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UNVEILING REAL CULPRITTOWARDS POLICY REDIRECTION

DECISIVE IN SOLVING THEPROBLEMS OF ONSITE OFWs

Presented By Dr. CAMAL CALIto the OWWA-ARMM RegionalCongress

El Manuel Hotel & Convention Center, Cotabato CityMay 5, 2011

Last March 30, you may have witnessed the execution ofthree overseas workers in China. It was a day of infamy for allFilipinos as the news on TV is taking us to the virtual reality of theplight of the overseas Filipinos workers.

Month have passed but our grieving has not ended by theirdeath, because far more than Sally, Ramon and Elizabeth, thereare bound to die as the death row for overseas Filipinos continueto swell by the hundreds.

Our overseas Filipino workers ONSITE are in distress. Over15 million of them are seeking for the so-called greener pasturesin the worst of times. They are falling towards life and death atthe expense of sending billions of remittances.

At this very moment every one of us sitting in this hall arespending part of their life and death earnings!

And the more we are obliged to act because we arenot just simple beneficiaries but actually POLICY MAKERS.

It is therefore in our hands lies the decisive power to endtheir pain and sufferings!

Meantime the least we can do is to pray for them and payrespect for the dead ones. May I therefore request everybody toplease stand and solemnly observe a one minute silence inprayer.

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ONSITE OFW IS THE CORE BUSINESS ANDMUST EARNED

DUE PROGRAM THRUSTS PROPORTIONATETO ITS POPULATION

Presented By Dr. CAMAL CALI to the OWWA-ARMM Regional CongressEl Manuel Hotel & Convention Center, Cotabato City

May 5, 2011

In this momentous gathering may I share to you a belief forevery one of the overseas Filipino workers must not waver and afaith for every sensible soul in this hall to affirm. With duerespect to all concerned, ladies and gentlemen let me bring toyou the imperative focal agenda -- the plight of the on-siteFilipino workers abroad.

My issues and concern are for the repatriation of more than120 OFWs from the death row, for the freedom of those innocentsamong the 7,000 OFWs languishing in jails, for the urgent relief ofthe hundred thousands OFW suffering maltreatment, for thecomfort of the countless number of OFWs who are condemned topain and misery as they are separated from their families andlove ones.

In this regard let me bring forward the belief that thesepredicaments of the overseas Filipino workers are consequentialto our own action and inaction and from the ebb and flows of theevents to where we are not enabled to maneuver in aconstructive way. From this premise we can therefore reversewhat should be inaction from the action and action from inactionand further enable ourselves to maneuver things constructively.

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Lastly may I appeal to you to affirm the faith for the gladtidings from the sweat and tears and by the flesh and bloodinvested by the overseas Filipino workers in a common dream of asociety where families are not broken up by urgent need for

survival. The faith that our active work imparted will bring toreality the homeland where there is opportunity for everyone tolive a decent and humane life.

From this place I stand on I can imagine the eyes and ears ofour living heroes, the overseas Filipino workers abroad seeing usnow inspired and hopeful as they believed that we gathered herein great strides to find an end to their pain and suffering.

By the commitment of the Overseas Workers Welfare

Administration to serve as a potent force in providing timely andresponsive interventions 24/7, I affirm.

By the adage "UMULAN MA'T UMARAW, ANG OWWA AYMAASAHAN", we should all affirm.

Being part of the OWWA, ladies and gentlemen, please hearmy argument for the on-site predicament of the overseas Filipinoworkers a prior agenda to unwaver in the forthcoming nationalcongress.

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UNVEILING THE REAL CULPRITOVER PERSISTENT PROBLEMS OF

THE ON-SITE OFWs

Presented By Dr. CAMAL CALI to the OWWA-ARMM Regional CongressEl Manuel Hotel & Convention Center, Cotabato City

May 5, 2011

Pertinent authorities mandated to safeguard and advancethe welfare of the OFW are considerably ineffective ever since. Itis consistently failing from the top policy level down to simplest

routine action.

Summing-up the quantitative delivery of the OWWA forinstance, simply from the itemized Program Thrusts you will foundout that of the total 20 items emphasized, only 2 are afforded tothe on-site OFWs. The figure sharply contradicts to the glaringand overwhelming malady of the OFWs that should be servedwith substantial attention.

The actual condition of the OFWs on-site is the bottomline.On-site OFW is the focal point of all of the OWWAs operations.

On the qualitative delivery we can cite one simple stancefrom our top official that could give us an idea on what kind ofConsular personnel we do we have in this grueling times.

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From the ABS-CBN news dated April 4 has the headlinesaying, OWWA To Probe Cases of 24 Gays in Jeddah Jail.Administrator Carmelita Dimzon has even quoted to instructwelfare officers in Jeddah to look into trumped-up charges for

these homosexuals.

How on earth that a top government official unaware on theconvicting implication of her official statement literally affirmingthe accused OFWs to be homosexuals? By the statement, the

jailed OFWs facing trial have already convicted for a crime theynever wished to commit by the signing to abide by the Laws ofthe host Muslim country even before their deployment.

Consular personnel abroad may not all be ignorant of the

norms in their host country, but to think of the synonymous casespersistent for many years you would think otherwise.

OFW situation in the Middle East is worsening and while theregion remains to be the top destination of OFWs the problembecomes compounding.

Doubly remarkable is that the annual deployment figure isalso consistently on the upswing. Regardless the upswing,

stranded OFWs seeking refuge every year continue to swell bythe thousands.

And as the social turbulence happening elsewhere iswrecking havoc to the ranks of our OFWs, in seemingly competingcircumstances, the number of OFW runaways by its own beat isalso on the upswing.

The House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COWA)conducting investigation just recently was even shocked at theincomparable extent of the abuse and maltreatment.

Its previous investigation in 2009 has unanimouslyconfirmed the deplorable conditions of OFWs. Abused, theseOFWs were forced to run away from their employers and to seekassistance from the Philippine Embassy.

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And cry your hearts out by the Embassys response, as quotedfrom a news headline it says, Philippine Ambassador to OFWs:DONT HELP RUN-AWAYS.