MORE ABOUT THE STRANDED FILIPINO MIGRANT WORKERS IN KSA

MORE ABOUT THE STRANDED FILIPINO MIGRANT WORKERS IN KSA

Most of those in the government may be musing how come OFWs from almost all part of the world are following closely an issue they are mistakenly thought limited only to those in Saudi Arabia.

OFWs around the world are concerned about the issue because all of migrant workers are paying for obligatory “voluntary” OWWA  annual membership fee of US$25.00. Very few, if any, of those in Europe  which is of a considerable number, and other places where if they lost their jobs, they just look for another and does not have to be repatriated and  do not really need it and are paying in the interest of the creation of funds using the money they are paying for the benefit of all migrant workers documented or not.  But it appears that the Philippine government has other plans for their money.

Vice Consul Leo Ausan, who said that consular officials were still waiting for the approval of their budget request from the national government. This statement smells like a rotten fish. there must be a government budget allocated for that on a yearly basis considering that OWWA has P13.6 billion ($293.4 million) garnered from the compulsary contributions by OFWs. And we must also take into consideration that even undocumented migrant workers send remittances, and therefore, are part of the sector that in a big way, contribute in the creation of the national wealth. It is absurd to say they do not have funds ready for the repatriation of distressed or stranded migrant workers. The funds are there, and PERHAPS, the government is just thinking of using it elsewhere.

Voicing the unsavory question in the mind of many migrant workers around the world: are they indeed just “cashcows” for the Philippine government? If we cite the money that goes into the coffers from each migrant worker before they could get out of the country in terms of documentation fees to be paid which totals in millions of pesos every day aside from the service fees given to the recruiters, one would say so.

The documented OFWs has the right to question the Philippine government their reason for not answering the needs of the undocumented Filipino migrant workers and to receive honest answers, not lame explanations. All Filipinos has the right to receive assistance from the government.

And the OFWs around the world reiterates the demand: IMMEDIATE MASS REPATRIATION of stranded Filipino migrant workers in Saudi Arabia USING THE GOVERNMENT FUNDS!

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MOTHER’S DAY, How it came to be

MOTHER’S DAY, How it came to be

This special day I dedicate to my deceased mother Maria Celia Dabalos-Saguing, an exemplary mother who made me and my brothers and sisters what we are now, my special mentor who sculptured my character and personality, and gave me her own personal philosophy and strict discipline.

Wherever you are now, Mom, I want to express my unending love for you and to continue honoring you for my whole life.

Mother’s Day- a holiday celebrating mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society. The modern celebration of Mother's Day began in the United States in the early 20th century; it is not directly descended from the many celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have occurred throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the ChristianMothering Sunday celebration. Despite this, in some countries Mother's Day has become synonymous with these older traditions.

The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in America. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day.

In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association.^[8] She specifically noted that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world."

In the Roman Catholic Church, the holiday is strongly associated with revering theVirgin Mary. In many Catholic homes, families have a special shrine devoted to theBlessed Virgin Mary. In many Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a special prayer service is held in honor of theTheotokos Virgin Mary.

Mother's day in the Philippinbes is celebrated every second Sunday of May. A Filipino mother is called the "light of the household" around which all activities revolve. Families treat mothers to movies or lunch or dinner out, spend time with their mothers in a park or shopping at the mall, or give their mothers time to pamper themselves. Most families celebrate at home. Children perform most chores that the mother routinely handles, prepare food or give their mothers small handcrafted tokens such as cards.

Although in its current form Mother's Day is not a traditional Filipino holiday, this and Fatherr's Day owe their popularity to American influence.

This special day I dedicate to my deceased mother Maria Celia Dabalos-Saguing, an exemplary mother who made me and my brothers and sisters what we are now, my special mentor who sculptured my character and personality, and gave me her own personal philosophy and strict discipline.

Wherever you are now, Mom, I want to express my unending love for you and to continue honoring you for my whole life.

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When abroad, Filipinos cannot expect assistance from Philippine Embassies.

When abroad, Filipinos cannot expect assistance from Philippine Embassies.

News item:

According to reports from Migrante-Riyadh, the OFWs were holding their peaceful protest outside the PH post compound when Riyadh POLO Case Officer Abdullah Umpa arrived with Saudi police. “It was Umpa who pinpointed to the Saudi police who to arrest. Imbes na harapin ng gobyerno ang ating mga OFW sila pa mismo ang nagpaaresto sa kanila. Traydor ang gobyernong ito sa mismong mamamayan niya!” said Garry Martinez, Migrante Partylist 2^ndNominee and Migrante International Chairperson.

Those arrested are leaders of the OFWs, namely, Lyndon Salonga, Juan Carlos and Jon Jon de Vera. As of 12:30pm yesterday, KSA time, the three OFWs have been released.

