Page 33 - Hello Philippines January 2016 'B' issue

January 2016 / Fortnightly – No. 2 • UK & Europe Edition
SPECIAL REPORT Is PH prepared for Middle East flareup?
MANILA – As tension escalates
in Najran province in the Saudi-
Yemen border, experts have expressed
various levels of apprehension about
the country’s preparedness for the
possible economic fall-out of trouble
in the Middle East and its practical
consequence for some 1.5 million
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in
Saudi Arabia, plus more in other parts
beyond the oil-rish kingdom.
In a discussion initiated by the Blas
F. Ople Policy Center on the current
situation in the Saudi-Yemen border,
where about 5,000 OFWs face safety
concerns due to daily bombings and
shelling by artillery, experts said that
the government’s pronouncements of
so-called preparedness has so far not
been felt on the ground.
The Blas F. Ople Policy Center
is a non-profit organization giving
assistance to distressed OFWs and
human trafficking victims.
The embers of conflict between
decades-old rivals Saudi Arabia and
Iran makes the Middle East a precarious
region of potential turmoil.
“We are not quite sure about the
specifics of the government’s so-called
assessments of the situation, that’s why
it would be good to resort to a broader
consultative approach,” Susan “Toots”
Ople, who heads the Ople Policy center
and is a senatorial candidate in the 2016
national election, said Friday.
She pointed out that the problem in
the Middle East is not a simplistic one:
“The government should break down
the details of the contingency measures,
and involve the private sector, civil
society and ex-Saudi and Bahrain
workers, who have the geographical
and on-the-ground expertise in dealing
with OFW-centric situations.”
“It is easy to mouth the motherhood
words ‘we are prepared for any
contingency,’ but, as they say, the devil
is in the details. In Najran, for instance, the embassies and consulates with
the OFWs are already facing an ongoing
crisis. What is the contingency plan
for this? This is where the government
instrumentalities should show just how
‘we are prepared for any contingencies’,”
Ople said.
Ople was joined by John Bertiz,
who owns a recruitment agency; Jun
Aguilar, head of a Filipino migrant
workers group; Lito Soriano, owner
of LBS Recruitment Solutions Inc.;
and Luther Calderon, who is involved
with giving Pre-Departure Orientation
Seminars.
Five proposals. In the discussion,
experts suggested the following five
points that the government might
undertake to help cushion the possible
impact of economic fallout from Saudi
Arabia and other Gulf states in the
eventual escalation of hostilities:
u Establish a social media account
for every embassy and consulates to
convey the right information to Filipinos
in conflict areas and inform them on
the actions, plans and programs of the
government.
v Identify the worker sectors that
will be heavily affected by the conflict,
and map out alternative redeployment
programs and/or repatriation plans.
w Mobilize on-site contingency
measures aimed at preventing
confusion among OFWs, especially as
to where to go and what to do.
x Develop an alternative job
market for affected OFWs, especially
skilled workers who can prospectively
be redeployed in the maintenance,
manufacturing and production (oil
and gas engineers) sectors in other
countries.
y Activate the National
Reintegration Center Office (NRCO)
of the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) to implement
amelioration and assistance programs
and projects for repatriated OFWs.
Social media account. Ople said that,
since most Filipinos abroad use social
media accounts to establish contact and
maintain linkages with their families,
this platform could be utilized by the
government to inform them on possible
scenarios, evacuation plans and other
programs for their safety.
“It would be good to see social media
officers on the ground, in our embassies
and consulates, and all labor welfare
posts in the Middle East,” Ople, said.
“It’s a complicated proposition
for the OFW communities to be
chattering among themselves without
the government joining the critically
important conversation, to affirm what
is factual, officially doable, to keep
everybody on the same page,” she
added.
Ople said that, for now, social
media accounts are the fastest way
to disseminate useful and relevant
information needed by OFWs in conflict
areas.
“You can count just how few are
functional social media accounts, like
Facebook or Twitter. And, yet, this
should be maximized to effectively
disseminate credible, actionable
information in a crisis situation,” Ople
said.
“This is crucial and should be part
of the contingency plan. There should
be social media officers manning this
vital channel of communication. The
Philippine Overseas Employment
Agency seems to be one office that has
a strong social media connection,” she
added.
Identify affected sectors. Ople
stressed that, because of the potentially
widespread fallout of economic
dislocation for OFWs when trouble
breaks out in the Middle East, the
government should identify affected
sectors to map out the plans and
programs for their repatriation or
possible redeployment.
“OFWs working in the public sectors
could see their government contracts
affected, deferred or delayed if the
Saudi authorities resort are compelled
to carry out austerity measures in
the face of the conflict situation. The
effect will cascade to other sectors, the Ople said the government should be itself,” Ople said.
NEWS www.hello-philippines.com 33
usual palliative Balik-Pinas, Balik-
Manggagawa or Balik-Hanapbuhay
programs for returning OFWs, and
handing P10,000 dole outs for every
repatriated Filipinos, but deploy
realistic, responsive and comprehensive
programs in collaboration with the
private sector.
