OFWs, Igiit ang Tunay na Proteksiyon, hindi pagpsapabaya at Pangongotong!

Posted by Belatmino Dabalos Saguing                                                                                                Rome, Italy 18 February 2019 

STATEMENT RELEASE

Ang Umangat Migrante sa Rome ay matinding tumututol sa panibagong pahirap sa OFWs ng  rehimeng Duterte sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatupad ng POEA Governing Board Resolution No.04 GRB 4-2018 na naguutos ng OFW Mandatory Insurance.

Ang POEA GBR 4-2018 ay nagpapakita na ang mga awtoridad ng Pilipinas ay nakatoon lamang sa paglilipat ng kanyang mga responsibilidad ng pagbibigay ng serbisyong proteksiyon sa mga OFWs sa pribadong sektor. Hindi pa nasisiyahan sa pangongotong mula sa mga bagong hires, ang rehimen ay ngayon nangangati ang mga kamay upang maipahigop ang bilyun-bilyong halaga mula sa mga rehires upang higit pang mapalaki ang kita ng mga pribadong insurance provider.

(Photo courtesy of Umangat Migrante)

Sa pamamagitan ng singilin sa bawat rehire sa insurance gastos ng US $ 144, POEA-accredited insurance provider ay nakatakda upang umani ng hindi bababa sa Php 7.6 bilyon bawat taon batay sa OFW deployments nitong nakaraang ng taon ng halos isang milyong rehires. Ito napakalaking  halaga na ito ay hindi pa kasama ang mga koleksyon mula sa mga bagong hires. Walang alinlangan, ito ay maihahambing sa isang bank robbery!

Sa karaniwang kaso, ang mga karagdagang exactions mauuwi bilang salary deductions o bilang excessive charges ng mga ahensya ng recruitment at marami OFW repatriates ay hindi  natatanggap ang kanilang mga claim insurance. Sa halip, ang kanilang mga  pamasahe ay hinihugot pa mula sa kanilang mga sweldo. Ang POEA GRB-2018 nang hindi isinasaalang-alang na sa ilang mga bansa tulad ng Itay, ito ay hindi kinakailangan sa lahat dahil mga foreign workers doon ay kasali  sa kanyang mga programa sa labor insurance, pension, benepisyo at healthcares, samakatuwid ay maitutyuring itong katawa-tawa nas maglagay pa ng mga karagdagang gastos sa mga balikat ng mga employer na nagbabayad na para sa sistema ng Social Security ng mga tujmatanggap na bansa. 

At tila ang maraming mga pahirap sa mga OFW at kanilang mga pamilya sa -sapilitan pagtaas ng presyo dahil sa Duterte TRAIN law ay hindi pa sapat, ang rehimen ay muling nagdadagdag pa sa  kanilang matinding paghihirap sa pamamagitan ng paggamit sa POEA bilang isang bloodsucking conduit upang mapalaki  ang mga pribadong tubo.

Kung ang pangulo ay tunay na nagtatrabaho para sa interes ng mga OFW tulad ng pakunwaring paqmamarali, hinahamon namin ang pamahalaang Duterte na i-scrap ang POEA GBR04-3018 at ganap na harapin nito ang responsibilidad ng pagprotekta sa mga karapatan at kapakanan ng mga OFWs at kanilang mga pamilya sa halip na walang tigil na dambong para sa kapakanan ng mga malalaking corporate interes.

Ibasura ang POEA GBR 04-2018!

Serbisyo hindi negosyo! Proteksyon hindi koleksyon!

Ugnayan ng Migranteng manggagawa tungo sa Pag-unlad         (UMANGAT MIGRANTE), Rome, Italy

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THE BASTARDIZATION OF THE PARTYLIST SYSTEM IN THE PHILPPINES

Posted by  Belarmino Dabalos Saguing                                                                                          Rome, Italy. 28 January 2019

(downloaded photo)

This month, we have seen the disqualification of three party list groups of Makabayan bloc by the Comelec for flimsy technical reasons.

Manggagawa Party-List representing the workers, migrant workers and their families, the public transport drivers and the urban poor,  was disqualified for failing to prove that it does not receive funds from the government.

Aksyon Health Workers Party-List, meanwhile, was disqualified for failure to prove that they belong to the marginalized sector. Aksyon Health Workers represents health workers from the private and the public sectors. The Comelec also dismissed the petition for registration of the People’s Surge Party-List, which represents victims of disasters.

On the other hand, party-list groups with highly questionable credibility and advocacies, billionaires whose party-list groups claimed to be for the marginalized never spoke against anti-poor policies, were allowed by the Comelec to participate this coming elections. This includes Mocha Uson’s AA-Kasosyo Party and Duterte Youth led by Ronald Cardema, Duterte’s avid supporter and chairman of the Kabataan for Bongbong Movement, a youth organization supporting Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son of the ousted dictator Ferdinand

One Patriotic Coalition of Marginalized Nationals, also called as 1-Pacman. Its representative, Michael Romero, was named as the richest legislator in 2018 based on his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. His net worth in 2017 is P7.29 billion ($138 million). Romero was also reported to have participated in an auction with a bid of P50 million over an artwork in 2018.

