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Interpellation of Senator Risa Hontiveros during the budget hearing of the the Department of Migrant Workers

PHILIPPINES, October 5 - Press Release
October 5, 2022

INTERPELLATION OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS DURING THE BUDGET HEARING OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS

SRH: Maraming salamat mr chair magandang hapon po, Sec Toots at sa buong DMW family. Sec Toots, inupdate ko po kanina si dating minority leader dating Senator Frank Drilon ang inyong pagkilala sa malaking papel na ginampanan niya sa paghubog ng batas na naglikha ng inyong departamento, at yung sinabi po nya na grateful po kayo sa kanya. Pinapasabi rin po ni Sen Frank, Mr. Chair, Sec Toots, for the record yung kanyang appreciation kay Se Toots Ople for acknowledging our contribution to the creation of DMW. Just to start my few questions on that happy note, Sec Toots, with this new Department, our partners from the migrant workers organizations and I are very interested and also concerned about how you intend to operationalize your new mandate in relation to addressing the recurring problems being experienced by our OFWs. At umaasa rin po ako na sa pamamagitan nitong budget process, maipagpatuloy nyo po ung pagbabahagi, pagdidiskusyon sa amin, tungkol sa inyong mga programa. The ILO General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment & Definition of Recruitment fees and Related Costs, published in 2019, have provided comprehensive guidelines for the stakeholders particularly policy makers, in promoting and ensuring fair recruitment which includes migrant workers. Gusto ko pong. bigyang-diin ung recruitment na dapat magarantiya ng respeto, proteksyon at saka pagkamit nung mga internationally recognized na karapatang pantao ksama na po yung sa ILO standards na nakaangkla sa efficiency, transparency, proteksyon sa mga manggagawa at iba pa. Sec Toots, ito po bang mga prinsipyo at guidelines nasasalamin sa inyong mga programa at serbisyo?

SEC OPLE: Yes po ma'am. We are very conscious about our commitments po to the ILO alam nyo naman po the Philippines has always been our country has been well-known and highly-regarded sa pagtalima sa mga ILO conventions, katulad ng nabanggit ninyo. Yun pong sa fair recruitment, isa po yan sa mga objectives ng inyong bagong department. for example po, we are on Friday, we will be presenting to the governing board po of the POEA a requirement for the recruitment agencies in Saudi Arabia, this is part po of our bilateral talks with the Saudi side na all Saudi recruitment agencies will have to hire on a full-time basis a Filipino welfare officer bago po ito, this has never happened before. second po, yun pong aming plano na magkakaroon po ng mandatory viewing of DMW video on OFW rights for all employers. yun na po yung magsisilbi rin na orientation to them about our government's expectations regarding the treatment of Filipino Migrant Workers, ito po ay para sa lahat, hindi lang po sa mga mag-eemploy sa ating mga kasambahay.

We are also looking at having a whitelist o criteria for the OFWs to know sino po yung mga recruitment agencies that are fair and ethical based on a criteria to be arrived at with the stakeholders po at we will also be publishing po yun namang identities ng recruitment agencies at foreign employers that are deemed as failing to meet the fair and ethical standards set by ILO and even IOM. So ito naman po yung para rin po maprevent ung mga dati nang gawi na yung isang abusadong employer, na-repatriate ung kanyang kasambahay pero nakakakuha pa uli ng kapalit na kasambahay. We want to firm up that list of blacklisted agencies and foreign employers po. These are few examples of how we intend to give life to what's on paper all these conventions po concurred in by the Senate

SRH: Maraming Salamat Sec. Toots pati dun sa sinabi ninyong blacklist na gagamitin para hindi na magrepeat offense ung mga repeat offenders laban sa ating mga kababayan kasama na po yung ating kababayang domestic workers. Ang ganda po, ang innovative na magkakaroon din po kayo ng whitelist na proactively mas ipakikilala yung nagpapractice naman ng sabi nyo nga fair and ethical recruitment saka hiring or employment.

