Palau no place for job hunters

Only two types of Filipinos go to Palau: scuba divers and job hunters. The former find in the small group of islands southeast of the Philippines a cheap spot to ogle marine wonders. The latter search for green pastures but seldom succeed as they fall prey to illegal recruiters.

Of late there has been a disturbing rise in number of Filipinos being enticed with promises of big pay. The false come-on is that Palau is a US territory (it used to be, until independence in 1994). Recruits spend up to P70,000 ($1,270) to land jobs as office supervisors, accountants or engineers. They end up as farmhands, waitresses or home laborers – with monthly wages of only P8,000 ($150), without the free board and lodging stipulated in work contracts.

Last Nov. 16 sixteen Filipinos arrived at the airport in Koror capital on tourist visas. Some, questioned by Palau immigration, were instantly detained upon confessing they were there to work without permits. The rest managed to breeze through airport checks, only to discover there was nobody outside to meet them. The "contacts" apparently had dispersed when tipped off about the earlier to-do inside. All are now awaiting the usual month-long deportation proceedings. The Philippine embassy will spend for their return flights. Meanwhile, kind hearts from The Filipino Community in Palau are giving them temporary shelter.

Last weekend another batch of five recent recruits escaped from their employer and sought help from the embassy. All females, the five had been recruited as restaurant cashiers and supervisors, but told upon arrival they would work as waitresses, then eventually forced to sit as bar girls. Lacking lodging facilities, the embassy requested a TFCP member to house them preparatory to repatriation.

Manila authorities, aware of the cut-rate wages and contract breaches by employers, have banned deployment to Palau, except for few well-documented needs for skilled workers. But uninformed or desperate job-seekers still fall for bogus deals in which they plunk in six months’ worth of wages just to get a plane ticket and a temporary travel-cum-work clearance. From interviews by the embassy and TFCP, they reveal the same modus. They all were instructed, for speedy departure from Manila, to line up at a certain immigration counter; meaning, the officer already had been bribed into silence about their fake travel plans.

That officer is almost certainly a complainer about low government pay. But it is his type that drives up unnecessary government expenses for legal and repatriation services, money it could otherwise have used to hike state salaries. As for the illegal recruiters, they capitalize on the misery of jobless Filipinos. They are the usual bellyachers against corruption, but do not think twice about collaborating with bribe-takers.

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One thing that distinguishes Koreans from most other Asians is their fierce patriotism. They would readily fight against any dishonor to their country. During the 1987 Asian financial crisis, Korean matrons lined up to government offices to donate heirloom jewelry to the national coffers. Even kimchi is regarded as a national treasure. When abroad, Korean expatriates would buy the pickled cabbage only from Korean stores as their way of helping compatriots’ businesses. Besides, they believe that foreigners can never sprinkle the right amount of chili on kimchi to suit Korean tastebuds.

There’s one other reason aside from patriotism for Korean preference to buy only from countrymen: parasites. And this was demonstrated last month when Korean health officials announced the discovery of parasite eggs in kimchi imported from China. Immediately there was an outcry about why they were importing at all. China responded by listing ten food items from Korea also contaminated with parasite eggs. A trade war nearly broke out – until Seoul authorities quickly revealed that parasite infection was found in local kimchi.

That didn’t dampen Korean patriotism – or their passion for kimchi as side dish for all meals including breakfast. Informed that $100 billion is at stake in the uproar over food – that amount is the annual trade volume with China, Korea’s biggest export market – Koreans simmered down to look for better alternatives to trade embargoes. They got the Chinese to talk of stricter food inspections, if only for continued brisk trade.

There’s a lesson here for Filipinos who almost always think first of self before country – yet endlessly grumble about government not doing enough for them. If everyone works for the betterment of the community, individuals will surely reap the rewards in terms of better lives. For instance, if all abide by rules on vehicle emissions or garbage disposal, each one will live healthier. If all refuse to bribe government officials but instead pay right taxes, each one will be relieved of corruption and enjoy better roads and services from the state.

But try telling that to the criminal-minded lawman who gives the Philippines a bad name to foreign tourists by robbing them upon arrival at the airport. Or to the constructor who can’t seem to land a public contract without shortcutting the rules. Or to the congressman or senator who can’t content himself with multimillion-peso pork barrels but still has to wangle franchises from the government despite the clear constitutional prohibition.

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