Comments:
BOSES NG PAMILYANG OFWs Ni GEORGE A. ARRIOLA For Monday (October 10, 2005) issue DSWD magde-deploy ng social workers sa 6 na OFW destinations Ito’y isang magandang balita sa ating mga kababayan na nagtatrabaho sa Hong Kong, Riyadh sa Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi at Dubai sa United Arab Emirates, Lebanon at Kuwait. Nakatanggap ang inyong lingkod ng impormasyon mula sa International Labor Affairs Service (ILAS) ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) na magde-deploy ang Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ng social workers sa nasabing anim na major destinations ng overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) upang tumulong sa mga distressed OFW at kabilang na rito ang mga runaway o iyong mga tumakas sa kanilang employer. Ang mga nabanggit na OFW ay bibigyan ng payo ng social workers para maibsan ang kanilang problema at tuturuan din upang magkaroon ng livelihood skills bilang paghahanda sa kanilang pagbabalik sa Pilipinas. Ipinahayag ni ILAS Director Merliza Makinano na ang mga social worker ay bihasa sa counseling, stress management at sa pagsasagawa ng pagsasanay para sa mga programang pangkabuhayan. Ang mga social worker ay mananatili sa kanilang destinasyon sa loob ng isang taon simula sa pagkakatalaga sa kanila. Ipinahayag pa niya na ang mga social worker ay naghihintay na lamang ng kanilang deployment. Sila ay binigyan na ng briefing ng ILAS tungkol sa kasalukuyang situwasyong pulitikal, mga batas, at kaugalian at tradisyon gayundin ng kasalukuyang kalagayan ng OFWs sa kanilang host country. Ang mga social worker at ang kanilang overseas posts ay ang mga sumusunod: Remy Beltran sa Hong Kong; Consejo Usman sa Riyadh, Viviene Pinlac fsa Abu Dhabi, Elena Labrador sa Dubai, Josefina Reyes sa Lebanon, at Milagros Orticio at Delia Bernal sa Kuwait. Sila ay sasailalim sa pamamahala ng Philippine Overseas Labor Office at ang kanilang magiging gawain ay ang pagbibigay ng payo, pagmo-monitor sa pisikal at emosyonal na kondisyon ng OFWs, at paglikha at pagpapatupad ng mga alternatibong patakaran upang mabawasan ang problema ng ating mga tinaguriang “modern-day heroes” sa pamamagitan ng stress debriefings, livelihood trainings at social interaction. Magsasagawa din ang mga social worker ng pagbisita sa worksite, ospital at piitan na may OFW sa pakikipag-ugnayan at pakikipagtulungan sa Embassy officials upang sila ay mabigyan ng permiso ng host country na bumisita. Ang pag-deploy sa social workers sa mga nasabing OFW destinations ay isang proyekto ng DOLE at DSWD sa ilalim ng Overseas Comprehensive Social Services Package Program (OCSSPP) para sa OFWs. Ang OCSSPP ay isinasakatuparan bilang tugon sa pangangailangan na pagkalooban ng counseling services at iba pang uri ng tulong ang OFWs, laluna iyong may mga mabibigat na problema. Noong 2004, walong social workers ang nai-deploy sa Hong Kong, Taichung, Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai at Kuwait. Sila ay nakatulong sa may 4,716 OFWs. Ang Kuwait ang may pinakamaraming kaso ng distressed OFWs na inasistehan ng social workers. Umabot sa 2,143 OFWs ang natulungan na kumakatawan sa 45.4 porsyento ng kabuuang bilang. Pumangalawa naman ang Riyadh na may 1,723 na kaso ng distressed OFWs at kabilang na rito ang pitong bata na anak ng OFWs. Samantala, pumangatlo naman ang Abu Dhabi na may 203 na kaso at ito’y sinundan ng Dubai na may 191 kaso, Taichung na may 183 kaso, Jeddah na may 148 kaso at Hong Kong na may 125 na kaso. Nagsagawa din ang mga social worker ng livelihood at skills upgrading activities sa mga tumakas na OFWs na tumutuloy sa Filipino Workers Resource Center sa ibang bansa. Ang mga OFW ay tinuruan sa pananahi, paggawa ng greeting cards at comforter, cosmetology, salon management, cooking at baking, hair cutting at styling, at food preservation at preparation. * * * Para sa inyong reaksyon, reklamo o sumbong, mag-text lang sa ating 24-hour na text messaging hotline na 0916-7421768 o kaya ay mag-e-mail sa gearcom2005@yahoo.com. Ang pitak na ito ay matutunghayan din ninyo sa pamilyangofw-sme.org simula ngayong araw. Ang mga may problemang legal na gustong kumunsulta kay Atty. J. Oswald Lorenzo ay pwede ring mag-text sa nabanggit kong hotline number. Dapat na magkaisa po tayong lahat upang ipaglaban ang karapatan at itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating modern-day heroes at kanilang pamilya. Hanggang sa Miyerkules, mabuhay ang pamilyang OFWs! # # # BOSES NG PAMILYANG OFWs Ni GEORGE A. ARRIOLA For Friday (October 07, 2005) issue 2 OFWs na tumakas sa UAE employer tutulungan ng POEA at OWWA May mga kababayan tayo na nagtutungo sa ibang bansa bilang mga turista at kapag nandoon na ay nagtatrabaho nang walang kaukulang dokumento. Dahilan sa pagiging illegal worker, malaki ang posibilidad na sila ay maabuso