Nabanggit nyo na rin kanina, Sec Toots ang POEA but unfortunately hanggang ngayon, maya't maya talaga every week on some weeks without exaggeration, every day, may mga nagrereklamo sa opisina ko na mga kababayan nating OFWs at unfortunately karamihan ng mga reklamo nila ay kaugnay po ng POEA. Padadala ko na lang po sa inyo in writing para matignan ninyo alin kaya rito ay naaksyunan na ng departamento, alin pa ang pwedeng aksyunan, and laan din po ang opisina ko na makipag-ugnayan sa Department nyo para dito.

Kanina po Sec Toots sa inyong opening statement at saka yung presentation ng department, tinukoy nyo na isa sa key result areas ang DMW ay yung to enhance the use of gender lens, so dako po ako doon sa increasing employment of female migrant workers or yung feminization of labor migration. There is an increase of employment female migrant workers, particularly in gender-based occupations and sectors such as domestic work, entertainment, garments industry, electronic assembly. Naniniwala po ako na yung integration nitong gender mainstreaming dapat mangyari po sa lahat ng proseso natin mula sa recruitment hanggang sa deployment hanggang pa po sa repatriation. Gaya nga ng nabanggit ko kanina, marami po kaming natatanggap na report at hindi ito Maritess lang from our OFWs tungkol partikular sa mga buntis at mga forced abortion ng kanilang mga agency kapag ito ay nalaman. I would like to know, how equipped are our shelters abroad in caring for pregnant OFWs in situations of distress? Halimbawa, mayroon po ba tayong mga prenatal checkups at iba pang prenatal care para sa kanila?

USEC CACDAC: Yes po. Unang-una po yung sa pre-employment medical exam, mayroon talagang special attention given to yung status ng isang umaalis na female OFW lalo na whether or not she is pregnant. Mayroong mga pregnancy test to determine kung ano yung status nya and to give the corresponding care. kung siya nga ay nagdadalantao. Pangalawa po on site, kung mayroong prenatal, or special attention to be given to an OFW who is pregnant, yes po, the short answer is ang shelters natin ay equipped yun pong mga tinatawag na house parents natin are female and have gone through a gender sensitive training. mayroon nga po sa totoo lang, mayroon pong females na may babies at mga minors na kasama sa shelter at kasama rin po sila sa proseso ng safe repatriation and then kung may medical attention needed, madam senator katulad nga ng rpe-natal care, including yung aspeto ng childbirth, ay mayroon pong medical attention given. I have to invoke also yung role ng COA, andito si Administrator Arnell in terms of providing the necessary welfare support also along these lines, Madam Senator.

SRH: Salamat po, Usec. at kapag naman po sa mga sitwasyon a few of which nababalitaan na naman natin kamakailan lang, na either nasa panganib na piliting magpalaglag ng baby o kaya napilitan na magpalaglag, mayroon po ba tayong protective care para mapreserve nya yung pregnancy or kung natuloy na yung forced abortion, magkaroon na siya ng forced abortion scare at kung gusto nyang habulin ang hustisya laban sa kanyang recruitment agency or employer ay masuportahan po siya doon?

USEC CACDAC: Yes po maybe to start it off, wala po sa patakaran natin ang forced abortion and we deplore any kind of practice. In fact, kasama sa counseling effort ng mga nagdadalang tao ang OFWs especially those who go through a depression or perhaps a stage of confusion is to counsel them on how to cope with pregnancy and to help them with medical concerns during pregnancy. So, the short answer is yes po mayroon tayong tulong na ibinibigay sa mga OFWs doon sa mga nalaagay sa sitwasyon ng forced abortion, we protect them from such practice and then tinutulungan din natin sila to cope with the certain should I say, mental or emptional challenges that they face during pregnancy.

