Category Archives: References

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On the creation of a “Department of OFWs”

digong-inaugural Indeed, there has been a growing clamor among (overseas Filipino workers) OFWs and their families for a “one-stop shop” that would cater to better services and  the protection and promotion of OFWs. This is mainly because the present “one-country-approach” being implemented by agencies tasked to provide direct services to OFWs, namely, the DFA, DOLE, OWWA and POEA, has been deemed dysfunctional, anti-migrant and inoperative.

Migrante International therefore sees and appreciates the rationale behind President Duterte’s proposal of establishing a “Department of OFWs (DOFW)” that seeks to systematize, consolidate and strengthen government efforts to protect our OFWs. This proposal in itself is already an initial critique of the performance of the above-mentioned government agencies over the years.

Migrante International, however, forwards serious apprehensions on the basis of its assessment of the performances of existing agencies concerned with dealing with OFW services and welfare. If a DOFW is to be established, it is imperative that the Duterte administration first thoroughly investigates how current concerned agencies, as well as existing laws and policies, benefited or failed our OFWs and their families.

In the last four decades, Philippine governments have been aggressive in crafting programs and services aimed to facilitate and encourage forced migration and labor export. While acknowledging the many social costs, these were effectively downplayed by the hailing of OFW remittances. Rather, the Philippine government has unfailingly and resolutely promoted the labor export policy as unequivocally beneficial for OFWs and their families. This is particularly done by overstating supposed development benefits for the economy and the income benefits for households.

The economic compulsion of past Philippine government to keep exporting Filipinos to maintain or, especially, to increase remittances unfortunately overrides and precludes any measures that, directly or indirectly, constrict the flow of migration, as enshrined in Republic Act of 8042 (amended by RA 10022), or the Migrants’ Act of 1995.

The Migrants’ Act of 1995 created the existing concerned agencies, laws and policies that are effective to this day. And twenty-two years after its enactment, the plight of OFWs has worsened.

This two-faced law is riddled with embellishments of migrants’ rights but treacherously traps OFWs into the worst possible scenario of commodification. It allowed past regimes to renege any responsibility in the protection of our rights and welfare while permitting the continuance of government financial exaction.

It is in this light that Migrante International poses this qualification: the creation of a DOFW should not work to merely further institutionalize labor export, but instead address the decades-long clamor of OFWs and their families to put an end to it.

Filipinos are being forced to migrate because of desperation as a result out of the economy’s lack of development resulting in job loss, low wages and lack of livelihood at home. OFWs have borne witness to how insincere, insensitive and inept past governments have been in upholding and securing the protection and welfare of OFWs. The past four decades of Philippine labor export has showcased a more blatant and unapologetic policy that continues to exploit OFWs’ cheap labor and foreign remittances in accordance to US imperialist interests and dictates.

Migrante International firmly believes that the Duterte government should strive towards ending forced migration and scrapping the bankrupt labor export policy. It is very open to work closely with the Duterte administration to ensure that this thrust is realized.

It will support the formation of a DOFW if, and only if, it would work towards the irrelevance of such a department and instead strive for a society in which families do not need to be torn apart just to survive. ###

 

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Grandstanding, band-aid solutions, damage-control for companies and recruitment agencies: Assessment of PH govt’s response to plight of stranded OFWs in Saudi crisis  

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Stranded OFWs in Saudi still awaiting repatriation from the Philippine government.

Prepared by Migrante International, December 13, 2016

Last July, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Sec. Silvestre Bello III declared that the Duterte government will resolve the issue of stranded OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in Saudi Arabia by yearend. December has come, we are well on our way to usher in the new year, and what has the government done so far in response to their plight?

The economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is presently beset with a severe oil price meltdown. Crude oil that sold for over $100 per barrel in 2014 was cut down to half the price by the end of 2015. The price decline strongly influenced KSA’s economy since oil sales account for about 80% of its revenues. It prompted the Saudi government to cut spending, delay projects and sell bonds. This resulted in financial instability of government contractors which employs a large numbers of migrant workers.  Its impact also extended to other branches of the local economy, including public utilities and social services.

The effect of the crisis on OFWs became evident when tens of thousands became stranded in numerous company accommodations in various regions of KSA by 2015. The number of OFWs affected by non-payment of salaries, withholding of benefits,  massive retrenchment and contract violations continued to increase as the oil crisis worsened. The Rapid Response Team to KSA dispatched by the previous Aquino administration only estimated some 11,000 OFWs affected in companies such as Saudi Oger Ltd, Saudi Bin Laden Group (SBG) and Mohammad Al Mojil Grooup (MMG). Migrante, however, projected that at least 50,000 OFWs, to include those employed by smaller companies and sub-contractors, will be affected Kingdom-wide by March of 2016 – and the figure will continue to rise if the government continues to turn a blind eye.

