Mula sa email box ibinabahagi sa lahat:
Subject: SHARE KO LANG PO PARA SA MGA OFW
Message:
Sa may asawa, kapatid, anak, kaibigan, at kamag-anak na OFW.
At lalo na sa mga gustong mangibang-bansa. ..
Nais ko rin ibahagi sa inyo, ang natanggap kong email na ito.
Maaaring makatulong ito upang lalong maintindihan ng bawa't isa ang
tunay na ibig sabihin ng pagiging isang OFW. Tiyak na may mapupulot
tayong aral dito.
Hindi mayaman ang OFW - We have this notion na 'pag OFW o nasa abroad ay
mayaman na. Hindi totoo yun. A regular OFW might earn from P20K-P300K
per month depende sa lokasyon. Yung mga taga-Saudi or US siguro ay mas
malaki ang sweldo, but to say that they're rich is a fallacy (amen!).
Malaki ang pangangailangan kaya karamihan ay nag-a-abroad. Maraming
bunganga ang kailangang pakainin kaya umaalis ang mga pipol sa
Philippines . Madalas, 3/4 o kalahati ng sweldo ay napupunta sa tuition
ng anak at gastusin ng pamilya.
Mahirap maging OFW - Kailangan magtipid hangga't kaya. Oo, masarap ang
pagkain sa abroad pero madalas na paksiw o adobo at itlog lang tinitira
para makaipon. Pagdating ng kinsenas o katapusan, ang unang tinitingnan
eh ang conversion ng peso sa dollar o rial o euro. Mas okay na magtiis
sa konti kaysa gutumin ang pamilya. Kapag umuuwi, kailangan may baon
kahit konti kasi maraming kamag-anak ang sumusundo sa airport o
naghihintay sa probinsya. Alam mo naman 'pag Pinoy, yung tsismis na OFW
ka eh surely attracts a lot of kin.
Kapag hindi mo nabigyan ng pasalubong eh magtatampo na yun at sisiraan
ka na. Well, hindi naman lahat pero I'm sure sa mga OFW dito eh may mga
pangyayaring ganun. Magtatrabaho ka sa bansang iba ang tingin sa mga
Pinoy. Malamang marami ang naka-experience ng gulang o discrimination to
their various workplaces. Sige lang, tiis lang, iniiyak na lang kasi
kawawa naman pamilya 'pag umuwi.
Besides, wala ka naman talagang maasahang trabaho sa Philippines ngayon.
Mahal ang bigas, ang gatas, ang sardinas, ang upa sa apartment. Tiis
lang kahit maraming kupal sa trabaho, kahit may sakit at walang
nag-aalaga, kahit hindi masarap ang tsibog, kahit pangit ang working
conditions, kahit delikado, kahit mahirap. Kapag nakapadala ka na, okay
na, tawag lang, "hello! kumusta na kayo?".
Hindi bato ang OFW - Tao rin ang OFW, hindi money o cash machine.
Napapagod rin, nalulungkot (madalas), nagkakasakit, nag-iisip at
nagugutom. Kailangan din ang suporta, kundi man physically, emotionally
o spiritually man lang.
Tumatanda rin ang OFW - Sa mga nakausap at nakita ko, marami ang panot
at kalbo na. Most of them have signs and symptoms of hypertension,
coronary artery disease and arthritis.. Yet, they continue to work
thinking about the family they left behind. Marami ang nasa abroad,
20-30 years na, pero wala pa ring ipon. Kahit anong pakahirap, sablay pa
rin. Masakit pa kung olats rin ang sinusuportahang pamilya - ang anak
adik o nabuntis; ang asawa may kabit. Naalala ko tuloy ang sikat na
kanta dati, "NAPAKASAKIT KUYA EDDIE!"
Bayani ang OFW - Totoo yun! Ngayon ko lang na na-realize na bayani ang
OFW sa maraming bagay. Hindi bayani na tulad ni Nora Aunor o Flor
Contemplacion . Bayani in the truest sense of the word. Hindi katulad ni
Rizal o Bonifacio. Mas higit pa dun, mas maraming giyera at gulo ang
pinapasok ng OFW para lang mabuhay. Mas maraming pulitika ang kailangang
suungin para lang tumagal sa trabaho lalo na't kupal ang mga kasama sa
trabaho. Mas mahaba ang pasensya kaysa sa mga ordinaryong kongresista o
senador sa Philippines dahil sa takot na mawalan ng sweldo.
Matindi ang OFW - Matindi ang pinoy. Matindi pa sa daga, o cockroaches
which survived the cataclysmic evolution. Maraming sakripisyo pero
walang makitang tangible solutions or consequences.
Malas ng OFW, swerte ng pulitiko - Hindi umuupo ang OFW para magbigay ng
autograph o interbyuhin ng media (unless nakidnap!). Madalas nasa
sidelines lang ang OFW. Kapag umaalis, malungkot and on the verge of
tears. Kapag dumadating, swerte 'pag may sundo( madalas meron). Kapag
naubos na ang ipon, wala ng kamag-anak.
Sana sikat ang OFW para may boses sa Kamara. Ang swerte ng mga politiko
nakaupo sila at ginagastusan ng pera ng Filipino. Hindi nga sila
naiinitan o napapaso ng langis, o napagagalitan ng amo, o kumakain ng
paksiw para makatipid, o nakatira sa compound with conditions less than
favorable, o nakikisama sa ibang lahi para mabuhay. Ang swerte, sobrang
swerte nila.
Matatag ang OFW - Matatag ang OFW, mas matatag pa sa sundalo o kung ano
pang grupo na alam nyo. Magaling sa reverse psychology, negotiations at
counter-attacks. Tatagal ba ang OFW? Tatagal pa kasi hindi pa natin alam
kailan magbabago ang Philippines , kailan nga kaya? o may tsansa pa ba?
