Joomla! site syndication http://www.anakmindanao.com Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:41:20 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.anakmindanao.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.anakmindanao.com Joomla! site syndication http://www.anakmindanao.com/content/view/253/44/ HOUSE OF CONGRESS OFFICE OF REPRESENTATIVE Republic of the Philippines ARIEL C. HERNANDEZ Quezon City Anak Mindanao Party List August 24, 2009 ______________________________________________________________________________ Mr. Speaker, Maayong Hapon! To you my colleagues, fellow travelers, Madagway Daluman! Assalamu Alaikum! Peace be with you all! The Philippines is the third largest labor sending country in the world. In 2008, 1,376,823 Filipino workers were deployed all over the globe according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Remittances by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached $16.43 billion in 2008, thus making them a dependable source of foreign exchange for the economy. They are indeed silent savior of our economy. The stories of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are very well known to some of us. They are our fellow Filipinos who risk abuse, discrimination and separation from their families to earn a living doing mostly blue collar jobs overseas. Our OFWs are truly a testament to the lack of well-paying jobs for our countrymen and the desperation and helplessness felt by many in our own land. And the exodus continues with no end in sight. While the travails of many OFWs in the Middle East, Hongkong and Singapore are much publicized and talked about by the tri media, rarely do we hear about this class of persons and social phenomena called the halaws --- a derogatory term meaning “outcast” --- labeled as such by Malaysian nationals. Maybe the 1st and the last time people hear about the issue was in 2005-2006 when Malaysia deported at least a thousand per week where we have to use our navy boats to help in that massive deportation. Since then, there seems no news that has been heard about them again. They suffered everyday, not many of us knew, away from our government’s attention and care. A mix of economic and political factors has opened up Sabah to immigrants from its closest neighbors. Filipino Muslims fleeing a separatist insurgency came in the first wave in the early 1970s. Economic migrants flocked during East Asia’s stellar decade of growth before the 1997 financial crisis. The pressing poverty and demand for cheap labor in Sabah’s agriculture and construction industries have kept them going. According to unofficial estimates, there are about 400,000 undocumented Filipino workers in Sabah and Sarawak, out of the estimated 600,000 total number of foreign migrant workers. Ladies and Gentleman, in the next few minutes please lend me your attention and compassion as I share to you the situation of our fellow migrant Filipinos, 95% of whom are Mindanawans. Presently, about 500 of them weekly are being deported from Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia. I will share to you their stories from the conversations I have with the deportees and from the report I gathered from those who were able to visit the detention centers in Sabah. Last month, I had a chance to dialogue with some of the deportees in Zamboanga. My heart was in agony upon seeing a tiny one-month old baby in the arms of a skinny mother. Reported as severely malnourished, this mother delivered her baby while in detention. When I asked about her husband, she was shy and told me that he is still in the detention center in Sabah. Another woman was also mentally deranged because of hunger, physical and mental abuse, according to the DSWD official who takes care of the deportees. These migrant Filipino workers work without permits and proper documentation, thus they are arrested by Malaysian immigration officials from their houses, work places and even in public places like plazas. They are then herded into lorries, which are used to carry goods and materials. At detention centers, 200 to 500 deportees occupy one cell. They are made to sleep on the floor, made of either wood or cement, without any mattress. They are given food but not enough to feed everyone. At the detention center in Sabah, about 200 to 500 detainees share 1 pail of potable water. They depend on the rain for bathing and washing their clothes. No medical attention or services are given to those who get sick while inside their cells. Jail guards kick, slap and even rape some detainees as punishments undue to them. There are no special considerations for the infants, children and senior citizens. They are all treated as common criminals in Malaysia. Detainees’ personal belongings, money and even food that are brought in by their visitors are confiscated. When its time for them to be deported back to Mindanao, they are handcuffed and loaded into overcrowded buses. At the pier, they are ordered to sit down for the head count before they are deported batch by batch in a ferry