at maargabiyado ng kanilang employer. Mayorya sa ating mga overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) ang nagtutungo sa ibang bansa na may maayos na mga dokumento upang makapagtrabaho at sila ay protektado hindi lamang sa bansa na kanilang pinagtatrabahuhan kundi maging sa mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan na may kinalaman sa OFWs na tulad ng Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) at Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). Kabilang sa mga makaaasa ng tulong ay ang dalawang babaeng OFWs na umuwi na sa bansa makaraang tumakas sa kanilang employer sa Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dumating sila sa Ninoy Aquino International Airport lulan ng Gulf Air flight GF-254. Ayon kay Acting Secretary Manuel G. Imson ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), ang POEA at OWWA ay nagkakaloob na ng kauukulang tulong kay Emma Pepito Bingil, 21 anyos, dalaga, ng Demazenud Avenue, Cotabato City; at kay Rauf Baikong Abiden, 27 anyos, may-asawa, ng Maharlika Village, Taguig, Metro Manila. Si Bingil ay umalis ng Pilipinas noong Setyembre 6 sa pag-aakalang ang pangingibang-bansa ang solusyon para mahango sa kahirapan ang kanyang pamilya ngunit pagdating doon ay dinala siya at ang kanyang mga kasamahan sa land-based recruitment agency sa Dubai na parang bodega na pag-aari ng isang Syrian national. Ayon kay Bingil, siya at ang walo pa niyang kasamahan na Pilipina kabilang si Abiden ay ikinulong sa isang maliit na silid at pinagtatrabaho bilang mga kargador. Halos hindi na rin sila pinapakain sa loob ng isang araw na pagtatrabaho. "Sobra-sobra na po ang ginagawa nila sa amin, wala na nga kaming kinakain ay minomolestiya pa nila kami. Ang iba nga pong kasamahan namin ay nababaliw na dahil sa ginagawa nilang pagpapahirap," pahayag ni Bingil. Dahilan dito, nagpasya ang dalawa na tumakas na lamang mula sa ikalawang palapag ng gusali ng kanilang employer. Gumawa sila ng lubid mula sa pinagdugtong-dugtong na mga kumot na kanilang itinali sa bintana kung saan sila dumaan ngunit ito ay naputol at kapwa sila bumagsak. Napasama ang bagsak ni Bingil na nagresulta ng pagkakabali ng kanang binti nito. Batay sa record, ang overseas employment certificate nina Bingil at Abiden ay nai-proseso sa POEA. Si Bingil ay nai-deploy sa UAE bilang saleslady sa pamamagitan ng Bridgewood Human Resources Corp. Ang kanyang foreign principal o employer ay ang Bohemia Crystal. Si Abiden naman ay nai-deploy sa UAE noong Setyembre 2 bilang domestic helper sa pamamagitan ng Al Anwar International Manpower Services. Ang Al Qabas Labor Supply ang kanyang foreign principal at employer. Ayon kay Imson, sina Bingil at Abiden ay mga dokumentadong OFW at dahil dito sila ay tatanggap ng tulong at benepisyo mula sa POEA at OWWA. Ang POEA at OWWA ay attached agencies ng DOLE. Kabilang sa mga benepisyo na maipagkakaloob ng OWWA sa dalawa ay ang hospitalization at disability assistance. Ang mga abogado ng POEA ay handa ring magkaloob ng librreng legal na tulong kay Bingil at Abiden kung sila ay magsasampa ng kaso laban sa kanilang dayuhang employer. Ipinahayag pa ni Imson na ang Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) sa Dubai ay binigyan na ng instruksyon na alamin ang kalagayan ng iba pang OFWs na nakasama nina Bingil at Abiden na ikinulong sa isang maliit na kuwarto at pinagtatrabaho bilang mga kargador. * * * Para sa inyong reaksyon, reklamo o sumbong, mag-text lang sa ating 24-hour na text messaging hotline na 0916-7421768 o kaya ay mag-e-mail sa gearcom2005@yahoo.com. Ang mga may problemang legal na gustong kumunsulta kay Atty. J. Oswald Lorenzo ay pwede ring mag-text sa nabanggit kong hotline number. Dapat na magkaisa po tayong lahat upang ipaglaban ang karapatan at itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating modern-day heroes at kanilang pamilya. Hanggang sa Lunes, mabuhay ang pamilyang OFWs! BOSES NG PAMILYANG OFWs Ni GEORGE A. ARRIOLA For Wednesday (October 05, 2005) issue Bukas na liham ni Gng. Fatima Ceniza-Aquino kay PGMA (2) Narito ang karugtong ng e-mail message (gearcom2005@yahoo.com) na natanggap ng inyong lingkod mula kay Gng. Fatima Ceniza-Aquino na asawa ni Michael Ray Aquino. Siya ay nakiusap na mailathala sa pitak na ito ang kanyang bukas na liham kay Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: It was not easy for my husband to shift careers, having been a police officer all his professional life. Such took a lot of courage, compelled by the difficult circumstance we were in, and motivated only by his love and sense of responsibility to provide for our family, as we build our lives away from the threats for his life when your administration took over. We stayed with our relatives in New Jersey and New York, while my husband diligently studied to qualify in the nursing