Sex Predators, Pimps, & Prostitution Ring in the Middle East at Philippine Embassies

Overseas Filipino Workers mostly domestic helpers are easy prey for employers that are sexual predators thus they escape. If they are not caught by the police forcibly retuning them against their will to their employer where they are more likely than ever to be raped, they become runaways. Quite a number end up as runaways and desperate seeking the help of our embassies to repatriate them back home.

Distressed OFWs are those we watched on television and read about in newspapers living in squalid tents, full of hope and dreams for a better life only to end up victimized in untenable working conditions, their contracts violated and becoming prey to all sorts of exploitations. Perhaps it’s the culture that’s foreign to them as some desperately tries to rationalize but rape and outright cruel treatment to fraudulent contract violations is not exactly cultural but criminal. It is bad enough that Filipinos become prey to these greedy inhumane exploitative employers and outright criminal sex predators but to be victimized further by our own people cloaked in authority is the vilest and despicable that one can heap on their very own people.

When Walden Bello an Akbayan party list representative broke the news on sex predators at Philippine embassies regarding some officials having sex with distressed OFWs, pimping, and operating a prostitution ring in return for plane fare tickets for repatriation, the reaction we expect should be that of being scandalized and anger. Unfortunately, instead of being incensed enough to act some are just too numb and dense as if these are normal daily occurrence and that Walden Bello was just grandstanding at the expense of the people he is accusing. Worse one of the accused Mario Antonio, welfare officer of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Jordan in denying his wrong doing, brazenly accused human traffickers and manpower recruitment agencies as those behind the “smear” against his “reputation.” In so declaring, he of course implied if not literally saying that Walden Bello is being used by the human traffickers and recruitment agencies. In effect Antonio is saying that Bello was hoodwinked or is one of them only show the pervasive culture of corruption and criminality afflicting government officials.

Of course that brazen counter accusation against Walden upsets him and probably most people will get upset too. It is understandable and as expected when he threatened Mario Antonio with a libel suit if he continues to blabber nonsense. Mr. Bello is within his rights to file a criminal libel suit against Mario Antonio but it will be better to just ensure that they have all the evidence to pin down all the culprits, enough to land them in prison. He can then file a libel suit after their conviction to add to their sentences and maybe enough to lock them up for good so they can throw away the key.

Anyway, what kind of people takes advantage of an already distressed fellow Filipino becoming so desperate that leaves them with a very limited option to refuse the sexual advances of these embassy sexual predators? They went there to seek greener pastures and they end up victimized further as subject of human trafficking ending in a prostitution ring courtesy of the embassy prostitution ring operator and pimp when they are tasked to assist and help them. OFWs dutifully contributed to OWWA funds so that if they find themselves in a desperate situation that very contribution will at least be their insurance that they can fly back home. Since these plane tickets are covered and paid for by OWWA , these predators are defrauding not just OWWA but the OFW contributors as well while denying distressed OFWs the benefit that rightfully belongs to them. Worst they are scammed and forced to pay through sexual favors or prostituting themselves robbing them of whatever dignity is left of them when they should not be paying in the first place? Now let me ask this question if I may, did the Philippines set up a Mafia prostitution and racketeering front in the Middle East courtesy of the Philippine Embassies?

Unfortunately government people seem to operate and think like they are or in creating their own reality that we normal mortals do not see or understand such as this statement attributed to DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario as “disconcerting” but still “hearsay.” Although he changed his tone when he spoke to Mr. Bello that defensive attitude only encourages criminals in their outfit to be more brazen. Recalling the named individuals accused of sexual molestations to actually exploiting the weaknesses of the distressed OFWs by having sex ,pimping, and operating a prostitution ring to explain themselves is moving in the right direction. Calling all the Ambassadors in the region to shed light and come up with policies to avoid a repetition of the scandal is also a move in the right direction. Yes, forming a fact-finding body is indeed what they need and it should be applauded. While at it I hope they also realized that the reason we have distressed OFWs ending up victimized further by the sexual maniacs, pimp, and prostitution ring operator predators cloaked in diplomatic immunity is because the pleas of the desperate OFWs fell on deaf ears? Criminal predators are very keen on seizing the opportunity and are only encouraged further when pleas and complaints by OFWs are not attended to making them more desperate enough to fall victim to their exploitation and probably even thanking them just to get out of the hellish situation they are in.

While those moves are in the right direction, they are not enough because we are talking not just about policy breach here but a criminal act. A criminal act of fraud, estafa, sexual molestation or having sex with desperate , pimped and trafficked to prostitution scammed into believing they have no other option but to submit to the pervert's demand using their position and the embassy for their nefarious sick criminal activities. Is it too much to ask that the DoJ should get involved here instead of the jokers at the senate and for them to instruct the NBI to conduct a criminal investigation by gathering evidence since that is their expertise and not some wannabe jokers trying to impress the gullible public? Is it also too much to ask that said "parallel investigation" be conducted by the palace for them to just ensure that investigations by criminal investigators are conducted professionally in a fair and balanced manner in accordance with what is allowed by the law to ensure that if the accused are indeed guilty of the crime, they are not able to escape justice via technicalities?

The “swift action” by the DFA in forming a fact-finding body is serious business but a little too late because had they listened to earlier pleas of the OFWs this kind of problem would not have escalated into a huge international embarrassing scandal. That is if indeed they are really serious and not just doing the usual damage control since most in government still believe that people are so gullible. The OFWs deserve better, their contribution consistently kept the Philippine economy afloat and is this really how some in the government repay them for their sacrifice to their family and the nation? Oh, and if you are wondering why the US has not removed the Philippines from tier 2 for human trafficking, look no further but to the Philippine embassy people using our embassies as front for prostitution ring exploiting distressed OFWs.