from Sabah to Zamboanga City. IN SHORT, Mr. Speaker, THEY ARE SIMPLY BUT CRUELLY TREATED AS CRIMINALS. Based on our research, the Labor laws of Sabah and Sarawak give benefits such as rest day, hours of work, prescribed holidays, shift work, maternity leave, and termination, lay-off and retirement benefits to foreign workers. Yet still Filipino workers, many of whom are undocumented, suffer abuses in the hands of their employers. These Filipino workers do not get the wages promised to them by their employers or sometimes they do not get their wages at all. They are also denied of food and other basic necessities in their work places. Despite these abuses, these Filipino workers are afraid to file complaints against their employers for fear of being deported. Under Malaysia’s Immigration Act, those who enter and stay in Malaysia without a valid work permit are punished by a fine not exceeding RM10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both, and shall also be liable to whipping of not more than 6 strokes of the rotan (cane). Mr. Speaker, it is not only our migrant Filipino workers in Sabah and Sarawak who suffer because of their undocumented situation. The city government of Zamboanga, getting a never-ending influx of deportees --- around 500 per week --- is also incapable of absorbing this number of deportees. The resources of the city government and the national government are very much strained and cannot accommodate thousands of deportees who are brought to the city every year. This is not an easy task, my esteemed colleagues. Dealing with the problem of statelessness and human rights abuses faced by our migrant Filipino workers in Sabah and Sarawak will never be easy. Malaysia refuses to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families and other international instruments that accord humane treatment to foreign workers in its territory. While Anak Mindanao is gravely concerned of the situation of Filipinos as it involves hundreds of thousands of Mindanawons, we are not here to lambast Malaysia of its blatant human rights violations against Filipinos, against Mindanawans. We are here to offer a solution to the seemingly unending problem of migration. There is a modest yet laudable effort of President Arroyo which was the issuance of Administrative Order that organizes the one stop shop processing center (OSPC) to take care of the deportees, making sure they can be taken cared of after disembarkation at Zamboanga Port and providing the necessary resources to get back to their families. But this did not change the whole landscape. The story continues… Now, this humble representation believes that Anak Mindanao believes that the government can do more and can make these hundred of thousands of undocumented workers as major contributor to our economy, rather than a burden for the government- both national and local. Anak Mindanao believes this can be done! The right direction is to transform the status of halaws into OFWs who will make significant contributions to our country’s economic well-being. WE WILL HELP THEM TRANSFORM THEMSELVES. WE WILL ALLOW THEM MAKE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION IN OUR ECONOMY! Toward this end, we therefore propose the following initiatives: 1. We call on the Institute of Labor Studies (ILS) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to study the labor market of Sabah and Sarawak to determine what industries are open for our OFWs and what skills are needed to fill this demand. As the lead policy research and advocacy arm of the DOLE, ILS provides timely advice to DOLE toward policy review and formulation, through its policy researches. 2. We call on the Office of the President to revise of EO 166 to incorporate to its functions the role of OSPC to process the documentation of migrant workers and make sure they are well employed based on the job demands in Sabah and Sarawak because their skills fits the need of the employers. 3. We call on the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) which acts as the official and permanent Philippine Coordinating Office (PCO) for the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) to actively engage in discussions with BIMP-EAGA member countries to reactivate and convene the 8th Working Group on Human Resource Development and People Mobility and explore the following options for the regularization of our migrant Filipino workers in Sabah and Sarawak, majority of whom are engaged in the agriculture and construction industries: a. Pooling agreement between the local governments of ZAMBOSULTA and the states of Sabah and Sarawak to provide easily accessible legal channels for the entry of migrant Filipino workers to Sabah and Sarawak; b. Bilateral labor agreement (BLA) between the Philippines’ DOLE and Sabah’s and Sarawak’s Departments of Labor to facilitate training and hiring of migrant Filipino workers to meet Sabah’s and Sarawak’s labor demand; and c. Private sector agreements between trade unions and chambers of commerce in Mindanao and Palawan and