“So the question is, what are the
functional alternatives when our OFWs
start streaming home? They might
have second thoughts about coming
home if government offers feeble or
space support in terms of reintegration
services,” Ople said.
Bertiz explained that the Filipinos
Fire hits Saudi Arabia embassy in Iran as embers of conflict continue to burn. have two main concentrations of land-
based overseas employment: the Middle
recruitment industry and, ultimately, the skilled workers in oil rich countries East and Asia. “In the Asian market, we
impact on their dependent families and and other areas, and also drum up have the production, manufacturing
households here at home,” Ople said. plans for reintegrating the repatriated and household service sector, while in
Among the most difficult sectors to workers back to local society. the Gulf states, we have the technical,
repatriate, according to Bertiz, are the He said there are about 1.5 million production and construction sectors.”
household services workers (HSW), OFWs in Saudi Arabia alone, who “Definitely, it would not be realistic
since “you have to negotiate with each could not be repatriated all at once or to say or even think that they can all be
and every employer to support or even over a period of years in case the accommodated here at home, because
cooperate for their repatriation unlike hostilities escalate into epic proportions. otherwise they would not have to leave
companies, where you have to deal only “The conflict might already be over for abroad in the first place,” he said.
with one person.” before we finish the entire repatriation The only country could absorb
“The household service workers are process for 1.5 million OFWs,” Bertiz them is Saudi Arabia, he added. “But
also the ones who stand to experience said. the equation gets upside down if Saudi
Activate reintegration center. The Arabia itself becomes directly involved
difficulty being reintegrated back home
because of the obvious shortage of jobs experts likewise urged the government in armed conflict, as the situation seems
for them. Most of them are from the to immediately activate the National to be pointing at, with its brewing
Visayas and Mindanao areas, which Reintegration Center Office at the trouble with Iran, for instance.”
also happen to be places with high Department of Labor and Employment “While the household service sector
incidence of poverty and job shortages,” to work out action plans and programs has a built-in fluidity in terms of the
Bertiz said. for repatriated OFWs. relative ease by which these workers
On-site contingency measures. The
“Up to now, we have not felt any may be shifted from one labor market
experts also said that the government concrete action by NRCO. There is yet to another, say, from the Middle East
should immediately mobilize on-site no signal for a multi-sectoral response to Asia, you cannot easily or similarly
contingency measures particularly with civil society and NGOs because do the same with skilled or production
in southern Najran Province near the this seems to be a task that can prove and professional workers,” Bertiz
Saudi-Yemen border. too big for the government to handle by underscored. “That’s the reality that’s
staring us in the face right now.” n Ernie
physically present where the crisis is, NRCO should go beyond the Reyes / InterAksyon.com / January 9, 2016 / 8:15 pm
not just sketching flowcharts on white Delivery of all 97,000 vote counting machines
boards.
“What are we going to do? Who will expected by end of January: Comelec
be carrying out the tasks when the crisis ALL of the 97,000 vote counting of 20,944 VCMs have already been
hits? We should have representatives on
the ground, in the border towns, and machines (VCM) that will be used in tested and accepted by the poll body.
also proactively formulate action plans
for other similar areas,” Ople said. the May 9 polls are expected to be As a procedure, the machines will
Alternative job markets. Since the completely delivered by the end of the be brought to the Comelec warehouse
conflicts in Middle East can easily
fan out everywhere in the region, the month, the Commission on Elections in Laguna after their release from the
government should be developing
alternative job markets for the OFWs (Comelec) said Friday. Customs. From the warehouse, each
since they can no longer remain in war
torn areas. “Right now, everything is still within VCM will be taken to the testing facility
“In the case of conflict-ridden Libya the timeline so we are not worried. where it will undergo “hardware
and Syria, there were a lot of OFWs
who lost jobs but some were absorbed We are confident that everything will acceptance testing.”
in Saudi Arabia,” Bertiz pointed out.
flow smoothly. This is now the status “All of its features will be tested
However, if Saudi Arabia itself were
to become directly inflamed by conflict, of our preparations,” said Comelec one by one… you have ballots being
“where could we deploy these oil and
gas engineers and allied workers?” spokesman James Jimenez. fed into the machine. The ultra-violet
“Basically, they won’t find the same But while 43,000 units of VCMs are censor and accessibility features will
jobs here or anywhere else in Asia.
They can’t also return to Syria or Libya, now in the country, 24,000 are still in be checked. We check everything,”
where the situation has not normalized
at all,” Bertiz added. under Customs. Jimenez explained.
Under this scenario, Bertiz said, At the warehouse of Comelec, 19,739 The machines will then be
the government needs to focus on
developing an alternative job market for configured in preparation for election
day.
Meanwhile, Jimenez said that the
start of ballot printing has been moved.
“We revised the timeline a little bit
so instead of stating on Jan. 27, we are
going to start printing on Feb. 1. We
want to be sure that all of the names
that we are going to actually put out
will be accurate,” he added. n Jet Villa
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez. / InterAksyon.com / January 16, 2016 / 12:41 am