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Filipinos in Sabah subjected to oppressive discrimination

One Newmond Tibin writes what can be nothing more than a praise release in the Borneo Insider. The said article if we can even classify it as one is an obvious blatant propaganda piece passed off as a newspaper article. And I thought ATM journalism is practiced only in the Philippines but it seems universal, although that should not come as a surprise considering how dirty Malasian politicians are. After all now that the Sabah Crisis has opened our eyes and we are now paying attention to our neighbor, it seems their politicians are no different from our narcissist corrupt Trapos (Traditional Politicians).

C’mon, who in his right frame of mind will write an article titled Special Security Area: Najib a Saviour for Sabah? Really, people on that side of the border falls for something like that? At any rate it’s the people’s prerogative to read what’s probably not even worth something like a toilet paper but when a writer starts to thrash other nationalities especially ours then we have a problem. Just look at how he describes and bash the Filipinos which I quote:

Like ants drawn to sugar, Filipinos, particularly from the southern Philippines, flock to Sabah, attracted by the abundant opportunies to earn a living particularly in the east coast of this beautiful state dubbed “The Land Below the Wind”.

Image courtesy of: Fred Amores of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum

Really now, we are like ants nibbling at Sabah’s abundance? So we are now likened to tiny marauding ants scrambling for Sabah’s leftover crumbs? I wonder if that makes him feel superior over the Filipino people or is he just like any typical fool ignorant of where he speaks of? As if the insult and ignorant prejudice is not enough he follows it up with more BS, to quote:

Sabah’s strategic location, with a mere one to three hours boat drive from Tawi-Tawi, has made it a “gold mine” for these foreigners who come in droves, legally or illegally.

For decades, they were free to move in or out of the state, taking advantage of its porous borders, resulting in the increased number of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Although they played an important role or contributed much to the economic development of Sabah, especially in the plantation and construction sectors, the influx of the illegal immigrants, beyond necessity, have now become a concern in terms of security for every segment of society in the state.

The ignorance is truly appalling, but of course he has to make a living too. It is sad that there are writers’ like this dude that makes a living out of promoting their personal ignorance to their readers that may be equally ignorant or more ignorant than they are.

The problem with ignorant people is that they can see only the surface and from there based their dumb judgment without having a solid appreciation or even elementary understanding of the reason behind the exodus. The reason the Filipinos, specifically those from the south migrate in droves like “ants” in Sabah, was to escape the violent conflict in Mindanao. In an area with a never ending conflict that is still raging after 50 years and counting, the natural reaction is to get away from the conflict zone as far as possible. It was this conflict that also contributed to the marginalization of the people in the southern Philippines to unimaginable poverty and deprivation.

Lest this writer and his equally ignorant readers believe his idiotic ramblings while it is true that policing a porous border presents a security problem one has to take into account the centuries old habits and traditions of people in the area like the Tausugs having no concept of state or citizenship because Sabah for centuries to this day has been and is one of the trading routes where people come and go treating the southern region of islands their home and means of livelihood. Sabah is not like heaven awash with Ringgits for the taking where one who escapes violence and poverty from the Philippines gets to enjoy a comfortable life. Having said that it is pure cruelty and arrogance on the part of this writer and hopefully not the general sentiments of the Sabahans because I know they are better people than what this Newmond Tibin is showing.

What is sad is when the writer writes about the Filipinos as if they are less of a human being comparing them to ants and yet forgets to mention that his government literally treats Filipinos just like ants denying their children schooling if they happen to not have legal papers. Having no legal papers they have reduced quite a number of Filipino children in the limbo of statelessness denied of any social welfare services and left on the street to fend for themselves when Malaysia goes on mass deportations wherein some unlucky children were left behind. Even more cruel and inhumane is seeing the problem and blaming the victims when the cause of the conflict also points to Malaysian politicians that trained, armed, and financed Muslim separatist all because of the late dictator Marcos botched attempt more than 50 years ago to clandestinely infiltrate Sabah.

Marcos was wrong in trying to get Sabah in a foiled clandestine covert operation and for that the politicians of Malaysia seized the opportunity to create havoc and chaos in the Philippine south. Now that it has become a permanent problem even long before the death of Marcos and the threat of invasion has long been eliminated should they not have stopped and do something to stop the carnage and further destruction that is also causing the exodus to Sabah of Filipinos?

It takes 2 to tango so they say, perhaps something good will come out of this when and if ever Filipino leaders treat this Sabah crisis as a wake up call to get their act together. Unfortunately the leader that promised the Filipino people that they can hope and dream again because he is leading the nation towards the narrow straight path of righteousness is acting like Najib Tun Razak’s lap dog. It is truly sad when leaders of the Philippines and Malaysia and their lap dogs seems to be in denial or are simply just cruel as if 200,000 lives lost in the Mindanao conflict does not matter. All they see right now is the percieved wrong that the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III committed against both governments forgetiing the fact that they are the aggrieved party here. 

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Filipino Drug Mules

Once again we have another Filipino executed in a death sentence by lethal injection in China who was caught for drug trafficking. Another tragedy that’s giving their family so much grief and loss. Perhaps the loss we never see or feel but one thing is certain it is a devastating loss no less. Some are probably the main bread winner in their family and with the death sentence, the family surely will have to grapple with economic problem to survive which ironically may have been the very reason they became drug mules.

Let’s make one thing clear here, I am against death penalty. It is inhumane and barbaric that has no place in the civilized world. Problem is drug trafficking is illegal and you know that you are wreaking people’s lives with how you earn a living. Drug trafficking no matter how you rationalize it will still be a dastardly criminal enterprise that countries like China metes death penalty if you are caught red handed.

