Pinay seeks Korea parliament seat

MANILA, Philippines - The candidacy of a Filipina to the Korean parliament is supported by the Filipino community in South Korea, Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday.

Jasmine Lee became a naturalized Korean in 1998 after marrying Korean Lee Dongho and moving to South Korea.

“Her (Lee’s) strong showing gives hope not only to Filipinos but to all migrants and immigrants,” Binay said.

“We are all very proud that a full-blooded Filipino is being given the opportunity to be a member of the Korean Parliament. It shows that Korea is prepared to extend the opportunity to become a public servant even to those who were not born here,” Binay said.

If elected to the South Korean parliament, Binay said Lee “will be an advocate not only of Filipino workers’ rights, but the rights of all migrants in South Korea.”

Lee is a popular TV host, and heads the Global Resource Center (GRC) in Seoul, a non-government organization serving as a support group for foreign wives of Koreans.

She was included in the ruling party’s list of 46 candidates for the proportional representative seats in the April 11 elections in South Korea.

Lee, who was present during Binay’s dialog with the Filipino community at the Philippine embassy, wrote down the concerns raised by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), among them the plight of “stateless children” or children born to migrant parents who are not recognized by the host countries.

“What we can do is to appeal to the host governments to recognize these children. But the problem is not only confined to South Korea but also in other countries, especially in the Middle East, where there are around 6,000 of them,” Binay said.

Safe from abuse

Meanwhile, Binay said yesterday majority of the OFWs deployed in various parts of the world are safe from abuse and maltreatment.

Binay, presidential adviser on OFW concerns, made the statement in his bid to dispute stories coming out in media outfits abroad about cases of abuse against OFWs which he said are not helping the country’s economy.

“Most often, the front page stories surrounding global Filipinos usually announce bad news or cases of abuse. I wish to assure you that such is not the plight of the majority of our overseas Filipinos,” Binay told participants at the OFW summit held at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

But Binay admitted that unskilled and uneducated Filipinos working as domestic helpers abroad are the ones who are vulnerable to abuse and maltreatment.

“The unskilled and uneducated, usually seeking jobs as domestic workers, are those that carry the greatest risk. Skilled workers are far less susceptible to such fates and enjoy more in the way of wages, benefits and treatment in their areas of employment,” Binay said.

Binay said understanding such correlation helped improve the processes and strategies of the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) and other agencies safeguarding the well-being of OFWs.

He said OWWA’s pre-deployment program that provides departing workers with seminars seeks to “acclimatize” them to the host nation’s culture and help them cope with their new environment.

OWWA, according to Binay, provides language training, stress management, counseling, and basic life skills.

Binay said OWWA also offers 24/7 assistance for OFWs through help desks, e-mail, telephone hotline, SMS text, or fax, free of toll charges.

He also cited the efforts of government agencies in securing the welfare of Filipinos against human traffickers and illegal recruiters.

“We are forming more alliances with local government units (LGUs) and private sector organizations in our anti-illegal recruitment campaigns,” Binay said.

Binay said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has already signed close to 300 memoranda of understanding with LGUs.

He said the agreements seek to provide LGUs with orientation seminars and capacity building programs, including updates on licensed recruitment agencies, and establishment of help desks.

Binay also cited the important role being played by non-government organizations in the fight against human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

“Our partnerships with private sector groups such as the Visayan Forum, Blas F. Ople Policy Center, among many others have borne great fruit. These have made it possible to cover more ports, especially in remote areas, and prevent thousands of trafficking victims from sailing toward dire straits and grim fates,” Binay said.

“In their (OFWs’) quest to find a dignified existence, we must safeguard not just their right to work but more importantly, the totality of their rights,” he added.