Sabah and Sarawak for the regularization of migrant Filipino workers and respect for their rights under labor laws. With this initiative, we strongly believe that it is time for the halaws to be elevated to the status of OFWs deserving of the government’s protection. I believe in the Filipino people, in the overseas mindanawan workers in particular for this matter. THEY WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF THEY WILL BE TREATED AS HUMANS WHO TRULY DESERVE OUR RESPECT, UNDERSTANDING AND COMPASSION. MORE THAN EVER, Mr. SPEAKER, LET US PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THE HUNDRED OF MINDANAWANS TO TRANSFORM THEMSELVES AS FULL TIME OVERSEAS MINDANAWAN WORKERS SO THAT THEY CAN BE A SOURCE OF PRIDE FOR THE COUNTRY! Daghan salamat, Mr. Speaker ug Maayong Hapon sa Tanan! News - Press Releases Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:15:22 +0100 http://www.anakmindanao.com/content/view/252/44/ SOCIAL SERVICES REPORT OF ANAK MINDANAO PARTY LIST AS OF JULY 2009 In less than one year after the launching of the “Serbisyong Alay nAMIN” program of the Anak Mindanao party list under the office of Rep. Mujiv Hataman last October 18, 2008, Ms. Jasmin Teodoro, Program Coordinator released an accomplishment report of the services provided which included scholarship grants, medical assistance, livelihood and financial assistance, among others. Under the scholarship program, Anak Mindanao Party List has awarded Scholarship to nine hundred thirty students (930), with six hundred twenty nine (629) scholars presently enrolled with an active status in different Schools, Universities and TESDA- Accredited institutions all over the Philippines, particularly in Mindanao. Said scholarship grants awarded amounted to a total of 4.5 Million pesos. ANAK MINDANAO also entered into Memorandums of Agreement with at least six (6) affiliated hospitals; Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transpalnt Institute, Philippine General Hospital, Zamboanga City Medical Center, Cotabato General Hospital and Basilan General Hospital. Since the launch of the services program, at least 1,554 indigent patients have been served in the said health facilities Still under the program, Rep. Hataman also allocated 2 Million pesos to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) NCR and REGION IX for financial, food, medical, burial, livelihood and other assistance to the Mindanao constituents. Breakdown and classification of assistance as follows: Under the 1 Million Fund for the year 2008: P254,000.00 worth of financial assistance to 252 beneficiaries; Relief goods to 800 families (1st Batch); Relief goods to 430 families; (2nd Batch). Under the 1 Million Fund for the year 2009: P186,000.00 worth of financial assistance to 184 beneficiaries; Relief goods to 650 families; and Livelihood assistance to 4 Tindahan Natin Outlets (Zamboanga City) with P20,000.00 worth of initial capital each. As of writing, Anak Mindanao, through the Serbisyong Alay nAMIN program is in the process of forging new Memorandums of Agreement with more institutions to facilitate the continuous provision of services and assistance to the people of Mindanao. SOCIAL SERVICES REPORT OF ANAK MINDANAO PARTY LIST AS OF JULY 2009 EDUCATION: Anak Mindanao Party List has awarded Scholarship to nine hundred thirty students (930), out of them are six hundred twenty nine (629) SCHOLARS are presently enrolled with an active status in different Schools, Universities and Tesda Accreditation all over the Philippines, particularly in Mindanao funded with a total of Php 4.5 Million. Above Scholars are categorized as follows: · Commission on Higher Education (CHED); · TESDA; · NCIP; and · Others, if there are any Breakdown of 626 Scholars: 1. CHED · Mindanao State University, Iligan Istitute (MSU – IIT) 100 awarded 77 Active status 23 either transferred school / not able to maintain qualifying percentage grade / cannot be located · Western Mindanao State University (Zamboanga City) SY 2007 – 2008 100 awarded 63 Active status 16 graduated 21 either transferred school / not able to maintain Qualifying percentage grade / cannot be located SY 2008 – 2009 155 awarded 155 Active Status · Ateneo de Zamboanga University (Zamboanga City) 30 awarded 27 Active Status 3 cannot be located · Universidad de Zamboanga (Zamboanga City) 20 awarded 19 Active Status 1 cannot be located * Other Schools (Brent, Pilar College, Ebenezer Bible College, Zamboanga City Polytechnic College, Comtech, WMCC, Medina College, Ipil) 20 awarded 18 Active Status 2 cannot be located · Basilan State College (Basilan) 25 awarded 21 Active Status 2 graduated 2 cannot be located · CLARET COLLEGE (Basilan) 4 awarded 4 AS · Juan Alano Memorial (Basilan) 3 awarded 3 Active status · Brent (Basilan) 3 awarded 3 Active Status · NCIP 200 awarded 116 Active Status 37 CBL 22 not maintained 25 graduates · Cotabato City 100 awarded 100 Active Status · TESDA 170 awarded 86 Active Status 84 did not finish course HEALTH: ANAK MINDANAO has six (6) affiliated hospitals who catered