I feel sorry for the drug mule and specifically his/her family but what if he/she was not caught? Can we say the same about the users that the drug mules carried in wreaking havoc to their lives? What about those who killed themselves, some did it slowly while others do it abruptly through suicide brought about by the drug addiction of which his/her drugs was used, where is the concern and indignation? Can we in good conscience also demand justice for those addicted people enabled by our Filipino drug mules?

One thing that caught my attention is the comment of Edith Ordinario the mother of Sally Ordinario one of the three drug mules recently executed in China, who went to the protest rally. In her observation she states that the government has not learned its lesson from the past in protecting its citizens. The system she says is wrong, was it the delayed reaction of the government that the protesters are voicing out or is it something else? She got me so confused because she also stated that they (drug mules) should just face their predicament courageously and pray. She further states that is how the Chinese government does things and there is nothing they can do about it.

Gary Martinez, chairman of Migrante states their discontent with the government that repeatedly has a delayed reaction every time there is a pending execution. Perhaps he is right; this is where the DFA should really seriously consider appointing ambassadors and consuls from the ranks of career diplomats. Time to stop using this important position to curry political favors or in paying some political debt of gratitude, which I believe is the real cause of the delayed action and the incompetency of those tasked to look after the welfare of the OFWs.

It is bad enough that drug mules are lumped into the OFW sector when they are not. Unless illegal activities are considered legitimate jobs then go ahead and classify them as OFWs. If they are not legitimate OFWs why will Migrante call for a zero remittance day on December 18 which is the International Migrants Day when drug mules are not exactly migrants?

Not that I don’t feel for them, after all it is their lives that are at stake here and no one would want to be in their predicament. Are they not aware that drug trafficking is a serious criminal offense that will ultimately cause their life if they get caught? Second is they should know the questionable shady characters of the criminal kind are involved. Why will they deal with these kinds of characters that will bring them nothing but trouble?

Now, how and what exactly do people expect what kind of help should the government do to assist and protect its citizen in this situation? It makes me wonder what brings about this entitlement attitude even though one has been found to have been involved in a serious criminal activity, is it because people see this as a natural occurrence in the government? A government populated by criminals in politicians, police, military, and in robes clothing that bend not just the rules but the laws to accommodate their allies whoever is in power?

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 Filipinos 

An Open Letter to Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, President-Elect, Republic of the Philippines

Dear Sen. Aquino,

First and foremost, we extend our deepest and sincerest congratulations on your ascendancy to the highest-elected office of our beloved country through a democratic process that every Filipino can take pride in for many generations to come. The first step inherent in the process of transformation is recognizing the need for change – and our capacity to change for the better! Thus, from this point onward, we are hopeful that inspired by your convincing victory and leadership, every Filipino will assume his or her role and responsibility to change the status quo by initiating positive changes towards a better and brighter Philippines, no matter where he or she is, and regardless of what citizenship he or she now holds.

We, the Overseas Filipinos Worldwide (OFW), are a group of Filipinos based abroad and in the Philippines, representing various organizations implementing projects in the Philippines and in our host countries for many years now that are aimed to strategically harness the Philippines’ migration gains into mechanisms for the development of the motherland and our communities of origin.

Migration gains are mainly remittances by overseas Filipinos to their family members, which are now in the region of USD17 billion and are the primary source of livelihood for millions of Philippine households. At 10.8% of the country’s GDP, they are also the third biggest source of the country’s foreign currency reserves and act as primary driver for our economy, shielding us from bankruptcy during the financial crisis in 1997 and the current one. The Filipino diaspora, estimated now at about 10 million working or residing in 239 countries and territories worldwide, send back donations to various humanitarian causes, such as disaster–relief, medical missions, schoolhouses, and other infrastructure. These contributions supplement local and national government deficits and, as of 2003, have already amounted to USD218 million, per BSP figures in that year. We do not count here the investments made by OFWs in real estate and the education and health of their family members, and the money spent on various goods and services, as well as on construction, food, shelter, and other inflows that support sectors like the airlines, shopping centers, and banks. Yet, after more than three decades of overseas employment, we do not see genuine signs of poverty alleviation, and instead more and more of our countrymen leave for work abroad.

Ironically, the Philippine model of overseas migration has become a model of sorts, for other migrant-origin countries to emulate and even copy. This however does not tell the whole story or reveal the other face of migration that has escaped the serious attention of past administrations, specifically, the social costs that migration has bred since government-managed deployment started in the early 70s and up to the present, where we now see at least 3,000 of many of the best and brightest Filipinos leaving daily to take up jobs overseas, due to local employment deficits. Other nations like South Korea, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Taiwan, who once were labor exporting countries, have been able to get over their migration hump, as a result of their governments’ consciously harnessing their workers’ remittances and investing them to develop local infrastructure, shipyards, factories, and other industries. Convinced of the effectiveness of government programs and also trustful of their leaders’ sincerity, these countries’ expatriates and overseas workers, at great sacrifice, left their high-paying jobs overseas and returned to their home countries to lend their talents and acquired expertise in further helping their respective country’s leap towards developed status even working at low salaries. India, another migrant-sending country, is also now going in that direction. These examples serve to illustrate the dictum that migration should be temporary, that it must not be used as a substitute for development. The desirable goal of countries wishing to be strong and globally competitive must necessarily be self-sufficiency and the ability to provide its people with necessary components needed for their human development.

