NEWS RELEASE - February 16, 2005
References: Connie Bragas-Regalado, Chairperson, 259-1145 & 0927-2157392
Vince Borneo, Information Officer, 0927-7968198

On government failure to create jobs
OFWs, families agree with Manila Archbishop Rosales

Contrary to the declarations and refutations of Malacanang overseas Filipino workers and their families firmly agree with Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales' statements that it is government's responsibility to provide enough decent jobs for Filipinos here in the Philippines.

"The Migrante Sectoral Party firmly agrees with Archbishop Rosales on his views that many Filipinos seek employment abroad and have to endure painful separation from their families. Indeed, government has miserably failed to address its obligation to generate decent, stable and well-paying jobs for the people here in the country," Migrante Sectoral Party Chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado said.

Migrante also criticized Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson for trying to discredit Archbishop Rosales with deceptive data and even outright lies.

"A burgeoning number of highly-skilled Filipinos leave the country due to the low wages and the Macapagal-Arroyo government's inclination to favor anti-worker conditions of employers locally. Who can be happy with low wages, high prices and a government labor officials that churn out lies? Besides, at least the DOLE tries to gloss over its own data that show 10.9% (3.9 million) of the labor force have no jobs while 5.4 million are under-employed," Bragas-Regalado pointed out.

Imson claimed on Monday that government "generated at least 1.2 million local employment opportunities apart from the over 869,000 Filipinos that found work overseas in 2004."

Migrante maintains that "government is lying on its job generation spiels and statistics."

"What is government doing with the crises being faced by Filipinos in Japan and Malaysia? For those entertainers who face deportation under Japan's new immigration laws, the Philippine government has no plan to create decent job opportunities in the country for those who will be diplaced," Bragas-Regalado said.

"In the case of the imminent crackdown on 500,000 undocumented Filipinos in Malaysia, the government gives out free passports and encourages those who get deported to go back to Malaysia. Nothing is offered to the deportees who need medicines, food and fares to get

back to their hometowns in Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Lanao, Zamboanga and various points in the country. No decent jobs in the country are offered to the deportees either," the Migrante leader added.

"The big problem of the Macapagal-Arroyo government is it's habit of cloaking the long-standing joblessness with manufactured statistics and bogus claims. What types of jobs did it generate in the first place? Most if not all are low-end contractual jobs in services like retail sales, restaurants and call centers. The daily cost of living for a family of six in the Philippines has already reached P492.19 as of December 2004; while the average minimum daily wage is only P300. Also, most employers do not follow government laws on wages and are even given exemptions by the DOLE itself," Bragas-Regalado said.

"This is why many Filipinos are forced to take even dirty, difficult and demeaning (3-D) jobs overseas. This is why we fully agree Archbishop Rosales' views on the problems of joblessness, forced migration and the resultant social costs that include family separation," Bragas-Regalado added.

Among the 3-D jobs are those in the entertainment, factory, services and sweatshops abroad.

"Many Filipinas who are forced to work as domestic helpers, entertainers, waitresses and sweatshop workers end up being victimized by illegal recruiters, abusive employers and human traffickers in Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Ivory Coast, Saipan and many other nations. This is what the likes of Imson and the Macapagal-Arroyo administration take pains to hide from the Church and the public," Bragas-Regalado ended. #