to 1,554 patients rendering medical assistance funded with a total of Php 5 Million, the following hospitals are: 1. Philippine Heart Center; 2. National Kidney and Transplant Institute; 3. Philippine General Hospital; 4. Zamboanga City Medical Center; 5. Cotabato General Hospital; and 6. Basilan General Hospital Breakdown of patients accommodated by affiliated hospitals: · Phillipine Heart Center 317 (February 2008 to June 2009) · NKTI 132 (February 2008 to June 2009) · PGH 276 (February 2008 to June 2009) · Zamboanga City Medical Center 296 (February 2008 to June 2009) · Cotabato General Hospital 336 (January 2008 to December 2008) · Basilan General Hospital 197 (November 2008 to June 2009) DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT: Anak Mindanao has also allocated Php 2 Million to DSWD NCR and REGION IX for financial, food, medical, burial, livelihood and other assistance to its constituents. Breakdown and classification of assistance as follows: Under 1 Million Fund for the year 2008 · Php 254,000.00 worth of financial assistance to 252 beneficiaries; · Relief goods to 800 families; (1st Batch) · Relief goods to 430 families; (2nd Batch) Under 1 Million Fund for the year 2009 · Php 186,000.00 worth of financial assistance to 184 beneficiaries; · Relief goods to 650 families; and · Livelihood assistance of 4 Tindahan Natin Outlets (Zamboanga City) with Php 20,000.00 worth of initial capital each News - Press Releases Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:47:59 +0100 http://www.anakmindanao.com/content/view/251/44/ Establishing Peace in Mindanaw Academy or PMA now House Bill 6624 Hernandez calls for consultations among Mindanao peace advocates The proposed Peace in Mindanaw Academy introduced by Rep. Ariel Hernandez was finally filed as House Bill 6624 at the third regular session of the 14th Congress, in July 28, a day after the SONA. Authored by AMIN Party List Representatives, Ariel Hernandez and Mujiv Hataman, the bill’s declaration of policy is for the State “to pursue sustainable peace in Mindanao through education and training to manage regional conflicts,” mandating the government to commit “to provide an adequate and efficient academic facility which shall adhere and coordinate a common goal towards social and economic development with the coordination and participation of the people, communities and institutions in Mindanao.” This bill was referred to the House Committee on Higher Education and Appropriations chaired by Las Piñas Representative Cynthia A. Villar. But Hernandez and Hataman are also considering its referral to the House Special Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity,chaired by the Representative of the 1st District of Sulu Yusop H. Jikiri. Immediately, both Mindanawon solons will soon convene institutions to be represented and involved in the deliberations of the said bill. These will include, among others, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of National Defense (DND), Senate Committee on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, Mindanao Business Council (MBC), Bishop-Ulama Conference (BUC), Mindanao Congress of Development NGOs (MinCODE), and the network of Mindanao universities and state colleges. Pleased that the bill was recognized at the House, Hernandez is taking on the challenge of making this bill a reality. “I would like to thank everyone who helped us conceptualize this bill. However, we are not yet done. We are still starting, as far as this proposal is concerned.” Peace education initiatives have gone a long way already and the Mindanawon solon especially acknowledge the civil society groups, academic institutions and peace centers who are actively pursuing this. “Consultations with key stakeholders will now follow and I encourage peace groups and peace advocates to be part of this endeavor because one purpose of this bill is to actually institutionalize our peace education efforts in Mindanao in the light of the four decade Mindanao conflict. Especially now that clashes between the army and rebel groups are again escalating, what do these phenomena bring us to find out? How do we look at the root causes of conflict? This academy hopes to deepen our learners’ analysis of conflicts in Mindanao, to promote sustainable strategies and approaches in building peace, to support our peace process, big or small, with case studies and concrete learnings. We have to counter the negative and combative mode at the moment with positive and peaceable ones,” he added. Hernandez further says they will appreciate comments and recommendation so people, especially Mindanawons will have a stake on the said Bill. News - Press Releases Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:30:23 +0100 http://www.anakmindanao.com/content/view/249/44/ “Aquino also an icon of peace for Muslim Mindanao” - Hataman Rep. Mujiv Hataman of Anak Mindanao joins the entire nation in expressing great loss over the death of former President Corazon Aquino, who passed away early this morning, August 1, 2009. “In behalf