The advent of a new administration, especially one under your inspired leadership, is a good time to ask where the Philippines is going regarding migration, and to act accordingly. Shall we continue to send out our people and rely on remittances and without any development objectives in sight? Conversely, don’t we have the talent to formulate a road map towards self-sufficiency over a period of time, in order that the hemorrhage of talents could be stopped, that a crisis in our dysfunctional families and society at large could be averted, and so that our people do not have to take migration as a forced option? If long-term migration goals are set now, the government could in the meantime work on some basic but urgent deployment and migration issues in order to clear the way towards having a genuine and serious program on translating migration gains for use in human development. In view of this, we humbly suggest starting to look at the following:

• The government must send clear and strong signals that migration and remittances are only temporary measures to help the government prepare for a longer-term goal of self sufficiency,in which Filipinos no longer look at migration as a forced option. This must be integrated in Medium-Term Development Plans, which is currently being formulated by NEDA, and which should also include how in the meantime strategies, policies, and mechanisms for the productive use and investment of remittances could be harnessed to strengthen the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.
  

• Create a position for a Special Presidential Adviser on Migration and Development, who will work with a technical working group (TWG) composed of qualified individuals who have a background in migration and development, including knowledgeable and committed migrant leaders. Among others, the TWG could conduct studies, consultations, and discussions, and come up with updated situationers and appropriate policy recommendations on how to effectively translate remittances and migrant resources to develop local economies; and to address social costs, facilitation of return migration, reintegration, mechanisms for the counter parting of funds between Filipino diaspora groups, LGUs, and development agencies for local and countryside development, incentives for OFW investments in agriculture, SME, infrastructure, microfinance, cooperatives, and other sectors that need stronger funding support. The work could take the form of draft legislation for study by Congress’s standing committee on OFWs or form the basis for an Executive or Administrative Order, whichever is appropriate or workable. The committee’s work shall be purely consultative and should not supplant the work of government migration agencies.
  

• Review and monitor the performance of government agencies in charge of migrant workers, such as the POEA, OWWA, CFO, and the Department of Foreign Affairs, with a view to strengthening these institutions, reducing wasteful and ineffective programs or duplication of work, giving agencies needed resources and funds for effective implementation of programs, and strengthening the capacity of their overseas offices to become centers of service to migrant workers overseas.

• Departing OFWs contribute USD25 each as a requirement for departure and membership in OWWA and entitlement of welfare benefits. The total corpus of this trust fund is already at the level of at least PHP10 billion. The disposition and administration of this fund has been subject of criticisms, as its use has not been transparent and shown susceptibility to mismanagement. Specifically, reforms in OWWA should (1) impose strict criteria in the process of selection of people who will sit in the Board of Trustees, such that only those qualified and are committed to work for their constituents are appointed, e.g., women OFWs, sea-based, land-based, etc. (2) OWWA proceedings should be made transparent and open to public scrutiny, particularly the investment of the trust funds. (3) the incoming administration, for the benefit of OFWs and through the working group, should require from the current OWWA board an accounting of OWWA funds and how they were invested/used. To this end, the most recent COA audit of migration agencies, like POEA, OWWA, DFA, and POLO offices overseas, must be consulted.

• The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) are two small agencies that are doing important work on mobilizing diaspora contributions for development and assistance to OFWs who are reintegrating to Philippine society after working abroad. The CFO, for instance, has submitted recommendations on how gaps and barriers to enhanced diaspora contributions could be addressed, but these have never been acted upon. The NRCO, in the three years it has been created, has given assistance and referrals on livelihood and employment to OFW returnees affected by the global crisis. Their work should be seriously looked into, and whenever necessary, the appropriate level of funds, resources, and support should be given to these agencies.

• Lack of financial literacy or of the ability to use resources and incomes productively and wisely has been highlighted as a major cultural barrier among not only OFWs but also for most Filipinos. It prevents our people from improving their socio-economic conditions, despite years of employment in the Philippines or overseas. This refers to lack of savings or investment mindset and excessive spending on non-essentials. No less than an institutionalized nationwide program on financial literacy will be able to address this and should include not only OFWs but also members of their family. The BSP has been the lead government agency that has conducted financial literacy seminars for OFWs and families since 2006 in more than 30 Philippine cities and 10 cities overseas. This program could be improved and expanded through an impact assessment of the campaign and which might include providing resources for enlisting the DECS to include financial literacy and migration as part of school curriculum, starting from grade school, or the LGUs, by including financial literacy and social costs of migration in the Pre-employment Orientation Seminars (PEOS) conducted in their territories for intending migrants.
  

As a final note, while the recommendations above address specific OFW issues, the programs you had avowed to pursue in your electoral campaign on good governance—better access to health, education, employment and livelihood, and business opportunities for all—are all in the right track, constitute the basic elements for self-sufficiency, and provide viable options to our citizens to remain in the country and to devote their talents and resources to developing the homeland. On these, please be assured of our continued support.


Signed:

Doris Alfafara, Habagat Foundation, The Netherlands

Ren Arrieta, USA

Alex Veloso Bello, Saudi Arabia

Marvin Bionat, USA

Ding Bagasao, Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos (ERCOF), Philippines

Jack Catarata, Germany

Basco Fernandez, Damayang Pilipino sa Nederland, The Netherlands

Lorna Lardizabal Dietz
Cristina Liamzon, Italy

Judith Puyat-Magnaye, USA
Mariel Vincent Rapisura, SEDPI Philippines

Leila Rispens-Noel, Wimler Partnership for Social Progress, Hongkong/Contact Person

Dennis Yaun, Luxembourg

James Zamora, Philippines

For reaction, please contact:

ofwmanifesto@gmail.com

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Filipino domestic workers, youth and allies take action against Arizona’s anti-immigrant law and Schumer proposal

New York—More than 60 Filipino domestic workers, youth and allies marched last Saturday in celebration of May 1st, International Workers Day, to demand humane and comprehensive immigration reform, not the anti-immigrant racial profiling of Arizona’s SB1070 nor the recent proposal put out by NY Senator Schumer and other legislators.

