OFWs welcome Speaker Arroyo's push for PHL-Russia labor agreement


By LUCKY MAE F. QUILAO
Filipinos in Russia have welcomed a government official’s call to forge a labor agreement between the Philippine and Russian governments.
During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF),  House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pushed for a labor pact between the two countries to protect the 5,000 to 10,000 Pinoy expatriates in Russia—mostly undocumented household service workers (HSWs) and nannies.
“Yan ang hiling namin lahat dito. Magkaroon kami ng legal documents kasi, until now, pahirapan kumuha ng working visa,” said 48-year-old massage therapist Marita Ferrer Navarro, in an interview last June 10 with GMA News Online through email. 
“Almost two years na akong walang working visa. Mahal ang singil ng mga agency dito for our visa at kami mismo magbayad,” she said.
From what Navarro knew, a working visa for three years in Russia costs $3,800 (P197,544.90) while a commercial visa for one year costs $1,800 (P93,573.90).
“Marami kaming walang visa dito ngayon [at] alam naman ng embassy ang kalagayan namin.”
During the time of the interview, she had a working visa as a nanny in Vladivostok.
“Now lang ako walang visa kasi mahal. Maganda [sana] dito mag-work. Hindi ka pressured, malaya ka na makahanap ng work, at malaki ang sahod. Wala ditong discrimination kaya nagustuhan ko dito work even not documented,” the former OFW in Hong Kong added.
Ystiel Mina, who had been in Russia for seven years when she was interviewed by the GMA News Online two years ago, also welcomed Arroyo's move.
“Magandang balita ito for us. ‘Pag nagkaroon ng labor agreement, magkakaroon ng legal protection ang mga OFW dito sa Russia. Hopefully, this agreement will help us na maging documented in an easier and less expensive way,” the 31-year old part-time cleaner in Moscow said through email last June 10.
To Mina’s knowledge, a 3-year working visa in Russia costs $4,200-$4,500 (P217,854-P233,415).
But there could be a “drawback”: they could be required to pay tax there and/or sign an employment contract.
“Sa akin kasi, part-time worker ako. Naisip ko na baka mahirapan na akong kumuha ng mga kontrata [sa] bawat amo. Mas malaki [kasi] kita ng part-timer kaysa sa mga full-time. So magiging benefited lang siguro dito ay yun mga full-time.”
But that arrangement would be “okay” for Shane Almuete, a nanny in Vladivostok when she was interviewed by GMA News Online.
“Okay lang yun at least legal na kami. Isa iyan sa mga idinaing namin sa mahal na Pangulong [Rodrigo Roa Duterte]—siguro nabanggit na ng ambassador sa kanya—nung pumunta siya dito. Kahit matugunan lang yung maging legal na kami dito para hindi na kami natatakot sa mga pulis.”
Then and now, it has been Almuete’s complaint even though she has moved to Moscow.
“Iyong mga pulis kasi, naninita sila. Kapag na-tiyempohan ka, peperahan ka at tatanungin kung ‘deport o pera’. Kahit may visa ka, sasabihin fake daw kasi illegal kami. Iyong iba, namemera [lang] pero kapag ang mga matataas na officer, tiyak deportation na. Ang mahal pati pa-visa dito,” she added. in an email interview last June 10. —LBG, GMA News

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