of Anak Mindanao, and in behalf of fellow Muslims of this country, allow me to express our sincerest condolences not just to the Aquino family but to all people of this nation, who all looked up to the former President as a loving mother who did not tire of guiding us in times of confusion and remained to be the symbol of righteousness and integrity we held on to as a people,” Hataman said. Hataman further emphasized that the icon of People Power did not just bring back democracy to the country but also opened the doors for peace in Muslim Mindanao. “Let it not be forgotten that President Aquino in her earliest days as President, initiated peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro revolutionary groups, a manifestation of her sincerity in prioritizing peace in Muslim Mindanao. She personally went to Sulu on September 5, 1986, just a few months after her assumption to office, to meet MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari,” the Muslim solon stated. “This meeting led to the reinstitution of peace talks and eventually to the recognition of an autonomous Muslim Mindanao in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, making way to the rebuilding of peace in the region,” Hataman ended. News - Press Releases Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:27:08 +0100 http://www.anakmindanao.com/content/view/247/44/ HERNANDEZ: Where are the Mindanawons in GMA’s SONA? ANAK MINDANAO Party-List Representative Ariel C. Hernandez expressed disappointment for not hearing more of the President’s statement on Mindanao, in as much as he also wanted to appreciate the recently delivered SONA of President Arroyo and the accomplishments mentioned in it. “I was waiting for her to mention clear statements that concern Mindanao and how her administration also invested in Mindanao, as it should have been reflected in her total budget. Rather, I heard vague statistics,” uttered Hernandez, who expected much from the President’s supposed-to-be last SONA. “Meanwhile, she alloted so much of her time stating most of her Manila-centered achievements and criticisms against her detractors,” he added. “I was hoping for her to talk more about her clear road map of the peace talks in Mindanao. When will the talks resume? How will the communities affected be involved and their issues be considered? What are the direct programs that her administration can implement to speed up the resolution of local conflicts and lessen violence? What are the mechanisms to be placed for the welfare of the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs)?” Hernandez said. “We in Mindanao were waiting for her to articulate these concerns. Meanwhile, clashes and tensions between the military and revolutionary groups are continuing, massive displacements of civilians continue to rise. The DSWD reported that as of mid-July, 430,000 persons already left their homes in search of safer shelter. To our dismay, there were no plans how to answer these concerns mentioned by GMA except that of her wish, that “There is nothing more that I would wish for than peace in Mindanao.’” Hernandez also pointed out that GMA never mentioned anything on the pressing situations of Mindanawon workers most particularly in Sabah, Malaysia. Many, if not all of them, are undocumented, he noted. About 400 workers per week are reportedly experiencing harsh deportation procedures. “Deportees are on the rise, reaching to almost half a million and they have awful, if not horrific, stories of their working conditions, and of their lives while in exile. I didn’t hear her stand on this issue. Now, how can I believe her pronouncements that she really cares?” Hernandez recently attended the committee hearing on the situation of the deportees from Sabah and he is now zealously monitoring migration issue at large. The joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives last Monday has been the new Mindanawon solon’s closest encounter with President Arroyo since he sat in the House in April 27, 2009. Though his expectations were not met, Hernandez is still hopeful that the Arroyo administration will do more in the remaining months of her term. He further expressed the willingness of ANAK MINDANAO, the party-list he represents with Mujiv Hataman in the House of Representatives, to engage in a critical collaboration with the GMA administration despite her vague stand on Mindanao’s pressing issues. Hernandez has vowed to do his part, too. Balay Mindanaw and the Katilingbanong Pamahandi sa Mindanaw, the two foundations he is also a part of, along with partners in the civil society organizations and local government units, are very determined to respond to Mindanao issues. This young solon is taking his little time left in office as an opportunity to serve the voiceless people, to act on the critical issues concerning Mindanawons and to work on his priority bill -- establishing the Peace in Mindanao Academy (PMA) now filed as House Bill No. 6624. News - Press Releases Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:43:33 +0100