Romero is the chief executive officer of the Harbour Centre Port Terminal, Inc., chairman of the 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corporation and vice chairman of AirAsia Philippines.

The second richest legislator is running as representative of Diwa Party-List (Dignidad sa Bawat Manggagawa) Emmeline Aglipay Villar, with a net worth of P1 billion ($19 million). She is the wife of Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar.

By allowing these party-list groups to run, Comelec does not only bastardize the party-list system but also proves itself to be biased and partisan, anti-poor and pro-rich.

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Sampung Utos ng mga Anak ng Bayan

Posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, ItalyNovember 26, 2018

I. Ibigin mo ang Dios ng buong puso.

II. Pakatandaang lagi na ang tunay na pagibig sa Dios ay siya ring pagibig sa Tinubuan, at iyan din ang pagibig sa kapwa.
III. Itanim sa iyong puso na, ang tunay na kahalagahan ng puri’t kaginhawahan ay ang ikaw’y mamatay dahil sa ikaliligtas ng Inang-Bayan.

IV. Lahat ng iyong mabuting hangad ay magwawagi kapag ikaw’y may hinahon, tiyaga, katwiran at pag-asa sa iyong inaasal at ginagawa.

V. Pagingatan mo, kapara ng pagiingat sa sariling puri, ang mga pasya at adhikain ng K.K.K.

VI. Katungkulan ng lahat na, ang nabibingit sa malaking kapahamakan sa pagtupad ng kanyang tungkulin ay iligtas sukdang ikapariwara ng sariling buhay at kayamanan.

VII. Ang kaugalian natin sa ating sarili at sa pagtupad ng ating tungkol ay siyang kukunang halimbawa ng ating kapwa.

VIII. Bahaginan mo ng iyong makakayanan ang sino mang mahirap at kapus-palad.

IX. Ang sipag sa paggawa ng iyong ikabubuhay ay siyang tunay na sanhi ng pag-ibig, pagmamahal sa sarili, sa iyong asawa’t mga anak, sa iyong kapatid at mga kababayan.

X. Parusahan ang sinomang masamang tao’t taksil at purihin ang mabubuting gawa. Dapat mong paniwalaan na ang tinutungo ng K.K.K. ay mga biyaya ng Dios; na anopa’t ang mga ninasa ng Inang-Bayan, ay mga nasain din ng Dios.

Mula sa opisyal na programa para sa inagurasyon ng monumento ni Andres Bonifacio, 1933.

Forum sulla drammatica situazione dei diritti umani nelle Filippine

Roma, Italia 25 nov 2018

SUor Arlene Casas, suore di Nostra Signora di Sion era ospite in un forum organizzato dalla Italo-Pilipino Friendship Association (IPFA) in collaborazione con Umangat Migrante di Roma, ha discusso l'espulsione di suor Patricia Fox, un missionario australiano che lavora nel Manila, Filippine e l'attuale situazione dei diritti umani nel paese.

Suor Arlene ha descritto le lotte Lumad per le loro terre d'origine, la lotta dei contadini e dei lavoratori per Condizioni di lavoro e dei salari, e come il regime nel paese contrastato le loro lotte con le violazioni violente dei diritti umani.

Le discussioni è stato accolto dagli italiani e di altre nazionalità, che hanno partecipato al forum esprimendo la loro solidarietà con le popolazioni indigene delle Filippine e ai lavoratori per il loro solo lotte.

Un Ibrahim del Mali ha espresso le somiglianze nelle condizioni nazionali nella sua terra d'origine. Gli Sud americani hanno convenuto che la situazione è globale e ha chiesto una forte solidarietà e di lotta comune.

Forum on the dramatic human rights situation in the Philippines

Forum on the dramatic human rights situation in the Philippines

Rome, Italy 25 Nov. 2018

Sor Arlene Casas, Sisters of our Lady of Sion was guest speaker in a forum organized by the Italo-Pilipino Friendship Association (IPFA) in collaboration with Umangat Migrante of Rome, discussed the expulsion of Sister Patricia Fox, an Australian missionary working in Manila, Pjilippines and the current human rights situation in the country.

Sister Arlene described the Lumad struggles for their homelands, the fight of the peasants and workers for a just working conditions and salaries, and how the regime in the country countered their struggles with violent human rights violations.

The discussions was welcomed by the Italians and other nationalities who attended the forum expressing their solidarity with the Philippine indigenous people and workers for their just struggles.

A Ibrahim from Mali expressed the striking similarities in the national conditions in his own homeland. The Spanish Americans concurred that the situation is global and called for a strong solidarity and common struggle.

