270 OFWs sent to Japan under JPEPA

MANILA, Philippines - Filipina caregiver Grace Gabao couldn’t contain her excitement early Sunday as she was about to board an airplane bound for Japan. “Sobrang excited, mixed emotions ‘yung nararamdaman ko, siyempre marami akong mamimiss dito sa Pilipinas [I’m so excited, I’m feeling mixed emotions, but of course I’ll miss a lot of things about the Philippines]," she told GMA News. Gabao is one of the 270 Filipino candidate nurses and caregivers who left for Japan on Sunday under the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) Implementing Agreement on the Movement of Natural Persons. Under the agreement, 134 Japanese institutions and facilities hired 92 Filipino nurses and 188 caregivers. Filipina worker Joy Agustin said the program has definitely opened up great opportunities for aspiring overseas Filipino workers like her. “Maganda ‘yung suweldo actually. Yung offer nila maganda, pati benefits [The pay is good. The offer is good, even the benefits]," she said. Moreover, caregiver Carmela Tolentino said government-facilitated recruitment and deployment definitely has its perks. “Walang placement, ‘yun ang malaking advantage tapos malapit lang, Asia, culture-wise din, hindi Western [There is no placement fee, another advantage is that it’s close to the Philippines, proximity and culture-wise, it’s not Western]," said Tolentino. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the first batch of health workers will initially undergo an onsite language and culture training for six months in five designated language institutions in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Hiroshima before they can start acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills from hospitals or health care facilities in Japan. It added that the Filipino nurses were immediately deployed to Japan so that they can be prepped up to take the Kangoshi (Nursing) Licensure Examination in February 2010. Candidate caregivers, on the other hand, would still need at least three years of work experience in Japan before they can take the Kaigo-fukushishi (Caregiver) National Certification Examination – which allows passer to continue working in Japan. Caregivers such as Norma Hernandez said the stringent requirement is no problem as Filipinos have an “edge" over other nationalities in terms of providing service. “Through us, maipapakita namin sa kanila kung gaano tayo kagaling [Through us, we will be able to show them how good we are]," she said. The workers in training will receive free food and lodging. Their salary will also increase after they pass their licensure exams. Ten more workers who were exempted from the six-month Japanese language training are scheduled to depart on May 31. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV