I can appreciate the value we place on overseas Filipino workers for their contribution to the economy. And I can understand the willingness of these workers to endure challenges most workers would be unwilling to face just so they can provide their families a better future.
But I think it is plain foolhardiness for anyone to willingly walk into harm’s way and get caught in the middle of a conflict such as the one now swallowing up the country of Syria. To do such a thing no longer contributes to nation building nor ensures stability of family.
Yet, because some Filipinos do get caught in such foolhardy situations, the consequences of which are so dire the national government is compelled to intervene, I believe there is a need to revisit the way it deals with the problem.
From what I know, it appears enough for government to issue travel bans and advisories against travel or employment to conflict areas. To me that is too limp-wristed an approach to deal with something that you know our very determined brothers can easily get around with.
Because our government does not seem to go beyond issuing simple bans and advisories, Filipinos do manage to sneak into areas of conflict where eventually their luck runs out and fate catches up with them.
Once they get into this predicament, our government is forced to intervene, sending officials abroad to negotiate and secure safe passage for our trapped compatriots, in the process spending huge amounts of time and money that could have been put to better use otherwise.
What makes this problem worse is that the government has no choice. Even I myself, faced with such a prospect, will have no choice but to go for repatriation. When it is a matter of life and death, I guess we are all like the Marines — we do not want to leave anybody behind.
One cannot help but consider the waste, and why there would have been no need to waste anything if only government did what it was supposed to do, which is to look after the safety and security of our citizens long before they get into any real trouble.
When Filipino citizens leave the country for abroad, government should take all necessary steps to make sure they do not find their way, by shortcut or circuitous route, to destinations that can only put themselves at risk.
There used to be a time when, for political reasons, a passport was properly invalidated for travel to a certain country. I have not travelled in a long while so I do not know if similar means are still being employed to restrict travel, especially to conflict areas.
If it is still being done, well and good. But I think government still has a loophole in its hands because the fact remains that right now we are in the middle of a massive repatriation effort to extricate some of our compatriots out of Syria.
I cannot help but compare ourselves with other countries. When these countries issue travel bans and advisories, these warnings are by and large heeded by their nationals. Judging by the number of Filipinos trapped in areas of conflict, I can safely say Filipinos ignore them.
I have yet to read of any country that has to employ massive repatriation efforts involving whole planeloads of people. Only the Philippines does this. In terms of notoriety, no one truly beats the Filipino.
We cannot go on like these. While it is true life has no price tag and we do need to bring our brother Filipinos back home safely, still one cannot help but consider that all the money spent for these efforts come from taxes of home-bound Filipinos who chose to obey rules.
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While it is true life has no price tag and we do need to bring our brother Filipinos back home safely, still one cannot help but consider that all the money spent for these efforts come from taxes of home-bound Filipinos who chose to obey rules.