Scrapping of remittance fees could be studied – Palace

07/21/2008
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang may look into the possibility of scrapping remittance fees being paid by overseas Filipino workers (OFW) amid the fuel and food crises faced by the country.

Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesperson, said government economic managers could mull over Migrante International’s proposal to either give up the fees or lower the rate of OFW remittance being received by the government.

“That could be studied. But for the meantime, the government is doing its best to mitigate the impact of the challenges that our country is facing now in all sectors of the society especially the poorest of the poor,” she said.

She acknowledged that OFW contributions helped the government in cushioning the impact of the global surge in the prices of basic commodities.

Migrante International-Middle East Chapter earlier called for the scrapping of the remittance fees to enable the families of OFWs to cope with the economic crisis.

OFWs are charged a 15-percent documentary stamp tax, which is deducted by the government from all remittances coursed through legal channels.

OFW remittance in the first five months of 2008 reached $6.8 billion, up 14.7 percent from last year, according to the Philippine central bank.

There were 533,945 OFWs deployed during the said period, or 40 percent more than those deployed in the first five months of 2007, based on government records.

The central bank expects that remittances coursed through banks will reach $15.7 billion by the end of 2008 or 9 percent higher than in 1997.

Most of the eight million Filipinos abroad work as domestic helpers, entertainers, nurses, caregivers, engineers, and ship crew members.

A large portion of OFW remittance come from Saudi Arabia, US, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. – GMANews.TV

OFW groups express opposition to Pichay appointment to OWWA

Arroyo offered post aside from SBMA, ex-solon says
By Veronica Uy, Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:01:00 07/21/2008

MANILA, Philippines — Overseas Filipino worker groups have expressed opposition to the possible appointment of a former congressman and losing administration senatorial candidate to the top post of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

The Center for Migrant Advocacy and the Philippine Migrant Rights Watch said they wanted someone from the ranks of OFWs to handle OWWA and its billions of dollars in OWWA membership fees which they feared might be used for the 2010 elections.

Reports are rife that former Surigao congressman Prospero “Butch” Pichay, who ran for senator under the administration ticket, could take over the helm of the OWWA.

Pichay confirmed to INQUIRER.net that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had offered him the top OWWA post and the chairmanship of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and that there were also other offers of Cabinet positions.

He refused to elaborate however on the Cabinet offers “in deference to sitting officials.”

“OWWA at Subic. Iyan ang talagang inoffer ng President — a few months ago pa [OWWA and Subic. That is what the President really offered — a few months ago],” said Pichay who was in Vietnam.

Pichay said that he was considering the OWWA post.

“Maraming offer [There are a lot of offers] but I’m still trying to think about all these offers. In a few weeks, makaka-decide na ako [I can decide]. Inaasikaso ko pa ang negosyo [I am just attending to my business].”

OFW groups which spearheaded the drive to pass the Overseas Absentee Voting Law several years ago have launched a campaign to put Mike Bolos, an accountant who has worked for more than 20 years in Saudi Arabia to head OWWA.

Heeding the government’s call for overseas Filipinos to return to the country and contribute to its development, Bolos has since returned to the Philippines to start several business enterprises.

Rashid Fabricante, of the Pinoy-abroad-forum and elagda-Riyadh, started the e-mail thread with the suggestion that OFW groups and migrant rights organizations should lobby for OFW representation at OWWA.

OWWA, which is tasked to promote and protect the well-being of OFWs, was previously headed by Marianito Roque until he was appointed secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment when his predecessor Arturo Brion became associate justice of the Supreme Court.

The attached agency of DoLE does not get any budgetary allocation from the government. It lives solely off the $25- membership fee of every departing OFW.

While the membership fee is supposed to be paid by the leaving OFW’s employer, the OFW in most cases pay for the amount.

OFW groups have sought more representation in OWWA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the other DoLE-attached agency concerned with OFWs.

There are an estimated eight million Filipinos who live and work overseas while some 3,000 leave the country every day.

DFA rules on househelp hiring exempt from POEA rules

Tingnan mo nga naman si Mar Roxas. Eh pinag uusapan nila rules of hiring ng DH ng mga diplomats. Ni walang sinabi tungkol sa  biktima na si Marichu Suarez Baoanan. Wala ni isa man sa gobyerno ang
nag palabas ng reprimand or warning kay Amb. Lauro Baja. Di man lang na suspend si Baja. Ano ba yan…

==========

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

Posted date: July 10, 2008

MANILA, Philippines — The rules of the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) allowing its foreign service officers to hire domestic helpers
does not go through the process required by Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration (POEA) of foreign employers, Senator
Manuel “Mar” Roxas II said Thursday.

“We cannot have a set of standards for foreign employers and none at
all for Filipino diplomats because this affects the confidence of our
own workers in the objectivity, humanity, and professionalism of our
own foreign service,” he said in a statement.

Roxas’ reaction stems from the case filed in New York against former
Philippine Ambassador to the United Nations Lauro Baja, his wife
Norma, and his daughter Elizabeth Facundo for alleged human
trafficking, slavery, fraud, and 12 other alleged violations of US
laws.

According to the DFA, its people posted abroad are allowed to
hire “personal staff,” the number of which depends on the hiring
person’s rank.

In an interview with INQUIRER.net, POEA Administrator Rosalinda
Baldoz confirmed that such hiring does not go through her agency.

“We are not part of the hiring process of HSWs (household service
workers) by DFA personnel. We are not part of the contract. No OEC
(overseas employment certificate) is required, that’s why we don’t
have any participation,” she said.

Roxas, a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments, which
confirms the promotion and assignment of ambassadors and other
personnel in foreign assignments, noted the irony that the Philippine
embassy is the “first place of refuge” of a Filipino domestic helper
abused by her foreign employer abroad.

He thus called on the DFA to adopt clear and uniform rules and
standards in the employment of Filipino maids by all government
personnel posted abroad.

“There must be a uniform contract stipulating a salary of not less
than $400 a month, with stipulated number of days off in a week, and
an assurance of adequate food and decent quarters,” he proposed.

“Violations of this contract by civil servants posted abroad must be
the subject of administrative sanctions and should be submitted to
the Commission on Appointments as part of our documentary
requirements,” he added.

The senator suggested that every contract of a domestic helper hired
by a Filipino diplomat, as well as attaches sent abroad like trade,
labor, and welfare attaches, must be registered with and
countersigned by the personnel office of the respective department.

“The adoption of fair and transparent procedures in the hiring of
Filipino maids by embassy personnel regardless of rank will redound
to the protection of both the diplomat and his or her kasambahay,”
Roxas said.

At the same time, he said, that the protection given to these
househelps should conform to the labor laws of the country where the
diplomat is assigned.

The senator noted that the controversy surrounding a case filed by
Marichu Suarez Baoanan, a Filipino nurse who was employed as a
domestic helper by the Bajas for three months, could have been
prevented had the DFA been more clear, assertive, and transparent
with its hiring policies in relation to domestic helpers.

Roxas said that regardless of who is telling the truth, the lesson of
the story is clear: the universal principles of decent work apply to
all.

He urged the DFA to act fast and give a timeframe for drawing up
rules on the matter, so as to assure domestic helpers of their safety.

====

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080710-
147621/DFA-rules-on-househelp-hiring-exempt-from-POEA-rules