Cost of absence: OFWs speak out

My piece Monday elicited a flood of reactions from all over. It was about government dependence on overseas Filipino workers (OFW) remittances, not domestic employment, for economic boost. Incalculable are the social costs: incomplete families, broken marriages, traumatized tots and school dropouts due to parental absence. Some of the reactions:

Alfredo Sumague: “I was one of the millions who left for work abroad in the early ‘80s. Also among those who returned to Saudi Arabia, even at the height of the first Gulf War, rather than face uncertainty in the Philippines. Unfortunate was the plight of our countrymen in the hands of bad employers. Some were raped, or made to live in congested, subhuman quarters. I salute them for sacrificing to give their families back home a bright future.

“In 1995-1996, while employed by Singapore Telecoms, I did volunteer work with the Philippine labor attaché. There too I met Filipino domestics who had escaped from maltreatment. Some had been trafficked by our fellow-Filipinos, in cahoots with Immigration officers.

“Before emigrating to the US, I advised them: spend wisely your hard-earned money.”

“Thank you for this great article.”

Okiks, of yahoo.com: “Your columns are informative. The latest made me wonder how the money I send home to the family helps the economy and, consequently, government services. My observations:

“Since 1994 when I began to have my overseas employment card processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, till this 2014, the chairs and tables have been dilapidated, the ventilation poor, and the service bad. My annual two-week home break is cut by a day — the time it takes to process the OEA; sometimes two days if during the peak season (Christmas, New Year’s, school holidays).

“I remain in the airport Immigration blacklist because of a namesake with a hold-departure order. This, although I have secured clearance from the Immigration head office.

“I had a bad time with passport renewal. The consulate where I applied said it would take two months. But the passport arrived after three. And that was because my wife and I persistently followed up with the head office. We even paid for the courier service. And even though my new passport had arrived, the consulate took a week to release it — three days before the expiration of my work visa.

“Lastly, we OFWs are exempt from the airport terminal fee. But with the new rule of incorporating the fee with the airline fare, we would lose the privilege.

“More power to your column.”

Engr. Marlon Pangan Mangalus, Singapore: “Kudos for taking up the issue of OFWs’ social cost. Fortunately my overseas work is near the Philippines, so I am able to go home every other month or have my family come to visit. Still, I miss them, the affection and bonding, and especially my baby from whose many firsts I was absent. I can’t imagine myself being away for more than six months or even years, as with other OFWs.

“Working abroad can test your sanity. Yet you have to choose: work for a Philippine company and be unable to meet your family needs, or go abroad for a better fighting chance.

“The social costs are real. OFWs need need instructing in finance management and return planning. Government can help by lowering the cost of doing business in the Philippines. If it is able to bring down the cost of power, infrastructures, and logistics, then companies would be able to raise employee salaries. Income tax should be lowered to 20 percent, max, deductions increased, and brackets periodically be reviewed. Like, incomes of P500,000-P1 million a year should be tax free,

“For a modest life in the Philippines, a starting family needs a monthly income of P100,000, especially in the city. Breakdown: home mortgage, P20,000-P30,000; car + fuel P25,000; cost of living, P30,000; and other needs. Yet in the Philippines you will be lucky to get, as a professional, P30,000-50,000 a month.”

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In the column I understated as “a few hundreds” the OFW families that Ugat Foundation has helped to cope under its Panatag Program. Correction: since startup in 2008 up to Sept. 2014, 10,530 OFW children undergone the Anak Workshop, over 200 have attended Youth Camp; and 3,178 have trained in youth mentoring. As well, Ugat has held workshops for 651 left-behind parents and guardians.

Managing director Moppet Cenizal-Gonzales narrates: “We poll the children at the start of every Anak Workshop. They are asked to list down the positive things about their parents’ work abroad, and then the negatives. When asked what they prefer — having the parents in the homeland, or living apart but with monetary benefits — the answer is unanimous: we want to be together.

“Since the separation will be deeply unsettling it is so important that the family prepares itself. Not just the financial preparation, like when, how, to whom, and what amount of money will be sent home. Rather, the emotional and psychological preparation: clarifying to everyone the reasons for the departure, and who this is to benefit (hindi para magpasarap si Tatay, kundi para tulungan ang pamilya) affirming the love for each other, keeping in touch, and planning events that preserve the family bonds across oceans and time zones. Who will the children be left with? These are just some of many items they need to be deliberate about. Many don’t prepare. Instead, as you narrated in your column, mothers just leave without saying a proper goodbye -- which devastates the youngsters.”

Ugat used to give pre-departure talks to OFWs for the Oversea Workers Welfare Administration. It was to help them deal with the anticipated stress of working in a foreign land. Clearly, they need to have a serious pre-departure workshop on how to prepare their families and themselves emotionally for the separation. 

Despite the thousands of lives it has touched, and given the 11 million OFWs, Ugat has barely scratched surface. It aims to reach out to more schools, parishes, and children; and attract more volunteers.

Website: www.ugatpanatag.com. Inquiries: (02) 3525884, or [email protected].

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