MC-04 Suspended… But Not Enough!!!

The following Inquirer news and POEA website links cover the “evolution” of POEA Memorandum Circular No. 4 from issuance to OFW protest to amendment—and finally—to suspension:

DoLE Secretary’s Approval Now Required for Direct-hires

OFWs Protest Rule Requiring Employer Bonds

Arroyo Wants Requirements For White Collar OFWs Eased

Migrant Groups Reject New Rules

DoLE Amends Direct-hiring Policies for OFWs

POEA Suspends Memo on Employers $5000 Repatriation Bond

POEA News Release: MC4 Suspended

MC 01 Series 2008: BALDOZ’ Memo suspending MC 04

This is good news indeed to us OFWs. However, I believe that we should not stop here. Let us continue our protest and call for the resignation of ROSALINDA DIMAPILIS-BALDOZ and ARTURO BRION. These two officials should neither be allowed to stay nor transferred to any other government posts. OFWs are not safe while these two are in power! Let us support moves in the Senate and Congress to investigate MC-04 and the people behind it. No to corruption! No to misinformed officials! No to milking-the-cash-cow policies! ROSALINDA DIMAPILIS-BALDOZ and ARTURO BRION RESIGN NOW!!!

Top 20 Comments Against POEA Memo Circular No. 4

I surveyed the comments of the first 2,100 people who signed the appeal to abolish POEA Memorandum Circular No. 4 hosted at iPetition.com. Matindi talaga bumanat ang mga Filipino kapag alam nilang ginugulangan sila. Ang POEA kasi ginagalit mga OFWs e!

Here is my “TOP 20 Favorite Comments” list:

