
(Consultant and Adviser, PSAP-PAROLA)

Introduction

The OFW’s World Conference 2004 was held at the Bayview Park Hotel in Manila from 16-18 December 2004. The Conference was convened by the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW). It adopted the theme “Shaping the Future of Filipino Labour Migration”.

The objectives of the Conference were laid out as follows:

1. To provide a venue to discuss and analyze issues and concerns that impact on OFWs and their families;
2. To provide a venue for migrant NGOs, international organizations, and government organizations to present their programs and services, in order to assess their impact and responsiveness to the OFWs and their families;
3. To provide an avenue to initiate and sustain networking and solidarity between and among OFWs and with other stakeholders;
4. To provide a forum for a pro-active exchange of information among various stakeholders and to define and forge transnational cooperation and other exchanges; and
5. To elaborate a plan of action to be presented to the Philippine Government for implementation towards shaping the future of Filipino labor migration.

At the end of the Conference, the participants proceeded to Malacanang Palace to meet with, present a statement to, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Philippines. The Statement was a brief summation of the findings of the Conference. (See www.pmrw.org for updates)

The conclusions and recommendations of the Conference came out particularly from the Workshops that were held during the Conference. There were 12 Workshops, indicating the comprehensive scope of the subjects covered by the Conference. These Workshops were:

Workshop

1. Migrants rights defense and education
2. Philippine governmental organizations’ commitments for the OFWs’ welfare
3. Gender dimensions of Philippine labor migration
4. Unauthorized migration and trafficking
5. Emerging trends of Labour Migration in the global market
6. Migration and integration policies of the receiving countries
7. OFWs and overseas Filipinos as political actors (Absentee Voting Law)
8. Dual citizenship
9. Reintegration programs
10. Transnational linkages: good practices and solidarity projects
11. Filipino migrants and transnationals as culture bearers
12. Social costs of migration

PSAP/PAROLA participated in Workshop no. 9, on reintegration.

Reintegration of OFWs: Issues and Prospects

Spirited discussion enlivened Workshop No. 9 of the World Conference of OFWs 2004. Specific bone of contention in the workshop on reintegration was the proposal to push for the enactment of a law on mandatory savings scheme for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The workshop followed presentation during the plenary session by Fr. Edwin Corros of ECMI (Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People) on “Reintegration Programs in the Philippines”, presented on the second day of the Conference. The other plenary/morning session presentation on that day was by Dr. Maruja Asis, who dealt with OFW childrens’ views that broke stereotypes of negative yet empirically-unverified perceptions on migration.

In his talk, Fr. Corros acknowledged that there were existing governmental and non-government programs on OFW reintegration, but a number of them have not been successful. Even the program of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), the government agency specifically mandated by law to carry out Filipino migrant workers’ reintegration into society, is merely a program on paper, according to the good priest. Although not mentioned in his presentation, it seems pertinent to mention that the Philippine Seafarers Assistance Program earlier funded a paper by this author which, among others, identified different entrepreneuriship programs for migrant workers, whether they are OFW-focused or not, and which paper was presented in the June 2004 International Conference on Philippine Studies (ICOPHIL) in Leiden.

In any case, the importance of having successful reintegration programs was stressed as a good number of OFW-created businesses fail for a number of reasons. There is a need, Fr. Corros continued, to study the reasons why some reintegration programs have not been successful as they implicate individual initiatives. For one, many OFWs lack sufficient training and preparation in the operation of a business. Another reason is the high interest rate imposed on bank loans to finance start-ups. ECMI’s long-term approach, according to Fr. Corros, is focused on family unification and renewal of familial relationships, and the reorientation of the worker with the local milieu. He further pointed out that there was a need for a more durable approach to break the vicious cycle of labor migration. The government was not freed from its responsibilities, however, just because of its failed programs on reintegration, since in the ECMI’s experience, some of its programs which are essentially parish-based, have met with success due to the cooperation extended by local government; for instance, the City Council Committee on Migrants in Caloocan City.

In the afternoon Workshop, participants had one main task - to formulate recommendations addressed to three sectors: the government, migrant workers, and civil society. The premise of this objective is that reintegration is both an individual issue and a national one that affects nation-building. OFW participants themselves need to realize the importance of saving up. And families of migrant workers also need to be made aware not to be heavily dependent on remittances as there are other possible sources of income, such as their own businesses. Values formation is, therefore, an integral element of any viable and sustainable reintegration program.

To hasten the process, one OFW participant brought up the possibility of a mandatory savings law that will require workers to put their money in an investments fund that will not be handled by the government. An analogy pointed to is the twenty-five US dollar (US $ 25) fee imposed by OWWA on OFWs, and which amount has not met resistance from outgoing workers. This proposal met a strong reaction from some participants who pointed out the proposal’s human rights implications, and reminded all others that the conference was being undertaken from a human rights perspective. In the end, there was a consensus on the need to consult OFWs regarding the proposal. With or without such law and consultation, one measure agreed upon is to call on migrant workers to start savings programs, on an individual or group basis.

On the other hand, civil society, referring mainly to NGOs doing advocacy work for OFW rights, have a role to play and stake in the effort to ensure workers’ reintegration, that should focus not only on the economic aspects, but also on health. OFWs who contract HIV/AIDS are in a less favorable position than returning workers who can not find economic opportunities as some who originally come from the provinces no longer have a community to go back to, especially since most HIV-related services are provided only in Metro Manila. Insofar as entrepreneurial initiatives are concerned, one concrete proposal was to set up a virtual information center where verified investment opportunities (as well as available psycho-social services) are to be posted. Individual efforts were also volunteered to study pending bills on OFWs, specifically on business incentives.

For the government, one significant recommendation was to push for the grant of fiscal incentives to OFW-owned businesses similar to those extended to enterprises set up by foreign investors, whether inside or outside of economic processing zones. A former OFW-turned-businessman deemed this difference in treatment as unfair since foreign investors bring only thirty percent (30 %) of their equity and source the rest of their capitalization within the Philippines and yet are allowed to bring profits freely out of the country. OFWs, however, generate one hundred percent (100 %) of their equity, and yet are not given similar fiscal incentives. And there is no one-stop shop, according to the same participant, to assist OFW entrepreneurs deal with bureaucratic red-tape and corruption.

This was seconded by an OFW participant from Saudi Arabia who lamented the non-existence of a government reintegration program in their area. In fact, according to one OFW advocate involved in a reintegration program based in Laguna, OWWA is the wrong government agency to handle reintegration matters; and that this should be undertaken instead by local government units like provinces and cities, with the support of universities. Similarly, it was pointed out that dole-out programs disguised as reintegration through entrepreneurship and skills-building programs will not succeed. And there was a loud thought that if the OWWA is unable to get out of this mentality, then it’s high time that OWWA should stop collecting US $ 25 fees and be transformed instead to a full-time OFW welfare agency. In defense of the OWWA, one nun stood up to say that her experience with the OWWA has not been negative as pictured by some of the participants; that in fact her parish in Alaminos, Pangasinan has benefited from the OWWA’s assistance, although it was clarified that she was referring specifically to the OWWA regional office in Northern Luzon.

In the end, the reintegration workshop provided its own set of recommendations just like the other workshops during the second day of the Conference.

The Conference’s full report and proceedings in CD will come out soon and is something that everyone should look forward to.

Manila 2004 OFW’s World Conference on Strengthening the Reintegration of OFW’s in Philippine Society - in PDF Format (71 KB)

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