The contingent of mostly domestic workers and other low-wage workers was organized by DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association and Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan, as part of a larger coalition of grassroots organizations, Immigrant Communities in Action, which includes restaurant and retail workers and street vendors. They joined a mobilization of thousands who rallied in Manhattan’s Union Square, then marched down Broadway to Foley Square, the heart of the financial district.

This spring, anti-immigrant sentiment has come to greater national attention with two bills at the federal level currently being proposed, and Arizona’s recent SB1070 legislation putting federal immigration powers into the hands of local law enforcement. These developments have galvanized workers from across sectors and ethnic communities to stand up for immigrant rights as workers’ rights.

Juana Dwyer, a nanny and Chairperson of DAMAYAN, addressed the crowd in Union Square. “We risk everything to come to this country for the American Dream. But what we find is our worst nightmare. As a domestic worker, I have taken care of other families’ and their most precious properties... but I have been given little to no respect. While the US government bails out banks and corporations, the 14 million undocumented immigrants are blamed for the crisis, deported and criminalized,” proclaimed Dwyer. “We are the backbone of the US economy. Isn’t it only fair that we are treated like human beings? Isn’t it only fair that the law recognizes us? Isn’t it only fair that we, too, live with dignity?”

Of the estimated 30,000 Filipino domestic workers in the New York and New Jersey area, many face unsafe and unjust workplace conditions exacerbated by a system that uses immigration status as a license for exploitation. Meanwhile, the popular bi-partisan proposal put out by Schumer and others stipulates increased border militarization, the continued criminalization of immigrants through detentions and deportations, and a “back of the line” policy for undocumented immigrants.

“We do not accept the recent anti-immigrant proposal put out by Schumer and other legislators,” said Cita Brodsky, nanny, cook and organizer with DAMAYAN. “It is a far cry from what our community needs.”

Chevy Evangelista of Ugnayan addressed the thousands of immigrants and supporters at Foley Square as the march ended. “Filipinos don’t have any choice but to leave our country and our family in search of livelihood. Twelve years ago, my parents – both professionals in the Philippines – migrated and worked as domestic workers with no benefits and slave-wages. My siblings and I struggled with homesickness, depression, alienation & forced-assimilation… President Obama! Where is the change that you promised we could believe in? Immigrants and citizens now realize that under your administration, deportations & detentions have doubled. Anti-immigrant sentiment is even higher now than after 9/11… On this day, we stand with workers around the globe to demand rights, justice and liberation!” cried Evangelista.

“We are asserting our right to work and live without fear,” said Brodsky. “The popular Tagalog protest call- makibaka, wag matakot (struggle, no fear) – took on a new significance Saturday. We can defeat the racist, anti-immigrant sentiments and proposals in the age of Obama, just like we defeated the Sensenbrenner bill in 2006. As a united community of immigrants and allies, we’re strong and resilient, wag matakot!”

For information, or to volunteer, contact DAMAYAN at (212) 564-6057 or visit DAMAYAN's website or Ugnayan's blog.

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Runaway OFW Rape Victim Denied POLO Assistance?

In a nation run by fraudulent cheats robbing the Philippine citizenry out of opportunity to pursue legitimate decent livelihood, Filipinos especially women are forced to seek employment in foreign lands. Armed with courageous sheer determination to escape poverty quite a number of people are left with few options or luxury of choosing where they end up.

In December of 2008, B&E Manpower Services located in Pedro Gil, Manila in deployed “Anna” (not her real name) 28 years old from Calumpang, Marikina to work as domestic helper in Al Khobar, in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia. Just three weeks upon her arrival she was sexually abused by her employer repeatedly for the past three months, until she escaped her harrowing experience through the help of her hew found friends on February of 2009. Anna’s sad experience not an isolated case as reported by John Monterona in his Facebook account below:

Migrante Rights and Welfare committee records showed there are an average of 2 -3 reported OFW-domestic helper cases of rape every month aside from labor-related cases. Wondering why the RP government under the Arroyo administration is doing nothing about it!

Instead of assisting rape victims there are serious allegations that POLO (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) official and a staff the agency tasked to assist distressed OFW’s (Overseas Filipino Worker) are refusing and abandoning the victims to fend for their own is just inhumane and cold. Rape victims can’t afford to be choosy on who should help them especially in a country where victims can be at the receiving end of trumped up charges because women in that part of the globe have no legal standing against men. Below is the disturbing newspaper account:

“OFW Anna told us that a Philippine Overseas Labor Official and a staff scolded her for asking help from Migrante, and for not trusting them saying to her ‘it’s all up to her now’. But it should not be like that, the POLO or RP consular office in the Eastern Region should give her all the support and assistance,” he said.

This is a very serious and disturbing allegation; a probe should be conducted to determine if the allegations were true. If found that the official and the staff did refuse and abandoned the distressed OFW they should be recalled, dismissed with all their privileges and benefits forfeited and charges should be filed in court for their criminal behavior of dereliction of duty.

How can the government send such incompetent cold hearted individuals to foreign post at that surely tell a lot on the kind of governance the Philippines has to offer our OFWs. This is the treatment they get in return in exchange for the sacrifice of leaving their family behind in their desire to better their lot while facing the risk and danger of abuse in many forms. This is what they get for their sacrifice in keeping afloat the sinking economy of a nation so wracked by incompetence and corrupt officials enriching themselves at the expense of the people mired in poverty and misery.