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A brief Profile of Filipinos in Italy

posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing                                                                                            Rome, Italy  13 November 2018                                                                                                    Contact info: email bdsaguing@gmail.com

Italy hosts the largest population of Overseas Fiipino Workers in Western Europe according to Italian Forign Affairs statistics. The Italian Ministry of Interior reports  of 167,859  total number of documented Filipinos scattered in Italian regions,  of which 72,599 are males and 95,260 are females. The highest concentrations are in the regions of Lombardy – 58,412 and Lazio  – 46,282.  Estimate  numbers of undocumented Filipinos vary widely from 20,000 to80,000. (Source: ISTAT Jan. 1 2018)

Filipinos were among the first immigrant groups to work in Italy, starting in the early 1970s. They constitute the sixth largest foreign community after the Romanians, Albanians, Moroccans, Chinese and Ukrainians. Most Filipinos are concentrated in major cities like Milan (42,236), Rome41,311), Some 20.4 percent are found in other municipalities.

             They work mainly as domestic helpers or family caregivers. Some have found work in shops, factories and in various services. With  the employment opportunities available, Filipino women outnumber Filipino males–72,599  males vs. 95,260 females – with valid work permits. The rest are their dependents   –    14, 551 to 15,565. Italy is the fourth largest source of remittances to the Philippines. In per capita remittances, Filipinos rank second only to Chinese immigrants.

The Italian economy is industrialized and diversified. It is dominated by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-size enterprises, many of them family owned. Italy also has a sizable underground, untaxed economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 17 percent of the gross national product. 

However, Italy is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high unemployment. Italy is the third-largest economy in the euro-zone, but it is saddled with high public debt and has imposed austerity measures. Its decreasing native labor force, due to aging population and low fertility rate add to its burdens. Thus,immigrants became an important force in the economy. Four million Immigrants now contribute about 11 percent of the Italian gross domestic product and pay taxes amounting to about €33 billion. The 3.5 percent of the companies that migrants own and operate pay some €7.5 billion of the country’s social security (Caritas Migrantes - Dossier Sull’ Immigrazione). 

The government, aware of Italy’s need for migrant labor to work on farms and in factories and fill other work that many native Italians are reluctant to do, has instituted several amnesty programs to regularize the stay of undocumented workers. It also has a family reunification program that allows immigrant parents to send for their children up to the age of 18 years. In 2008 up to 16 percent of Filipinos came to the country to join their families compared with almost 79 percent who came for employment (Colombo and Martini, 2010). The rise in the Filipino birth rate in Italy is contributing to the growing Filipino population. Some 1,598 Filipino babies were born in 2008 alone.

Birthday celebration of an OFW child in via Prenestina, Rome 11.10.2018 (Photo by Nelia Areola Domingo)

Although not immune to discrimination and abuse, Filipinos do not suffer as much as trafficked immigrants. Employers value them for their familiarity with English and their work ethic. They are also credited with revitalizing parishes that have suffered from the loss of native congregants. 

But culture, language and race hinders their full assimilation into Italian society. Filipino children and youth brought to Italy tend to suffer the most. Emotional and identity issues confront them, and they can be vulnerable to risky behavior. Italian-born Filipinos have fewer problems integrating. They become in many ways, as Italian as any native Italian children, taking on many of their values, culture and habits. This cause considerable conflicts in some cases, with Filipino parents who consider Italian children and youth as too disrespectful to parents. 

At present, there are more than 70 Filipino community organizations all over Italy. Most are church based and often have close links with priests and chaplaincies that minister to their religious and counseling needs.

The migration policies of the present extreme right populist government of  Italy, notably the new security dcrees of the present populist extreme right coalition is posing problems to undocumented Filipinos and other foreign nationals in the country.

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The true symbol of the nation

A national symbol is a symbol of any entity considering itself and manifesting itself to the world as a national community: the sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of colonial or other dependence, (con)federal integration, or even an ethnocultural community considered a 'nationality' despite having no political autonomy.

National symbols intend to unite people by creating visual, verbal, or iconic representations of the national people, values, goals, or history.

Officially, it is recognized the the recognized as symbols of a nation are

·        The flag or banner of a nation-state

·        The coat of arms of the land or ruling dynasty

·        The seal or stamp of the land or ruling dynasty

·        The head of state (mostly, in authoritarian states)

·        Abstract symbols

·        National anthems, royal and imperial hymns; alongside such official hymns custom may also recognize the national symbol value of very popular songs.

But many has forgotten that mere objects cannot truly symbolize a nation. It is wrong to imprison people who burn or disfigure an object officially recognized as national symbol. For example, people who burn the flag in protest must not be criminalized. Or people criticizing head of the state or of a regime for the same reason, cannot be be criminalized.

We must bear in mind that the true symbol of a nation is the sovereign people that comprise the nation. A flag or coat of arms are just objects which unlike people cannot feel or think and therefore, are inept matters.

It is the sovereign people who institute and constitute a nation, not objects. It is the people who have the right to choose a leader to serve them, therefore, a leader cannot symbolize a nation.

The state of the nation is the state of the people, not of a few privileged group.

The true symbol of the nation is the sovereign people.

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