20	Totally ridiculous and absurd. It makes no sense at all. This would really affect the chance of getting hired overseas. Unbelievable. Irrational. Stupid (Petition No. 108, Romeo Limas)
19	I think this circular is a violation of my rights. (Petition No. 776, Anonymous)
18	Scrap this policy! [...] has no genuine concern for us OFWs. Malaki siguro kinikita nitong mga Labor officials na ito sa mga agencies kaya imbes na i-promote ang direct-hiring e unti-unti nilang tinatangal. Mas dadami nga naman komisyon nila sa mga lintek na agencies na yan. Scrap this policy and investigate these Labor officials’ extra-curricular activities with Recruitment Agencies. (Petition No. 2099, Anonymous)
17	Kawawa naman yun mga future OFW na may mga pending Jobs abroad ayun ngsisipaguwian na kasi ayaw ng foreign company dun sa bagong [memo ng] Pinas. yun iba naman nsa Pinas pa na ngresign na sa company nila at lilipad na sana ayun tumawag yun employer na di na sya i-hire, pwede ba yun wala ka na rin work sa Pinas??? Katangahan ng gobyerno natin na ngpapahirap sa sariling mamamayan. Nakapa-SELFISH ng government natin!!! (Petition No. 1746, Gerard de Jesus)
16	The news that was published in Strait Times in Singapore was just sent to our HR. And this would mean that instead of hiring Filipino professionals, they would rather hire Indonesians, Thais, Malaysians. Kasi nga sobra sa hassle nyang memorandum na yan!!!! at ang laki ng bond grabe!!!! hindi sya nakaktulong sa pag hire ng mga international firms ng Filipino professionals. (Petition No. 447, Anonymous)
15	This does not help the Filipinos at all! Because of this, my possible employer put on hold the recruiting of Filipino workers for their company in the US. Instead, they are considering applicants from India and other countries that does not have a stupid policy similar to this. A REALLY STUPID memorandum indeed!!! (Petition No. 2020, Cathy)
14	This is counterproductive. Another roll of red tape and possible source of corruption. (Petition No. 157, Apo Aguila Jr)
13	My brother was a direct hire by a company in the US. He was recruited 1996 but was only able to get to the US by 1998. His employer swore NEVER to recruit people from the Philippines after the red tape he encountered with the US embassy in the Philippines and POEA. This is without the $ bond that POEA is now requiring recruiting companies to pay! Ano ba yan! We already have too much red tape, qualified people are already having a hard time getting employers and offers, tapos dadagdagan na naman ng pahirap sa gustong maging OFWs. Bulok talaga sistema ng Pinas! – Good thing I immigrated to Canada already! (Petition No. 392, Roland)
12	This new memorandum has not been thought out well. This has very big implications to all of our kababayans who would like to look for job abroad. The Memo is also not clear what will happen to those who are already working abroad and if their contract expires or they found a new employer, do they need to adhere to this policy as well? Abolish this ASAP! (Petition No. 224, Andrebon G. Montefrio, Jr.)
11	hardly see any advantage in coming up with this policy. OFWs contribute a lot in the economic progress of the Phils., why give them a hard time? (Petition No. 832, joanne gabuterowe)
10	This policy is grossly bereft of any logical and economic sense. In fact, it’s a step backwards in a world that is becoming highly mobile. We can’t provide enough opportunities for our people in the Philippines, so why stop them being hired directly? If welfare is the objective of the government, how will it be achieved through the curtailment of the constitutional right to decent livelihood. What they should do is help our people make informed decisions and strengthen our embassies to help [OFWs] in need. (Petition No. 290, Mel Llesol)
9	This is just plain WRONG!! Create jobs in the Philippines, not bureaucracy. Don’t force us to come home and add to the unemployment! (Petition No. 72, Vicente Macaraeg)
8	totally lame excuse ho yung ginagawa nyu na protection daw sa manggagawa. Isipin nyu namang maigi bago kayu gumagawa ng hakbang. Hindi ito nakakatulong sa mga pinoy na gusto lang guminhawa sa pamamagitan ng pagtrabaho sa ibang bansa. Para naman kayu yung nagpapalamon sa mga pamilya namin. Kapalmuks! (Petition No. 93, theroot)
7	This memorandum should be implemented only in high-risk countries and not in countries that have favorable foreign worker policies… (Petition No. 581, Anonymous)
6	Nun hindi umubra ang naisip nilang double taxation, eto naman ngayon! !! Aba eh mas limpak limpak na salapi ang makukurakot nila dto. Biro mo P203,500 kada isang OFW. Grabe! Pagpalagay mo nang nasa 50,000 OFWs dto sa Singapore times US$5000. Leche tumataginting na US$250 million!!! (Petition No. 2094, Singapore IT)
5	Kaya nga nag direct hire para makaiwas sa malaking kotong sa mga recruitment agencies sa atin tapos pati gobyerno gusto kumubra ng malaking pera mula sa mga OFW. (Petition No. 291, Engr. Chad Anthony B. Villela)
4	MGA HAYOP KAU! my interview ako kahapon dahil sa issue na to di nila ako kina-usap! TANG-INA! HAYOP!!! ANO GAGAWIN KO! HAYOP! HAYOP! (Petition No. 1740, Arnold Pascual)
3	To the Policymakers: My life wasn’t so bad back home, but like the rest of the OFWs, the very common reason why we left is the belief that the Philippines is close to hopeless in its struggle for progress. Corruption will neither be abated overnight nor within the rest of my lifetime (by the way, I’m just 34). This doesn’t mean though that I don’t love my country. On the contrary, I am a prouder Filipino now than before I left. So what’s this policy all about?? What does it hope to achieve?? Why prevent Filipinos from going abroad? Why create an impression on the foreign emloyers that it’s such a hassle to employ Filipinos now? If the government intends to keep its own talents, then their focus should be on improving the wage structure of its citizens! Mind you, the Filipinos abroad are very hardworking because their labor is compensated. Back home, you can work yourself to death and life is still no better. So I beg you, leaders of my country, this is the 21st century!! It’s time to think out of the box!!! (Petition No. 99, Anonymous)
2	Aren’t our remittances enough? (Petition No. 213, Tonton Figueroa)
1	I just convinced my Kuwaiti husband to sponsor a poor distant relative to work as a driver for us in Kuwait, instead of an Indian or Bangladeshi as he originally planned to. With this new rule, it will be impossible for my husband to comply with the requirements thus making my relative’s chance of earning a good living nil. I would want so much to help my relative and here’s a good chance but it seems the government doesn’t care at all! (Petition No. 1141, Freda Editha O. Contreras)

Makinig naman sana sa mga OFWs ang POEA. Scrap Memo Circular No. 4!!!

Scrap POEA Memorandum Circular No. 04 NOW!!! Sign the Petition.

