PHL, US envoys discuss Pinoy teachers' plight in Maryland

Philippine officials sought the help of their United States counterparts in resolving the plight of Filipino teachers facing deportation in Maryland. Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. took up the matter with US Ambassador to Manila Harry Thomas Jr. while Thomas was in Washington D.C. last weekend. "Cuisia solicited the assistance of Thomas with regards to the plight of the Filipino teachers in Prince Georges County and Baltimore, as well as on concerns regarding the issuance of visas to Filipino physical therapists," the Philippine embassy in Washington said in a news release. Both envoys also discussed several bilateral issues, including the areas of security cooperation, agriculture and trade, the embassy said. With Thomas in his visit to the embassy was Alistair Baskey, the State Department’s new Desk Officer for the Philippines. Earlier this month, Filipino teachers picketed the White House over what they called the injustice from the US Department of Labor and the Prince George's County Public Schools. The picketers were among more than 1,000 Filipino teachers in Prince George’s County, Maryland being forced to return to the Philippines or face deportation. Some 1,044 teachers had been recruited from the Philippines by the Prince George’s County Public School district in Maryland. However, it allegedly illegally deducted H1-B fees from the teacher’s wages, which a US-DOL investigation determined amounted to back pay of about $4,000 each. Yet, it was the teachers who were punished, as the DOL ordered Prince George County Public Schools to pay the back wages - and barred them from participation in the H1-B program for two years. Now, some 957 Filipino teachers whose visas are set to expire stand to lose their jobs and will be forced to leave the US, or risk being undocumented immigrants. The Asian Journal report said many of these teachers were in the process of filing for green cards, had purchased property in the US, and planned to build a future there. Last weekend, the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. said it is helping the teachers. It said its officials attended another meeting with representatives of Filipino teachers in Prince George’s County last August 8 to find a solution. — KBK, GMA News