Masarap isipin na kasama mo ang pamilya mo araw-araw. Nakikita mo mga
anak mong lumalaki at naaalagaan ng maayos. Masarap kumain ng sitaw, ng
bagoong, lechon, inihaw na isda, taba ng talangka. Masarap manood ng
pelikulang Pinoy, luma man o bago. Iba pa rin ang pakiramdam kung kilala
mo ang kapitbahay mo. Iba pa rin sa Philippines , iba pa rin kapag Pinoy
ang kasama mo (except 'pag kupal at utak-talangka) , iba pa rin 'pag
nagkukwento ka at naiintindihan ng iba ang sinasabi mo. Iba pa rin ang
tunog ng "mahal kita!", "day, ginahigugma tika." "Mingaw na ko nimo ba,
kalagot!", " Inday, diin ka na subong haw? ganahan guid ko simo ba". Iba
pa rin talaga.
Sige lang, tiis lang, saan ba't darating din ang pag-asa.
Kung OFW ka at binabasa mo ito, mabuhay ka dahil ikaw ang tunay na BAYA NI ng lahing PILIPINO!!!
MANILA, Philippines - Despite being frequently cited as a model for migration policies, the Philippine government is making its people pay for its policy of sending more and more Filipino workers abroad in order to keep the economy afloat, a civil society group said.
“Filipino society is paying a steep price for the massive exodus of its members," said Fr. Fabio Baggio of the Scalabrini Migration Center in his paper presented during the recently concluded Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) at the Philippine International Cultural Center in Manila.
Titled “Enhancing Benefits and Reducing Costs," the paper said that brain drain or the transfer of knowledge, technology and resources may cause salutary effects on the growth of countries like the Philippines.
“The Philippines appeared to have produced little effort in this important area," he said.
Thus, he said that the Philippine government’s enthusiasm for the increased deployment of more highly skilled and professional migrants should be reviewed in the light of the political consequences of the brain drain and “professional exodus."
Moreover, he said the Philippine government’s reliance on migrants’ remittances has progressively taken the appearance of a real economic dependence.
He also said that the economic benefits driven by Filipino migrants’ remittances cannot be denied both at the macro and micro levels.
“At the macroeconomic level, for the last years the surge in remittances has been boosting the Philippine peso, easing the foreign debt burden and taming national inflation," he said.
In 2007, OFWs remitted about US$14.4 billion or more than P215 billion through legal channels, constituting 9.2 percent of the total Gross National Product (GNP).
“Nevertheless, while the substantial role remittances play in increasing the Philippines’ GNP should be recognized, little empirical evidence has been produced on how migrants’ money transfers have significantly improved the domestic economy," he said.
On the other hand, he said the families of Filipino migrants appear to benefit from foreign remittances on the microeconomic level.
Economic disparity
However, he also said that while the bulk of migrant remittances appear to produce positive effects at the national and the family level, the results at the local community level are not well-established.
Baggio said he believes that overseas remittances are likely to contribute to “a widening of the economic disparities across regions."
While remittances serve to enhance family incomes, the extent to which they represent a “net increase" has not been clearly assessed.
He said that empirical data show that families of migrants tend to rely on remittances alone, reducing progressively their work effort.
“The extended separation of family members (also) affects marital and parental relationships and constitutes a threat to the stability of the family unit," he said.
The Commission for Filipinos Overseas estimated that 8,726,520 Filipino nationals were living overseas as of December 2007.
According to data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), 1,073,402 Filipinos migrated abroad as regular migrant workers in 2007, a slight increase from the 1,062,567 deployed in 2006.
With these figures, the Philippines is among the countries with the biggest number of migrants, the others being India, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Jordan and Sri Lanka.
In 2005, migrants around the world was estimated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) at 191 million, of which about 40 million were “illegals.".
A continuing global reliance on worker deployment
In the 2nd GFMD, delegates from about 163 countries, including 18 foreign officials of ministerial level, discussed ways of “protecting and empowering migrants for development."
Next year’s GFMD will be held in Greece, with the integration of migration policies in development plans as the central theme.
Greek Deputy Minister of Interior Athanassios Nakos, who attended the 2nd GFMD in Manila, said: “We aim at ensuring the thematic continuity of the forum, but also at tackling new issues that constitute today’s challenges in the migration and development field," in his speech during the closing ceremonies of the GFMD government days.
“International migration needs to be an integral part of the development agenda, as well as part of national, regional, and international development strategies," said Nakos.
Moreover, he said that Greece aims to maximize the benefits from international migration and minimize its impacts.
“We should work so that migration becomes a choice instead of a necessity," he said.
He also said that there is an increasing interdependence of all countries, whether countries of origin, of transit or of destination in migration.
“Interdependence is the key issue that we need to take into account in conceiving, adopting and implementing our migration policies at all levels," he said.
Now a migrant-receiving country
Meanwhile, since Greece became a migrant-receiving country from being a migrant-sending country, Nakos said it has a lot of ideas to share with the world.
“Migration, in Greece, cannot any more be considered as a temporary phenomenon. Our policy is constantly reviewed and adopted to the evolving situation," he said.
However, he recognized the fact that even their country is having problems regarding the phenomenon.
“Our migration policy at an orderly migration, with due respect to the rights of individuals, the migrants themselves, and their integration in our society," he said.
On the other hand, he said that aside from their own ideas, they will be sure to include the inputs of the Manila GFMD.
“We will take back home a valuable trove of ideas and best practices presented by all of you," he told the delegates during his speech. - GMANews.TV
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/130679/Filipinos-paying-for-RPs-migration-policies
Rights: GMANews.TV