Acknowledging the crisis, then newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte gave “marching orders” to Sec. Bello to conduct a visit to Saudi Arabia to immediately assess the situation and repatriate the stranded OFWs via chartered flights. In response, the government launched an inter-agency project dubbed, “Operation Bring Them Home”, which conducted two “humanitarian relief missions” to Saudi Arabia in August-September and October-November. The Operation was jointly conducted by the DOLE, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD), Department of Health (DOH) the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) and TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority).

Prior to the Operation and Sec. Bello’s first trip to Saudi Arabia, Migrante submitted to the government a briefer that summarized the plight, demands and urgent government action needed by the stranded OFWs. Below is a summary of the OFWs’ demands:

  • Negotiate with employers for the payment of salaries and benefits, and issuance of exit visas.
  • Emergency mass repatriation for stranded OFWs. Government to shoulder immigration penalties and other costs related to repatriation.
  • Provide legal assistance and other support (free translations fees, transportation expenses) for distressed OFWs who filed labor cases against their companies, and facilitate the provision of subsistence allowances through the OFW’s recruitment agencies.
  • Ban the deployment workers to bankrupt and crisis-ridden companies.
  • Emergency financial assistance to returned OFWs and families of distressed OFWs.
  • Speedy resolution of cases of repatriated OFWs lodged at the POEA and NLRC.
  • Comprehensive reintegration program and decent-paying jobs for returning OFWs.

 In a press conference in Malacanang last November 22, Sec. Bello announced that “only 2,000 OFWs remain to be repatriated in Saudi Arabia”. In the same breath, Sec. Bello said that they “have succeeded in bringing back 3,000 OFWs while the rest have managed to find good-paying jobs in other companies”. This statement is very problematic.

Firstly, the government merely accounts for some 5,000 affected OFWs, still a far cry from the 11,000 it vowed to repatriate early on – and still yet a small percent of the actual number of affected OFWs outside of the three big companies, Saudi Oger Ltd, Saudi Billadin Group (SBG) and Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG).

Sec. Bello, in the same press conference, announced that the OFWs opting to transfer to other companies “made it easier for us (government)”, but he also admitted that the OFWs have not yet been paid their withheld wages and necessary money claims.

These statements are not only contradictory but problematic at best. It now appears that the Sec. Bello deems the Saudi crisis fait accompli, problem-solved, and therefore business-as-usual between the Philippine government and its biggest labor importer. This is wishful thinking on the part of the Philippine government and downright deceiving.

On one hand, while efforts of relief and on-site assistance by the DSWD should be lauded, these are short-term and  band-aid solutions that do nothing to address the major issues of emergency repatriation, labor issues and comprehensive reintegration for affected OFWs and their families.

Government efforts have been fragmented thus far, with various agencies involved, particularly the DOLE and DFA, “one-upping” each other in terms of who plays a command role in the Operation. Migrante’s sources in the DFA claim that after the initial and only press conference, where Sec. Bello and DFA’s Perfecto Yasay publicly flanked Pres. Duterte as he welcomed a handful of repatriated OFWs from Saudi, the former had been reluctant to conduct a follow-up humanitarian mission after the first one in July.

Thus begging the question: Was the DOLE’s objective in the Saudi mission not really for the main purpose of repatriating stranded OFWs but conducting damage control for the beleaguered Saudi companies and local recruitment agencies through the facilitation of job transfers?

If so, the promise to “end the stranded crisis” by yearend has been deceiving and bound to fail from the start. Job transfers of crisis-ridden OFWs have been the thrust of the previous governments – as in the case of the MMG workers who initially called for emergency mass repatriation in 2014, were convinced by the PH government to be transferred to other companies, only to enlist yet again for repatration in 2015 after the company they transferred too was also affected by the Saudi crisis.

If Sec. Bello worked mainly to facilitate job transfers, then he only succeeded in buying time for and “rescuing” the companies and local private recruitment agencies instead of the affected OFWs. This is unsurprisingly in line with the “win-win” solution and other deceiving, pro-capitalist and anti-labor policies that the DOLE has been advocating thus far.

Meanwhile, the oil crisis in Saudi continues to worsen. OFWs, those who Sec. Bello said “opted” to stay on, have not become impervious to the crisis just because they were transferred to different companies. The crisis is also now affecting not only OFWs in industrial and construction sites but those in the service and health sectors as well.

The Saudi crisis is far from over. What the present administration should ultimalety strive to do as a comprehensive response to the crisis is to decisively deviate from its labor export policy and instead focus on creating decent and sustainable local jobs to end the cycle of forced migration. ###

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OWWA refuses to comply with DOLE Chief’s orders re: Saudi stranded

Migrante International, together with Saudi OFWs and families, and DOLE Sec. Silvestre Bello III, August 11,2016, DOLE Office, Manila

Migrante International, together with Saudi OFWs and families, and DOLE Sec. Silvestre Bello III, August 11,2016, DOLE Office, Manila

Migrante International held a dialogue with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Sec. Silvestre Bello III last August 11, together with 30 representatives and family members of stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia.