CASH COWS UNITE! Please sign the petition to abolish POEA Memorandum Circular No. 04 (Guidelines on the Direct Hiring of Filipino Workers). This memo is simply stupid and unfair!!! Here is the petition link:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/antiOFWcircular/signatures-1.html

Tandaan ninyo at markahan ang mga pangalan ng mga taong responsable sa memo na ito: ROSALINDA DIMAPILIS-BALDOZ at ARTURO BRION. Huwag na sanang madagdagan ang hanay ng mga ganitong klaseng opisyal sa gobyerno!

POEA Memorandum Circular No. 4 – Huh? Bonds ba kamo?

May bagong memo galing sa POEA, effective daw mula January 15, 2008. Pakibasa na lang po sa inquirer.net ang buong article: DoLE secretary’s approval now required for direct hires. Praning lang ba ako, o may hidden agenda ang circular na ito?

Sabi sa article:

“Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Memorandum Circular No. 4,… requires employers to provide a performance bond equivalent to the worker’s salary for three months, a $5,000 repatriation bond, and medical insurance.”

Tanong ko lang:

Kanino mapupunta ang performance bond? Sa POEA ba o sa OFW? Kung sa POEA, palagay ko unfair. Ito ang isang magandang halimbawa ng “CASH COW” mentality ng pamahalaan natin! Pinagkakitaan na naman ang mga pobreng OFWs. Kung sa OFW deretso mapupunta ang pera e mabuti, pero asa pa kayo?!!!

Bakit may repatriation bond? Di na ba sapat na ipa-declare sa employer na obligasyon niya ang repatriation? Dati naman ganun lang ang requirement di ba? Ano pang silbi ng mga consulates at embassies natin? Tsaka bakit ba lagi ipinapasa ng mga tao sa gobyerno natin ang responsibilidad ng repatriation sa mga foreign employers? Di ba dapat responsibilidad na ng gobyerno natin yun? Style-na-bulok lang ba ito para madagdagan ang income ng POEA? Marunong din naman po mag-math ang mga OFWs. $5000 x number of incoming OFWs = limpak-limpak na salapi! Kung ako ang employer magdadalawang-isip na ko kumuha ng Pinoy dahil ang daming bonds na babayaran. Sino na naman ang talo sa huli?

Medical insurance? Yan aprub sa kin! (hay salamat may tama rin naman pala sa memo kahit paano)

Sabi sa article:

“[The circular]…limits the number of direct-hire employees to no more than five.”

Tanong ko lang:

Bakit may limit? Yung mga hindi makakalabas ng Pinas dahil naapektuhan ng limit na yan e mabibigyan ba ng trabaho ng POEA? Wala namang harangan mga boss!

Sabi sa article:

“Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, who is also chairman of the POEA board, said these new guidelines would provide more protection for direct-hire overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).”

Tanong ko lang:

Protecting OFWs by financial whacking of existing and potential overseas employers? Is that fair? Kung iisipin, di ba tumutulong na nga sila sa pagbibigay ng trabaho sa mga kababayan natin tapos parang sila pa ang masama? Natutunan ko sa anim na taon kong pagtatrabaho na ang laging pinakamainam na solusyon sa problema ay yung tutumbok sa root cause ng problema. Mga foreign employers ba ang root cause ng problema? O may pagkukulang din ang POEA? Kunsabagay may mga abusado rin namang employers pero dapat ba talagang iisa na lang ang tingin sa kanila? Pati yung mga matitino pagbabayarin na rin ng POEA?

Para kay Sec. Brion at POEA:

Sec. Brion, kung nasaan man po kayo naroroon ngayon, talaga po bang napagisipan niyo at ng mga tao ng POEA na makabubuti ang policy na ito sa mga OFWs na katulad ko? Gusto ko pong sabihin na parang dehado yata kami (as usual) at mas makikinabang yata ang POEA sa bagong patakaran na ito. Ano po kaya ang long-term impact nito? Dagdag-kita para sa POEA siyempre pero di ba mas mahal na mag-hire ng Pinoy ngayon dahil sa mga bagong rules na ‘yan?

Kung pipilosopohin ng mga pilosopo sa gobyernong Filipino e maari nilang ihirit na kung kikita ang POEA e makabubuti rin para sa mga OFWs dahil makakatulong ang pondo para sa mga proyektong pang-OFW. Pero pilosopo sa kapwa pilosopo e ‘eto lang masasabi ko dyan: HINDI RIN!!!