profession. I was busy looking after my husband and my son's needs, day-in and day-out. My husband's efforts paid off; he did very well in his studies and made all the qualifying exams, including the New York State Nursing Board Exam in 2004. Soon after, the prospects for a gainful employment started to appear, and I was very hopeful. In anticipation for those prospects of starting our family life independently from my relatives, my husband and I, yet still helped financially by my brother, rented a small apartment to begin our family life in the U.S. It was a humble undertaking, and I was thrilled about finally beginning an independent and peaceful family life in the U.S., - or so it seemed. We later found out that by your unlawful order, you caused the postponement of our dream to have a peaceful, quiet family life. This has caused us so much emotional pain and financial hardship. You literally put our lives into shambles. Now, my son must postpone his baseball games, for his father cannot come to watch him play. My husband will have to postpone feeling the pride and joy of a father watching his son play. I must postpone feeling the joy a mother feels when she sees her son look up to his father. Our family life is again on hold, until Michael Ray comes home. But I cannot postpone this protest. Too long have I played the role of a long-suffering wife and mother. When asked about my husband's case in one of the interviews you granted on TV, you said and I quote, "I don't want to fall into the trap of going into the agenda of my detractors. I have my agenda which is to do what we have to do for the country and I'm focused there." Mrs. President, you destroyed our dream and hope to have a peaceful, family life. Was that part of your presidential agenda? You also said that your government would not tolerate activities that hurt the people and that undermine the rule of law. But that was precisely what you did to our family. You hurt us so badly, and in the process, undermined the rule of law! Giving press interviews and statements has never been my cup of tea. I am, in fact, nervous, because this is the first time I am personally issuing an open letter, and to the highest officer of my country at that. But I can no longer keep quiet as you and your political subalterns continue to destroy my husband's name and our family life here in the US, away from our motherland. Too long have I kept my silence, in fear, in tears and in anxiety, in being relentlessly haunted by you. A president should support the aspiration of fellow citizens to have a peaceful family life, even away from home. If not for your obsession to destroy us, my husband would have already been gainfully employed last year, as he had so many opportunities to be able to practice his new profession as a nurse. Time will heal all wounds, including my son's and mine. But time will also uncover everything that is hidden - the lies and false accusations endlessly hounded upon my husband by your government. Mrs. President, I ask you to rectify the wrong you have done to my husband and restore the damage it has caused my family. Bilang isang ina at isang asawa, nakikiusap po ako na sana hayaan na po ninyo kaming mamuhay nang tahimik. Isip usa ka inahan ug usa ka asawa, nagnhangyo ako kanimo, taga-i mi ug katarungan ug pasagdi na unta mi nga mamuyo ug malinawon bisan layo sa atong yutang natawhan. We have left the Philippines, have gone this far and have endured so much. Yet, even with the legal processes my family is going through, I continue to have full faith and confidence that justice will reign, and that truth will prevail, because truth always wins in the end. FATIMA CENIZA-AQUINO * * * Para sa inyong reaksyon, reklamo o sumbong, mag-text lang sa ating 24-hour na text messaging hotline na 0916-7421768 o kaya ay mag-e-mail sa gearcom2005@yahoo.com. Ang mga may problemang legal na gustong kumunsulta kay Atty. J. Oswald Lorenzo ay pwede ring mag-text sa nabanggit kong hotline number. Dapat na magkaisa po tayong lahat upang ipaglaban ang karapatan at itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating modern-day heroes at kanilang pamilya. Hanggang sa Lunes, mabuhay ang pamilyang OFWs! # # # BOSES NG PAMILYANG OFWs Ni GEORGE A. ARRIOLA For Monday (October 03, 2005) issue Bukas na liham ni Gng. Fatima Ceniza-Aquino kay PGMA (1) Nakatanggap ang inyong lingkod ng e-mail message (gearcom2005@yahoo.com) mula kay Gng. Fatima Ceniza-Aquino na asawa ni Michael Ray Aquino. Siya ay nakiusap na mailathala sa pitak na ito ang kanyang bukas na liham kay Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Bilang serbisyo publiko ng IMBESTIGADOR, narito ang nilalaman ng kanyang mensahe: Dear Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo: My name is Fatima Ceniza-Aquino. I am the wife of Michael Ray Aquino. I don't