RP still model country for migrant workers

MANILA, Philippines - Contrary to a migrant group's claim, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines was not stricken out from the UN's list of model-countries for migrant workers, simply because no list exists.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ed Malaya said the group might have been led to believe that the Philippines was demoted by the United Nations since the country did not appear in the Guide on Ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and members of Their Families.

"How can the Philippines be deleted when no list exists?" Malaya told GMANews.TV in an interview.

Grace Punongbayan of Migrante Europe chapter said the Philippines was deleted as a model state at the meeting of the Steering Committee for the Campaign For Ratification of the Migrants Rights Convention presided by Ms. Carla Edelenbos, secretary of the Committee on Migrant Workers, at the UN headquarters in Geneva last April 8. [See: RP no longer UN's model-country in OFW protection]

But Ellene Sana of the Center for Migrant Advocacy, who attended the 10th session of the United Nations Committee on Migrant Workers held April 20 in Switzerland, said no country has been listed by the UN as a model-country for the protection of migrant workers.

"We are just being touted as a model-country," she said.

During last year's UN session, Malacañang reported that the International Labor Organization and the International Organization on Migration have commended the Philippines for handling well the situation of migration.

"Indonesia said RP’s ‘great investment to the issue of migrant workers can serve as a model for other countries,’ a sentiment echoed by Guatemala and Egypt that asked for more concrete information on RP programs including bilateral agreements to give workers social security," the statement said. [See: RP's migration program seen as model - DoLE exec]

The DFA denied Migrante's assertion and said that the Philippines was even praised by members of the Committee on Migrant Workers as a model in the field of migration and for its robust institutional capacity to protect its citizens abroad.

The country also figured well in the "Guide on Ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families" as a strong supporter of the Migrant Workers Convention, according to the DFA.

"Page 28 of the Guide stated that: 'Several countries, such as Mexico and the Philippines, have engaged in diplomatic efforts to widen ratification…'" the DFA said.

The Philippines has had more than 30 years of experience with policies on migrant workers since the first batch of Filipino contractual workers left for the Middle East in the early 1970s.

Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 is also the first legislation in the region outlining standards and policies protecting OFWs. - GMANews.TV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more