OFWs in HK draw up ‘wish list’ for Aquino

Leaders of over a hundred overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) organizations in Hong Kong gathered on Sunday to draw up a list of their common demands for the government. The gathering, attended by 140 leaders of 121 Filipino organizations in Hong Kong, was held on the eve of President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA). Topping the list, drafted during their first ever All Presidents’ Meeting (APM), were appeals to lower the recently hiked passport fees and the scrapping of government charges and agency fees for overseas-bound workers. “We urge [Aquino] to take heed of the demands of OFWs that we have long called for but were denied us. There is no better time than now for PNoy to make true his promises of change to the people. Mr. President, do not disappoint us," said Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, chairperson of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK) that spearheaded the event. Other demands that the participants agreed to advance included the following:

• scrapping fee requirements for getting an overseas employment certificate;
• enhancement of government services for OFWs such as providing onsite medical and legal assistance, and free hospitalization for OFWs;
• scrapping of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Guidelines on Hiring of Filipino Household Service Workers and the training scheme for OFWs, which they said results in overcharging of migrant workers;
• providing for an OFW Card with benefits similar to those being enjoyed by senior citizens

The participants further came up with demands that they said should be implemented in the Philippines, such as price control for basic commodities, lowering of tuition and other school fees, national industrialization to generate local jobs, and a genuine agrarian reform program. The participants emphasized the “urgency" of their demands, saying that Aquino’s promise of cleaning up the mess left by the past administration also meant “cleaning up" the messy condition of OFWs. “Each day that these concerns are not addressed, more and more OFWs will be overcharged, neglected, and our rights violated. While these issues remain unaddressed, we OFWs will always be victimized," the groups’ collective letter read. The letter likewise welcomed Aquino’s declaration during his inauguration that the people are his “boss," adding that OFWs were treated as “milking cows and commodities for sale" during the Arroyo administration. Balladares-Pelaez said they would send the letter to Aquino, and vowed to closely watch how the Aquino administration will respond to their calls. “Some of these issues can already be solved by a mere stroke of Pnoy’s pen. We urge Pnoy to do so as soon as possible for as long as these rules are in place, OFWs shall always be burdened with more fees and lack of services," she said. She added that the APM was the first of the activities that UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK is set to do to push for the immediate resolution of OFW concerns. - KBK, GMANews.TV