Rape victims does not have a choice but to escape their employer, unfortunately when they do that they are considered “runaways” and lose their work status in the process. As such there is fear that once they are found by their employer they can be sent to jail and that is not an unfounded fear based on the numerous past experiences of distressed OFWs in similar situations. Anna is currently staying with a friend and the POLO officials and staff should act expediently in assisting Anna and not let their political or ideological inclinations determine their action or inaction because the NGOs ideology has no bearing on their mandate to assist distressed OFWs. One’s ideology or political leanings does not erase one’s citizenship and the government and their agencies tasked to assist distressed OFWs have a moral and legal obligation to assist all their citizens in dire situations. In case these morons are forgetting or are too clueless like their vindictive wine and food binger president they can’t be choosy or selective on whom they should assist.

Patronage politics has exacted a toll on every aspect of Philippine governance with the appointment of officials and staff in foreign post not for their qualification but a form of patronage reward thus we have incompetent fools manning sensitive post. It is high time to call the attention of our public servants who gets paid with people’s blood, sweat and tears to do their job. Send them a clear message that we are watching how they resolve Anna’s case, below is their contact information:

Philippine Consulate General Jeddah 24/7 Hotline: 0515016318

POLO Jeddah 24/7 Hotline: 0515124797, (02) 665-8462 ext. 101

E-mail Address: owwajeddah@diplomats.com

Philippine Embassy Riyadh 24/7 Hotline: (01) 4823559

E-mail Address: filembry@sbm.net.sa

POLO Riyadh Contact Number: (01) 483-2201 to 03, 0535208306
E-mail Address: owwa_ruh@yahoo.com

POLO ALKHOBAR POLO Communication Center, Al Khobar Email:

• polo_alkhobar@dole.gov.ph
• polo_ero@yahoo.com

Labor Attache II 897-9515, 894-1846 (9663) 899-5714 DAVID DES T. DICANG Labor Attache I 894-1846, 897-6105

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OFW Support Group KGS Arrested & Detained in Saudi Arabia

Saudi police raided the safe house of Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS or Brotherhood in the Middle East) a member-organization of Migrante-Middle East where distressed and abused OFW runaways seek refuge. Migrante-ME coordinator John Monterona in a press release stated the following developments:

“We confirm that the safe house of KGS, a member organization of Migrante, where distress and run away OFWs are temporarily seeking refuge was raided by the local police last Friday at about 3:00 p.m.,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-ME regional coordinator.

Monterona said KGS was conducting its regular weekly case dialogs and counseling to OFW victims of maltreatment and abuses who ran away from their employers.

Monterona said ten (10) of its officers and member, and 3 service workers have been sent to Bahdiya Police Station in Riyadh for investigation. While the (5) distress OFW women were brought to Malaz Jail.

“KGS Officers and members have been giving advises to run away and distress OFWs before they will be formally endorse to POLO-OWWA as part of its rights and welfare assistance program (RWAP),” Monterona added.

This is very disturbing news indeed when people who cares and acts as support group are treated like criminals for helping their fellow men especially those abused and distressed migrant workers who have no one to turn to in their trying times of despair. Although we cannot ascertain if this is a case of criminalizing good Samaritans I cannot understand why the Saudi authorities have not released all of the "accused" once they learned that they were support groups for distressed and abused migrant workers.

In the latest news reported by Veronica Uy of Inquirer Global nation it appears that the group was arrested on suspicion of violating the kingdom’s “cultural law” prohibiting unmarried men and women from congregating. A quote from Veronica Uy’s report titled OFWs detained for violating Arab culture law:

At the same time, Migrante-Middle East coordinator John Leonard Monterona said three of those detained have already been released to the custody of their employers. They are: Binang Jilhano, a certain Jams, and Eric Jocson, who was arrested with his three-year-old son.

While some have already been freed, the rest continue to be detained without charges being filed against them.

Monterona identified the rest who are still in jail as Mario F. Ben, Mike Garlan, Lito Fedelino, Ronilo Reyes, and Rustico Marcos. He said they are members of Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS or Brotherhood in the Middle East), a member-organization of Migrante-Middle East.

He identified the distressed or runaway workers who were arrested with the KGS members as: Rey Balagtas, Elvira De Guzman, Clemia Corpus, Sarah Gumansing, Rosa Salazar, and Amauri Meris.

As if the news is not bad enough wherein good Samaritans are criminalized it gets worse when you read the response of ignoramuses whose mindset of divisiveness and hatred blaming the victims just makes you wonder what have become of our people in the Philippines. Instead of sympathy and support they blame those who are arrested blaming them for violating Saudi laws without even knowing all the pertinent details of the case. What a sorry excuse of a human being displaying this kind of behavioral aberration that is really disturbing and yet it does not surprise us anymore because this is clearly a manifestation of a sick society brought about by endemic corruption.

In one of the response which I find troubling and I am hoping against hope that this is not accurate because it really shows the ugly side of some people. Why in the name of gourmet pigging out president will a fellow countryman wish their own people to get in trouble with Saudi Police and the risk of incarceration in Middle East jails where horrific experience awaits them? It appears according to Red7’s response at Global nation that a fellow Filipino reported to the police that a “party” was going on at the safe house. Although there was a Videoke singing going on no alcohol was found at the premise, the women were at another room wearing their abaya’s but just the same they were rounded up and hauled to jail. Whoever reported them ought to know better the consequence of their action but then again there are insensitive people not even thinking simply because they are incapable of using their brains if ever they do have one.

This reminds me of a post here at Pedestrian Onserver GB on Men raping Men which I quote below:

In Jean P. Sasson's book "Princess a true story of life behind the veil in Saudi Arabia", we are able to see a glimpse of perverted mindset in a society living in the past with too much money and idle time. This is a society trapped in time desperately hanging on to the tribal culture of the middle ages in the way they treat their women and the cruelty of men against their women. In it we see a society where men can decide to end the lives of their women that are seen as a possession whose purpose in life is to satisfy and give birth in the propagation of their clan.

