Friday, August 23, 2013

Aug. 26 is "international day of action"
OFWs' global protests vs. pork barrel set




August 26, Monday, will be an "international day of action" of OFWs calling for the abolition of the pork barrel and the re-channeling of pork funds to much-needed services for OFWs in distress.

Global alliance of overseas Filipinos Migrante International today announced series of protest activities by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) around the world.

In Hong Kong, OFWs already jumpstarted the protest with a picket at the Philippine Consulate yesterday.

Today, OFWs in Saudi Arabia are planning to hold a press conference to be participated in by representatives of various Filipino communities. They will highlight the Aquino government's failure to provide assistance to stranded OFWs in Saudi Arabia and will call for the re-channeling of Aquino's P1-trillion pork to the repatriation of thousands of stranded OFWs in the region.

Tomorrow, August 24, Filipinos in New York will be holding a "public information session" followed by a picket protest led by NAFCON (National Alliance for Filipino Concerns) and BAYAN-USA.

On Sunday, August 25, OFWs from the US, Canada, Hong Kong and UAE are also planning simultaneous protest activities in their respective countries.

OFWs in Taiwan are already posting their "selfie protests" in social networking sites. In Thailand and Vietnam, OFWs will be launching a "black armband protest" against the pork barrel.

"Protests have gone global and will all culminate on August 26. OFWs are finding ways to participate and show their outrage against corruption in the Aquino government. We call on all OFWs around the world to coordinate other protest activities with Migrante chapters around the world," said Garry Martinez, chairperson of Migrante International.

"Even before the controversial pork barrel scam, OFWs have long been disillusioned with Aquino's 'tuwid na daan'. The fact that their $21 billion worth of remittances and millions more from taxes and state exactions imposed on OFWs are being plundered by corrupt officials when services and assistance for OFWs in distress have gone from bad to worse under the Aquino administration is not lost to them. They are claiming their stake in the call to abolish Aquino's pork barrel," Martinez said.


Migrante International will join the BAYAN contingent in the August 26 anti-pork barrel protest in Luneta. ###
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Website: http://migranteinternational.org
Office Address: #45 Cambridge St, Cubao, Quezon City
Telefax: 9114910
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Sarah Katrina Maramag
Campaign Coordinator and Public Information Officer
Migrante International

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