wish to comment on the ongoing charges filed against him, except to say that I believe in his innocence and that at the end of the trial, Michael Ray will be acquitted of the charges leveled against him. I am reading my letter to you before the press, so that the whole Filipino nation will know what damage you have caused my family. As a wife and mother, I am asking you to do us swift and meaningful justice. The immigration problems of my family were the result of your malicious and unlawful act - that of ordering the cancellation of my husband's passport without the benefit of either notice or of hearing. Ironically, notice was surreptitiously given to a foreign government -- the US immigration service. In fact, my husband first learned of the cancellation of his passport on March 2, 2004, when the US immigration service denied our family's application for extension of status. The US immigration service stated that its decision was based on the cancellation of my husband's passport more than two years earlier, on August 7, 2001. Michael Ray thereafter went to the Philippine consulate-general in New York to inquire about the cancellation. He brought his passport to show that it was not to expire until September 14, 2005. Michael Ray told me that when he showed it to one of the consuls, the consul grabbed it from his hands and put it in a safe deposit box. She later issued a receipt stating "passport being held pending clearance from DFA." To this day, I still find it hard to believe that a diplomat could just grab a citizen's passport -- a citizen they have sworn to serve. My sisters-in-law wrote the DFA, asking for an explanation. The reply came after a long while and gave no reasonable explanation. It recommended not to renew his passport, without prior clearance from your office, the Office of the President. But we were not seeking a renewal. Michael Ray's passport had not yet expired. We wanted his passport reinstated, for it was unlawfully cancelled! More importantly, there is nothing in the Philippine Passport Law that required my husband to secure clearance from the Office of the President, when all he was asking was to have his passport, which was unlawfully cancelled, reinstated. Your Secretary of Justice, admitted on national television, that it was your office that ordered the cancellation of Michael Ray's passport. He likewise admitted that there really was no basis for canceling my husband's passport. Why, Mrs. President? Why did you order his passport cancelled? You are supposed to be the country's Chief Executive, the highest officer of the land tasked with implementing our country's laws. Did you think you were above the law that you could just ignore and flagrantly violate the laws you pledged to implement? Because of your vindictive and unlawful act of ordering the cancellation of my husband's passport, my husband has not been able to adjust status, avail of job opportunities, and provide for our family. The immigration authorities detained my husband, and our whole family, including our innocent child, was put in immigration removal proceedings. We left the Philippines to pick up the pieces of our family life -- a life postponed by Michael Ray's career and the political intrigues that came with that career, especially when your administration took over. We thought that the postponement ended when we came to the United States. To survive, and upon the advise of my family members who are mostly in the medical fields in the U.S., my husband undertook a change in his career and took up nursing. * * * Sa Miyerkules ay matutunghayan ninyo ang karugtong ng liham ni Gng. Aquino. Para sa inyong reaksyon, reklamo o sumbong, mag-text lang sa ating 24-hour na text messaging hotline na 0916-7421768 o kaya ay mag-e-mail sa gearcom2005@yahoo.com. Ang mga may problemang legal na gustong kumunsulta kay Atty. J. Oswald Lorenzo ay pwede ring mag-text sa nabanggit kong hotline number. Dapat na magkaisa po tayong lahat upang ipaglaban ang karapatan at itaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating modern-day heroes at kanilang pamilya. Hanggang sa susunod na isyu, mabuhay ang pamilyang OFWs!

Comments:
Gusto ko po sana na dumalo sa ating expo sa Market! Market! pero di ako pinayagan ng employer ko. Gayunpaman, ipinapanalangin ko po ang tagumpay ng ating proyekto.

Comments:
Ipinaaabot ko ang aking pasasalamat sa inyong lahat sa pag-oorganisa ng mga exposition na layuning maging produktibo ang aming pamilya sa Pilipinas. Mabuhay kayo!!!

Comments:
We salute your foundation for continuosly helping the OFW families in the Philippines. We hope you will continue to serve the OFW families. Mabuhay kayo!!!

Comments:
I admire the people behind your foundation for helping our families in the Philippines to become productive members of the society! Mabuhay kayo!!!