There is one particular horrible story that was in the book and this is about the maid of the Princess named Marci a Filipina and her friend Madeline. Inspiring tale of courage and daring shown by Marci and Antoine one of the Princess Filipino driver who risked everything in locating a friend in distress. The risk and danger they took is almost good for a suspense movie script but this is one is real and dangerous. You had that yearning for a good ending but this is real life where the ending is not what one expects in a feel good movie.

They found Madeline alright in a dingy villa owned by a Yemeni who abused and used Madeline as one of her sex reliever to satisfy his dog like sex cravings. A family sex toy for the sons, trapped in a hell hole did her best to escape only to be returned by the villagers to her inhumane pervert “master”. Upon learning of her friend’s plight Marci was frantic did everything she could calling up the consulate only to be rebuffed with indifference and acceptance of helplessness. On her return to the Philippines she tried her best to present the problem of Madeline to their local politicians but no one lifted a finger. The sad part is her friend was not on speaking terms with her when her contract expired thinking she was abandoned by her friend. Why did they not complain to the police, the Princess inquired? Truly sickening when Marci replied that the police never listen to complains of Filipinos and a woman in a society where the words of a man is taken as absolute truth the chances of the victim thrown to jail is more likely to happen.

Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi it appears that they have “five runaway maids” (in one of the email from Curtis of streetwisephilippines3 a yahoo group) every week that the consulate has to convert their garage into make-shift dormitory to accommodate the swelling number of abused Filipinas. The best they can do or hope for is to get the employer to pay the woman's ticket home, never mind pressing charges or their salary. In a highly prejudicial society where woman are treated like commodities what more with “servants” and a woman at that has no chance of being heard in a court of law that is male superiority oriented.

Luckily for the professional OFWs as Curtis further stated has not been affected or victimized unlike those in the labor and domestic jobs, is it because they are easy targets in might is right society? What are we going to do about it? What is the government doing about it? How should we respond to all these barbaric treatment of our countrymen?

These are the fate of some runaway thus the assistance of support groups like KGS is vital when police and townspeople returns abused and stressed OFWs in slave like situation back to their abusive predatory employers. Support groups are very crucial in helping distressed OFWs who can’t trust anyone fearing being sent back or worse accused of trumped up charges by guilty employers to cover up for their misdeeds.

*****************************************************************************
Update: 8/24/09

Dennis Carcamo reports Saudi police drop case vs 18 Filipinos, KGS secretary general Mike Garlan and member Rustico Marcos are expected to be released anytime soon who was in prison for 11 days. Runaway OFWs Clemia Corpuz, Rosa Salazar, Amauri Meriz and Reynaldo Balagtas will all be deported while two of the five detained OFWs -- Sarah Gumansing and Elvira De Guzman -- have already been released to their respective employers.

See also: Our gluttonous, do-nothing leaders and languishing countrymen

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Continue the Heroic Legacy of Struggle for Rights, Dignity & Liberation

Philippine Independence Day Celebration Statement
New York City, NY

June 7, 2009 On this anniversary of the nominal independence of the Philippines, DAMAYAN Migrant Workers Association and Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan celebrate Filipino heroes and heroines who fought for genuine independence in the Philippines, and who continue to struggle for rights, recognition, dignity and liberation in the US.

Filipinos have been in the US in large numbers since the farm workers of Hawaii and California in the early 1900’s. And yet now, 100 years later, many in our community are still invisible, marginalized from the mainstream. Some estimates put the number of undocumented Filipinos in the US at 1 million. Lack of status paralyzes so many in our community. Fear of confronting abusive employers, fear of accessing social services, fear of asserting ourselves as women, are still pervasive problems for a community that has been part of the so-called American “melting pot” for a century—almost half its very existence as an experiment in democracy.

The observation of Carlos Bulosan, who has been called a Filipino-American hero, still rings true to so many in our community over 50 years later: “I feel like a criminal running away from a crime I did not commit. And this crime is that I am a Filipino in America.”

Confronting our history helps us understand our present. And our history as Filipinos in America has always been the direct result of American conquest of the Philippines.

The truth is that the US stole independence from the Filipino people. National hero Andres Bonifacio successfully led the national armed revolution against Spanish colonizers when the US bought the Philippines through the $20 million Treaty of Paris package deal. A US imperial war was waged, killing 1.5 million Filipinos between 1898 and 1904. Brute US racism and pacification through benevolent assimilation transformed the entire Philippine economy, politics and culture. Training an elite class to defend US interest, the US granted the Philippines nominal independence in 1946. With complete control over the Philippines, the US colonizers sealed the fate of the Filipino people, systematically structuring an unequal relationship between a master and its slave.

As part of the colonial relationship, the US benefited from the cheap human labor of the Philippines. Throughout the past 100 years of our history in America, Filipinos were recruited to fill the economic needs of the US. In order to escape poverty and unemployment, Filipinos were left with no choice but to go abroad in search of a better life.

Social marginalization and economic hardship are common threads of our experience as Filipinos in the US. Separated from family and social support in the motherland, Filipinos in the US are vulnerable to systemic racism. Government policies such as the 1926 Anti-Miscegenation Law, the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act and the 1946 Rescission Act have ensured the continued subjugation of the Filipino community in America that began with US colonization. We are an exploited people in the Philippines, and continue to be an exploited people here in America.

The fact that a segment of our community in the US has achieved relative economic security as medical professionals and business people, obscures the fact that a large majority of our community experience hardship as working class immigrants. The identity crises and loss of language of US-born youth, and the experiences of Filipino women who are objectified and valued less than men are all part of our experience as Filipino Americans that we must address. The recent wave of Filipinos who have migrated in the last 20 years face intensified challenges – working as restaurant, domestic, retail and service workers. The vast majority are highly educated but forced to do low-wage and devalued work because of lack of immigration status.