SRH: Maraming salamat para diyan, Usec and of course, definitely, napapag-alaman po naming mga kaso ng abortion are not in the hands of our Philippine government agencies, pero sa kamay ng ilang bausadong recruiter nila or even employer. very particular situation po iyon I'm just hoping and confident na yung DMW will look into the more detailed circumstances nito para maproteksyunan nga yung ating mga kababayan, yung aking mga kabaro laban sa ganyang mga forced abortion. in particular nabalitaan namin sa context ng human trafficking papuntang Syria in one case, tapos ito namang isang kababayan natin na domestic worker sa Saudi Arabia. Maraming salamat po para doon.

SRH: Balikan ko po yung general phenomenon ng feminization of labor migration, ano pa po bang, kung mayroon kayong gustong idagdag, ano pa pong mekanismo na intended ninyo to set into motion para magprovide ng social protection, healthcare, dagdag na maternity protection for our migrant workers? Unless nabanggit na po lahat.

SEC OPLE: Yes Senator Risa, like you I am concerned about yung feminization of migration. I'm looking now at the participation rate of women workers in our domestic labor force, it is only 53.2% and that needs to be increased. It only means na yung attractiveness to leave the family to work abroad is still very much prominent so we do need a siguro, a 5 to 10 year roadmap with the help of the labor department and NEDA on how to increase women participation in our labor force so that leaving their family to work as kasambahays abroad will not be the first and only option for them to be lifted out of poverty. we need to counterbalance po the global demand for women workers with that kind of strategic roadmap and I broached this idea na po with NEDA SEcretary Arsie Balisacan while we were during the UN GA trip po of President Marcos, he agreed with me that this is something we can work together and then yun pong sinabi ninyo, I'm also very much bothered by pregnancies, unwanted pregnancies that would lead to more abortions and I think in our ost, we have 40 migrant workers offices, I think it's time we also have a special hotline wherein if you are pregnant and you are at a lost on what to do kasi syempre po may mga countries na really frowned upon unwanted pregnancies that they can call that number, we can incorporate that po based na rin po sa concern ninyo which I personally share.

SRH: Maraming salamat para diyan, actually nasagot nyo na yung huling tanong ko sa paksang ito. Itatanong ko talaga kapag may distressed workers, lalo na mga kabaro natin at gusto nilang humingi ng tulong, sino ang pwede nilang makausap na hindi lang isang telephone number or hotline lalo na't pwedeng maging lifesaver iyon, lalo na sa emergency situations pero dito particular sa mga pinag-uusapan natin yung mga sitwasyon na partikular sa ating gender at kapag tayo ay nagtatrabaho abroad na mayroon talaga silang makakausap at magpafollow up sa kanila hanggang maresolve ng maayos ang sitwasyon. Yung pagbanggit nyo po sa 40 MWOs na may dedicated hotlines pa rin, but I understand by dedicated, mayroon talagang tao na sasagot at makakausap nila at yun na nga po ay magpa follow up sa kanila hanggang maresolve ng maayos ang situation. Thank you very much po. And yung nabanggit nyo rin po kaninang 5 to 10 year strategic roadmap kasama po ni Sec Arsie at DOLE I think that's the best new ideas I've heard during our meeting, kasi tingin ko tinutumbok din nito yung gusto nating lahat na makagenerate pa ng mas maraming decent jobs dito sa Pilipinas para yung pagtatarabaho natin abroad ay hindi lang siya solong option or pinakamagandang option pero isa sa maraming mabubuting option para sa ating mga kababayan and even would give us a timeline kahit sa mga organizational set ups natin kaya nga kahit dito sa ating department ay mayroon tayong sunset provision for assessment and recommendation. Lastly po, Sec Toots dito sa feminization of labor migration, may gender disaggregation ba kayo ng data tungkol sa ating migrant workers? Based on your data, how many cases that involves gender based violence? At ilan sa mga kasong ito ay naresolve na po?