DOLE

In a phone conversation with Salonga, he recounted how they were deposited into a car then Saudi police, together with PH authorities, harassed and threatened them while they drove around. They were eventually dropped off at an area far from the campout site.

The arrests came in the wake of the successful three-day Solidarity Campout held by families of stranded OFWs at the Tent City and promises declared by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to ensure the protection and welfare of stranded OFWs in light of the Saudi crackdowns.

OWWA

“Ito ba ang hinihintay ng goberyong Aquino? Ang tuluyan nang mapahamak ang ating mga kababayan sa Saudi? Heads must roll, those responsible for the arrests and harassment should be held accountable,” Martinez said.

Martinez said that as of 3:00pm yesterday, KSA time, at least 66 OFWs were able to enter the compound of the PH Embassy and demanded a dialogue with PH Ambassador to Saudi Ezzedin Tago. Inside the PH Embassy compound, they said that “they were being harassed and threatened every hour by PH embassy officials”.

Musing on the news, it appears that the attitude of displayed by the Governments representatives in Riyadh has the telltale characteristic of the Philippine Government itself- vindictiveness. Criticize their mistake and they strike back. Treacherously and below the belt. Protest on their wrong-doings and they arrest you on some concocted false charges. Ask for changes and you are accused of being a red.

I pray to God I am mistaken, but the signs are written on the wall. The government is also exporting their vices to their embassies in foreign lands.

God help us all. When in a foreign land, we do not have a place in which to bring our woes. We are alone.  

SHAME ON PHILIPPINE EMBASSY AND DOLE-POLO IN RIYADH!!!

SHAME ON PHILIPPINE EMBASSY AND DOLE-POLO IN RIYADH!!!

As an Overseas Filipino, I found it hard to accept that the Riyadh, KSA Phl Embassy and POLO officials themselves has betrayed the distressed Filipinos who was staging a protest in the Phl Embassy compound.  I condemn this dastardly actions of the officials who are supposed to give protection  to Filipino nationals in their area of jurisdiction. The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), documented or not, contribute to the wealth of the country through their hard works., Is our government good only in enjoying the fruit oif the back-breaking toils of the OFWs, and absent when giving them what is justly theirs?

The DOLE-POLO unit in Riyadh, in fact, has a long litany of negligence of OFWs, even of their own locally hired employees as in the case of one of locally hired employee whi died in 2009 of heart ailment who received no medical assistance from the said office.

The incident at the Philippine Embassy Riyadh is a far cry from what these posts of our government is supposed to be doing. It appears that, since this post, like all of its kind around the world, are there to give the Filipinos the care that must be received by every Filipinos. And to the eyes of overseas Filipinos, is a Judas act. A betrayal of its own citizens. And since the Embassies are posts of the Philippine government in foreign lands, it reflects the policies of the government of the Philippines: betray its own citizens in times of their need of assistance from their government.

Whatever high sounding words these officials offer to explain away the incident is unacceptable. No amount of explanation could allay the bad figure of the Philippines mirrored by the actions of the DFA oifficials iun their Embassy at Riyadh and the DOLE with their officials in POLO post in the said city. The officials in that post will be remembered as an embarrassment for those who are doiung their best to be true to their mission.

SHAME ON THE PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN RIYADH, KSA!!!

SHAME ON THE OFFICIALS OF DOLE-POLO IN RIYADH, KSA!!!

RECALL ALL THESE ERRING OFFICIALS AND DISROBE THEM OF ANY POST IN THE FOREIGN SERVICE!!!

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to read more, go to
http://migranteinternational.org/?p=2936

The need for a Politics of Change

The need for a Politics of Change

Changelessness or the recurrence of old patterns appears to be a common theme in studies of Philippine politics since the fall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. Many political scientists have characterized the country's post-Marcos politics as merely being a return to the "elite" or "oligarchic" demorcacy of the pre-authoritarian era, all highlighting the continuing hold on economic and political power by an oligarchic elite

Political change in the country is next to impossible due to the almost insurmountable opposition of  the reigning power. The Philippine society, reduced to a “yessir” society by the oligarchic elite thru its control of the legislative,  judicial, the executive branches of the government and therefore of the armed forces. Any person of group of persons who preach changes in the system are at once branded as “enemies of the  state”, communist ort terrorists. Thus, the massive Human Rights violations and the accompanying impunity.  The people’s will are subjugated to  the will of the moneyed few. Democracy became a farce.

Has nothing really changed in the Philippine politics? Are there realistic prospects for substantive political and social change in the years ahead? The people’s hopes when they moved to remove authoriarism, ironically, was dashed when they choosed to install to power who they thought would lead them to Democracy. The “People’s Power revolution” was people’s revolution that was usurped by the elitists in returning to power, showing that Filipinos has yet to mature politically. Their move came to nothing but a ladder for the landed rich and big compradors’ to gain power and more power. The change they gained was from bad to worst.

