Draft on migrants, air link deal inked

The Philippines yesterday signed a deal with Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia that will open unrestricted air links between those countries and Mindanao and Palawan while toughening security to stop the movement of terrorists.

At the same time, a convention to protect Southeast Asia's vast army of migrant workers came one step closer Friday when senior officials finally agreed on the wording of a draft declaration.

President Arroyo signed the deal with Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in the sidelines of the Asean Summit as part of efforts to create a so-called East Asian Growth Area, said Arroyo aide Jesus Dureza.

Flights would connect Mindanao and Palawan with the three neighboring countries even if it could also " possibly open them up to people who would like to create trouble, " Dureza told a news conference.

Brunei flag carrier Royal Brunei Airlines has expressed interest in a Mindanao-Brunei route to service southern-based Filipinos flying to contract jobs in the Middle East, Dureza said.

The leaders agreed to push for the harmonization of rules on customs, immigration, quarantine and security procedures to filter out unwanted travellers, he said.

On the other hand, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said the draft declaration on migrant workers has been approved. " There is no more conflict, " he said.

The issue of migrant workers will be a major topic when leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( Asean ) meet here today.

Earlier in the week there had been resistance from Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, three of the regional grouping's biggest recipients of migrant workers, to the inclusion of workers' families in the declaration.

But officials hammered out a compromise language that would give legal protection to the rights of a migrant worker's family founded after he enters a country.

" A migrant worker goes to another country alone. He works there. While working there, he meets somebody, falls in love, and forms a family. Will the family now be protected just like the migrant worker? The answer is yes, " Conejos said.

Summit host Philippines, which has been sending maids, seafarers and professionals overseas since the 1970s, has been pushing for the declaration.

The document spells out the obligations of both labor-supplying and receiving countries as well as those of Asean.

Countries that receive workers should ensure their access to legal services, decent working conditions and social welfare benefits while those that send them must train and prepare the workers.

The document also calls on Asean countries to help other Asean nationals in times of emergency as when Manila evacuated other nationals along with Filipinos trapped in the Israeli-Lebanon conflict last year.

Although the declaration is not legally binding, it calls on the Asean secretary general to monitor compliance.

The draft declaration initially sought to cover only legal migrant workers but evolved to cover the rights of illegal immigrants facing charges as well.

" Asean cannot close its eyes to the fact that there are victims of trafficking and victims of human smuggling, " Conejos said.

About 1.2 million Filipinos move within East Asia annually, Conejos said.

Human rights and labor groups around the region have called on Asean to improve the pay and conditions of migrant workers, many of whom are exploited and paid low wages.

William Gois, regional coordinator for Migrant Forum in Asia, said migrant workers were the backbone of the region's economic success but at the same time were treated miserably. " Asean should also recognize that its people are not tradeable commodities, " he said.

Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam are the region's main suppliers of labor, while Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand are among the major recipients.

Other key issues Asean ministers agreed for inclusion in today's 10-nation Asean Summit include advancing the target date for a free-trade zone and a convention on fighting terrorism.

Leaders of the bloc are to sign those agreements and then adopt an outline to create the 40-year-old group's first-ever charter.

" They will now be placed before the leaders as they work closely together to lay solid foundations for deeper regional integration, " Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

Facing the increased financial might of China and India, Asean looks forward to creating a free trade zone by 2015, five years earlier than previously planned.

The group will also sign its first anti-terrorism convention which will make it easier to extradite suspects, track the movement of people and money, and set up mechanisms to rehabilitate convicted terrorists.

" Global terrorism has assumed new forms of virulence. We will make sure that this community is more secure and resistant to the threat of terror, " Romulo said. - with AFP