SEC. OPLE: What I have right now is actually deployment figures for our HSWs or household service workers. With your permission and with the permission of the Chair, himayin po namin based on gender and we will submit po as soon as possible.

SRH: Dako naman po ako just a couple of questions sa budget in general, naitanong na rin ng ilang mga kasama yung tungkol sa OFW hospital, nakalagay po sa report ang mababang obligation nyo sa paggamit ng pondo sa OFW hospital with P250 million in funds in 2022, but as of July 2022, three percent pa lang ang utilized sa P200 million MOOE at saka 20 percent lang ng P50 million CO. Pwede malaman ano po dahilan bakit hindi nagagamit ng lahat ang pondo?

SEC. OPLE: Actually naging operational lang po talaga ung hospital natin on July 1 but we will be admitting patients po October 3. so it's really in its infancy kaya mababa ang utilization rate noong July kasi that was the time na nag seset up pa lang po yung ating OFW hospital right now po the OFW hospital in Macabalat, Pampanga it's facility is helping 1,000 patients a month po, and then mayroon na po siyang ER or urgent care unit pero hanggang 10pm lang po tumatanggap sa ngayon and then 32 beds po that can be used in admitting po patients hopefully po with the help of senate, we can have more equipment, we can have more hospital beds po, so that mas marami pong matulungan and even diagnostics po sana, mobile laboratories para maextend yung reach ng ating OFW hospital.

SRH: Salamat Sec Toots, and actually yan yung huling huling tanong ko mamaya kung wala ba kayong additional budget request kasi nirequest nyo originally para sa buong DMW kasama na yung OWWA, P28.205B pero ang naallot pa lang so far ay P15.1B and I think narinig nyo naman kahit sa minority leader ko at sa lahat ng aming mga kasama pa, yung kabukasan naming lahat na masuportahan pa ang DMW in general and in particular din itong OFW hospital. So lastly po, general question on the budget, Sa OWWA budget under MOOE, napansin ko masyado malaki comparatively ang budget nyo sa rent/lease expenses with P3.9B, mas malaki pa po sa travel expenses? Paki-eksplika lang po.

ADMIN IGNACIO: Good afternoon po, Senator Risa. Ganito ho yun. Kaya po lumaki yan, yang budget natin for rent kasi yan po ung mga ginamit natin sa quarantine facilities noong nakaraang pandemic kaya po lumobo yan ng ganyang kalaki pero ito pong mga susunod na panahon hindi na po magkakaganyan.

SRH: Then sa mga susunod na panahon po Admin, comparatively mas lalaki na yung para sa travel expenses di ba dahil kailangang din umikot uung mga DMW officials and mga kawani para nga alagaan yung ating mga OFWs na nasa ibat ibang bansa.

ADMIN IGNACIO: Yes po, Senator. In fact, with the P9.9B na amin pong karagdagang ERF there will be an allotment para po sa ating mga transportation specifically for chartered flights, emergency air ambulance at pati po sa mga pagtravel po ng ating mga kasama sa DMW.

SRH: Salamat, Admin, salamat Sec. May ilang mga COA findings, Sec na baka ipadala ko na lang sa inyo in writing for your clarification. Yung huli ko pong paksa dahil nabanggit na po natin kanina yung huling huling tanong ko na mayroon ba kayong additional budget request on the part of the department, yung huling paksa na lang, tungkol sa ating seafarers naitanong na rin nina Majo at ilan pa nating kasama. Madami dami din po ang mga isyu ng mga seafarers, at sana maipasa na ang Magna Carta of Seafarers na isa po ako sa mga authors dito sa Senado, na maipasa para sa kanila, na kasalukuyang dinidinig sa ilalim ng Komite ni Senator Tulfo. Ang tanong ko po tungkol sa isyu ng qualification standards in particular yung tungkol sa Mandatory Management Level Courses (MLC) alam natin yung feedback mula sa EU tapos yung mga problemang iniuulat sa korapsyon sa MARINA and then yung feedback galing sa ating kababayang Marino na okay lang sana kung online hyung mga courses na ito pero mukhang may requirement na face to face, ano po sec yung nakikita ninyong problema dito. Paano ninyo matutulungan yung ating mga seafarers na umangat nga yung kanilang skills and qualifications na walang malaking kabayaran mula sa kanilang sariling bulsa?