The Spanish flexible racial tradition had resulted in a system based on ethnicity and class as determinants of social and economic structure, while the rigid U. S. racial tradition assigned race the more dominant role. The cultural affinity between the early individual American administrators and the Filipino elite, however, meant that class-based distinctions in the islands were not broken up. Thus, the extreme elitist character of the Philippines' economy and society persisted and became impervious to the influences which in other Asian countries led to a progressive weakening of elite structures as the 20th century advanced. (Mixed Blessing: The Impact of the American Colonial Experience on Politics and Society in the Philippines By Hazel M. Mcferson) 

It is, therefore, in order to achieve changes, the entire system has to be changed. The colonial attitude of the people has to be erased through changing the educational system. A genuine cultural and political revolution has to be done without returning to pre-authoritarianism regime characterized by the Philippine politics after the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship. The overthrow of the "elite" or "oligarchic" democracy has to be achieved. Then, and only then, could the Philippines could have the change needed to become a true free and democratic society.

THE MAKABAYAN COALITION

THE MAKABAYAN COALITION

In April 16, 2009, the Koalisyon ng Makabayang Mamamayan was founded by the eight Philippine progressive parties and at the present is comprised of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan, Courage, Migrante, ACT-Teachers, Katribu, Akap Bata, Piston, Kalikasan and Aking Bikolnon. Also included in the National Council personages in the field of arts, governance, mass media and people’s organization. Itv is founded on the challenge of change embodied in their call Filipinos for change, Change for Filipinos.

Makabayan is not a coalition of popular personalities, unlike other  political organizations.It is a coalition of people from different sectors of society. It is a coalition with a definitive vision for  change that is nationalist and progressive. It is founded on the collective strengths and aspiration of the Filipino as proud, united and patriotic people.  Its principle revolves on empowering the people to make informed decisions and actions that confronts and affects them.

In the past three elections, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis and Kabataan won and participated actively in the Congress as true representatives of the people, the proof that election can be won without compromising one’s principles and rights.

Aiming to take the people’s agenda to mainstream politics the eight parties decided to form the coalition to put forward progressive and nationalist candidates in the local and national elections, deciding that it is high time for the politics of change to be taken to higher and broader level.

Understanding that the struggle for the politics of change is highly challenging with the prevalence of repressive, violent and corrupt practices in our elections. Nevertheless, the Filipino people, know that now is time for our voices to be heard. With our unity and collective action, we will achieve meaningful and progressive changes, in the elections and beyond it.

MAGSASAKA Hari ng kabukiran , Bayani ng bayan

MAGSASAKA - Hari ng kabukiran, Bayani ng bayan

Originally published in ako ay pilipino FRIDAY, 18 MARCH 2011 11:51

SECTION: LIBANGAN - LIFE STYLE

 MAGSASAKA Hari ng kabukiran , Bayani ng bayan
Ni Demetrio Bong Rafanan

Madaling araw pa ng simulan
malakas na kalabaw ang nasa harapan
kahit pagod na't pinapawisan
pag-aararo'y 'di parin tinitigilan
paghahanda sa lupa'y kailangan
nang mahabol panahon ng taniman






Pagsikat ng araw 'di na hinintay
kahit katawan ay nananamlay
(sa) pagpupunla'y panay at napakahusay
masipag, mabilis at talaga namang sanay
pagsasaka'y pinagbubuting tunay
(dahil) kabuhayan dito lang nakasalalay

Araw-araw ay nasa kabukiran

mga pananim ay inaaruga't binabantayan
kung minsan ay doon narin nanananghalian
pinapangarap ang nalalapit na anihan
isinisiguro pagkain ng sambayanan
maging kapakapakinabang ang pinagpaguran

Paglipas ng mga araw ay nangangamba
kinakatakuta'y ang bagyo't baha
baka mga pananim ay masalanta
dumadalangin at lagi ng umaasa
kalikasan sana'y laging mapayapa
upang aanihi'y 'di masayang at mawala

Araw na pinakahihintay ay dumating din
para nang may kapistahan sa bukirin
kasama ang mga anak at asawang butihin
pagkahapo't init ng araw 'di na pinapansin
masayang nagsimulang anihin
mga pananim alay sa bayan natin

Magsasaka tunay kang maasahan
sa bisig mo galing pagkain ng bayan
nagtatrabaho sa bukid para sa mamamayan
sakripisyo't pagpapagod dapat parangalan
haring naturingan ka ng kabukiran
tunay kang bayani ng ating bayan

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