Filipinos must rise to the occasion of the global economic crisis.

We are a facing a historic time defined by a deep crisis on a global scale. We must meet the challenges facing our community. The Filipino population in the US will only increase—and so will the needs and demands of a rapidly growing and changing community. In January 2009, the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency) reported deploying 4,300 migrant workers to 196 different countries. That number does not even include Filipinos leaving on tourist visas. Since 2001, the number of overseas Filipinos going abroad to find economic livelihood has dramatically doubled, indicating the worsening economic and political crisis in the Philippines.

The American public waits for results from the Obama administration’s unprecedented bailouts worth trillions of tax dollars. But we cannot wait any longer than 100 years of being Filipino Americans in the margins. We must continue the struggle for full legalization, workers’ rights, healthcare and relevant and affordable education, at the same time that we demand genuine change in the Philippines.

Continue the struggle for genuine independence in the Philippines!
Justice, dignity, and liberation for Filipino domestic workers!
Full legalization for immigrants!

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Khamisa Sawadi, 75 yr. old widow meted 40 lashes by Religious Police in Saudi Arabia

It sure is hell to be a woman and a “foreigner” in Saudi Arabia where religious police acting on “citizen information” that the widow mingled with 2 young men who despite one of the men (Fahd al-Anzi) who is actually a nephew of her late husband and his wet nurse when he was a baby was supposedly not her “immediate relation” and deemed to have committed a crime against “sharia morality.”

There are prude people and there are morons who interpret morality in their demented ways that they are beyond help posing a danger to others in their barbaric disposition. The poor old woman Khamisa Sawadi being a widow just like all the women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to travel alone or drive and with her 2 daughters who are married and living away from her how do they expect her to live? Do they expect the 72 virgins in heaven to drop her basic necessities like 5 loaves of bread that she asked her late husband nephew to buy for her to materialize out of the desert? The poor zap Fahd al-Anzi together with business partner Hadiyan bin Zein in doing a good deed for an old widow should have been given brownie points but not so according to the moronic religious foolish errr police who arrested the duo together with the widow finding them “guilty” of “immoral acts” sentenced to jail terms and lashes.

Khamisa Sawadi used to ask her neighbors to buy for her foods and basic necessities after her husband died, I wonder if these “citizen informant” who I supposed was one of her neighbors was not happy at seeing other people do the errands for her. Like a village idiot of the gossiper dirty minded type concocted and imputed malicious dirty sexual fantasies which the religious police of the same frame of dirty mind bought lock stock and barrel.

Now that is sick, jail term and 40 lashes is what she deserves according to the religious police and to further inflict their cruelty that is if she survives and not die after the lashing she is to be deported back to Syria even though her late husband is Saudi Arabian. What are these morons thinking or are they brain dead meting such harsh and horrible punishment the widow and the men don’t deserve. There is this image of a young woman 20 days after 50 lashing that is too graphic to post here tells you the kind of physical violence that are inflicted by these unthinking idiots so you can just imagine the fatal consequence it will do to a 75 year old woman.

I have always thought that the media in the Philippines is bad but this one tops them all and probably explains why religious police barbaric monstrosity thrives:

Girl gets a year in jail, 100 lashes for adultery

By Adnan Shabrawi

JEDDAH – A 23-year-old unmarried woman was awarded one-year prison term and 100 lashes for committing adultery and trying to abort the resultant fetus.

The District Court in Jeddah pronounced the verdict on Saturday after the girl confessed that she had a forced sexual intercourse with a man who had offered her a ride. The man, the girl confessed, took her to a rest house, east of Jeddah, where he and four of friends assaulted her all night long.

The girl claimed that she became pregnant soon after and went to King Fahd Hospital for Armed Forces in an attempt to carry out an abortion. She was eight weeks’ pregnant then, the hospital confirmed.

According to the ruling, the woman will be sent to a jail outside Jeddah to spend her time and will be lashed after delivery of her baby who will take the mother’s last name. – Okaz/SG

Awarded? What in the name of Osama Bin Laden’s cavorting 72 virgins was that all about? Oh geez, the lucky woman just got “awarded” the coveted lashing as if this is a bondage fetish guilty beyond reasonable doubt for confessing the “crime” of being raped.

At least not all the media people in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia thinks and write like this numb nut at Saudi Gazzete with the likes of Saudi journalist Bandar al-Ammar, in Al-Watan who felt the need to report the case "so everybody knows to what degree we have reached."

A saudi doctor and columnist also wrote in Al-Watan questioning the verdict against the widow Khamisa Sawadi and the 2 men based purely on suspicion are misusing religion to serve their interest.

The religious Police are a special police unit called the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice tasked at enforcing laws according to their own interpretation of Islamic laws. They patrol public places to make sure women are covered and not wearing make up, sexes don't mix, shops close five times a day for Muslim prayers and men go to the mosque to worship. Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islam prohibits men and women who are not immediate relatives from mingling and women from driving. The playing of music, dancing and many movies also are a concern for hard-liners who believe they violate religious and moral values.

On a positive note the Saudi king dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing of TV network owners that broadcast "immoral content," is this a sign of a shake-up signaling an effort to weaken the kingdom's hard-line Sunni Muslim establishment? Maybe it is but maybe not so if you want to do something to prevent the injustice, join the Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network and its allies in demanding that Saudi Arabia demonstrate its commitment to human rights and release Khamisa Sawadi, Fahd al-Anzi, and Hadiyan bin Zein and revoke the order of deportation by clicking here, cut, paste and email the letter to the Saudi authorities.

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