SEC. OPLE: We're coordinating po with ChEd and MARINA under the leadership po of DoTr Secretary Jimmy Bautista kasama rin po kasi yan sa MSA findings about ito ngang MLC. On Monday po, ay hindi, kailan ba yun, on Friday po ang meeting namin with Sec Jimmy Bautista with the other stakeholders like AMOSUP and other seafarers associations. We will take this up po and we'll have siguro an updated report po sa inyo by then.

SRH: Salamat, Sec para maconsider din po namin sa pagdinig at harinawa pagpasa noong Magna Carta of Seafarers. And lastly po, Sec, dito sa seafarers, may plano po kayo sa retirement benefits especially those who are not currently employed?

USEC. CACDAC: Noon pong July 2018 naipasa po ung Expanded Social Security Act and one of the major components is to cover OFWs including land-based and sea-based OFWs with respect to developing a retirement or pension fund. Sa ngayon po, ito po ang tinatanaw natin na channel ng retirement ng mga seafarers acknowledged naman po yung they really need retirement fund and I know that the social security system is building up this retirement fund ang tingin ko po dito in due time we will be already looking at seafarers benefitting from this pension fund that is currently being accumulated or developed.

SRH: Maraming salamat para dyan, Usec Hans, at dahil nabanggit niyo na rin yung tungkol sa pension funds at mga batas kaugnay nito, gusto ko lang pong ulitin yung isang napag-usapan na rin ng siguro ng marami sa atin in the past years, yung isa sa mga pangunahing advocacy din ng ating mga OF organizations tungkol sa portability ng pension at saka health din na contributions ng ating mga OFWs habang nasa host countries nila na kapagka dito sila uuwi magbabalikbayan at dito magreretire sa atin ay dito nila mapakinabangan yung mga pension at mga health insurance at financing na entitlement nila dahil naghulog sila, nagcontribute sila kahit pa sa ibang bansa o for that matter habang sumasampa sila sa kanilang mga barko in the case of sea-based workers, and of course, ito subject ng mga bilateral treaties kaya I listened with great interest sa pag-uusap nila Sec Toots at Sen Loren. Very last and not the least, mayroon ba kayong additional budget request sa DMW para malaman po naming lahat na nandirito sa pangunguna ng aming Chair?

SEC. OPLE: Sobrang malalim na pasaslamat po talaga sa inyo at sa bumubuo ng senate committee na ito kasi nararamdaman namin ung pagmamahal ninyo talaga sa ating mga OFW. Yung OFW hospital po kailangan po talaga ng 500 million and I personally raised this po to DBM Secretary Pangandaman, kasi sabi ko po first time na magkaroon ng hospital ang mga OFWs, and they really deserve it and nakakapanghina naman po kung hindi natin masustain ung operations due to budget concerns. Second po, yung sa capital outlay namin kasi ang hirap po na magkaroon kami ng regional offices pero walang sasakyan, walang computers, walang equipment lalo na we are in the process of automation. Siguro po we will just submit a breakdown kumbaga yung mga wish ko lang na list po from the DMW for the information and guidance and reference po of our fence in the Senate po.

SRH: Sige po, Sec Toots, aabangan po namin yung wishlist na iyon na isasubmit ninyo sa pamamagitan ng aming Chair. maraming salamat sec toots at sa buong DMW family, at Mr Chair kasama ng aking minority leader at sa pamumuno ng aming chair, si Sen. JV, pagtulung-tulungan po nating lahat itong unang budget ng ating bagong departamento para sa ating mga kababayang OFWs.