In the dialogue, the OFWs and their families thanked Sec. Bello and the Duterte administration for acknowledging that there indeed is an ongoing crisis affecting at least 50,000 Filipino migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. This is a far cry from the previous Aquino administration’s outright denial of the crisis, resulting in inaction and the aggravation of the sorry conditions of the affected OFWs and their families. They also acknowledged the decisive actions instigated by the Duterte government, based on the seven (7) demands presented by Migrante International and Migrante-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to Sec. Bello before his first visit to the Kingdom last August 22-23, 2016.

They, however, raised the following concerns with regard the government’s initial responses to the ongoing crisis, to wit:

At the tailend of the dialogue, OWWA officials arrived at the venue. Sec. Bello ordered them to immediately accompany all OFWs and families present at the dialogue to the OWWA Main Office to claim their money. The officials, however, did not accompany the OFWs and families and instead merely instructed them to proceed to the OWWA and look for OWWA Welfare Officer Connie Marquez.

Upon arrival at the OWWA office, only 9 out of the more than 30 OFWs and families present were able to claim “because only the nine (9) are included in their masterlist”. OWWA Admin Rebecca Calzado REFUSED to grant them financial assistance, despite and in spite of direct orders from the DOLE Secretary.

“While we believe that Sec. Bello is sincere in his promise of improved assistance and services to the affected OFWs and families, OWWA’s non-compliance is putting the good secretary in a bad light. As of this posting, we have been receiving more complaints from OFWs and families, on-site and off-site, nationwide and abroad, of the OWWA’s continuous refusal to follow Sec. Bello’s direct orders,” said Garry Martinez, Migrante International chairperson.

OWWA is an attached agency of the DOLE. The DOLE Chief is also the Chairman of the OWWA Board. “OWWA Admin. Calzado’s refusal to comply is outright insubordination and complete disregard of the rights and welfare of distressed OFWs and their families. We believe this is not what Pres. Duterte had in mind when he ordered Sec. Bello to attend to the plight of stranded OFWs in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Martinez said that Migrante-KSA is also now preparing for Sec. Bello’s planned return to Saudi Arabia on August 15, as well as the arrival of the government’s one-month humanitarian relief mission within August. ###

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The Change OFWs Want in A Duterte Presidency

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Migrante at mamamayan, salubungin ng protesta ang APEC 2015!

junk apecGabay sa Pagtalakay, Inihanda ng Migrante International, Oktubre 2015

Ano ang APEC?
Ang Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation o APEC ay organisasyon ng 21 bansa sa kalakhang Asya-Pasipiko. Bukod sa mga bansa sa Asya-Pasipiko, kabilang din sa APEC ang US, Japan, China, Russia, Canada at Australia – mga bansang may pinakamalalaking negosyo at pamumuhunan sa rehiyon. Itinatag ito noong 1989 sa layuning buuin ang “kooperasyon” ng mga kasaping bansa para diumano sa “paglago ng ekonomiya” sa buong rehiyon. Nahahati ang malaking porsyento ng yaman at ekonomiya ng daigdig sa mga kasaping bansa ng APEC – 40% ng populasyon ng daigdig, 50% ng pandaigdigang kalakalan at 60% gross domestic product ng buong mundo.

Unang pinatawag ng US ang economic leaders meeting (ELM) ng APEC noong 1993 bilang susog sa Uruguay Round ng World Trade Organization (WTO) sa kabila ng mariin at nagkakaisang pagtutol ng mga maliliit na bansang kasapi nito. Ginamit ng US ang APEC bilang behikulo upang pagtibayin ang mga programang tinututulan ng mga maliliita na bansa sa WTO. Pangunahing layunin ng APEC ang pagtutulak ng mga patakarang liberalisasyon, deregulasyon, pribatisasyon at de-nasyunalisasyon – mga neoliberal na patakaran ng imperyalistang globalisasyon na nagsisilbi lamang sa interes ng mga malaking bansang tulad ng US, Japan at China.

Nang idaos ang APEC Summit sa Pilipinas noong 1996, pinagtibay at sinuportahan ng US at iba pang imperyalistang bansa ang programa ni noo’y Pang. Fidel Ramos na “Philippines 2000” na nangako ng pang-ekonomiyang pag-unlad at ang paghirang sa bansa bilang isang Newly-Industrializing Country o NIC. Sinalubong ito ng dambuhalang mga protesta mula sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan at buong daigdig at hinirang na instrumento ng imperyalista at mga lokal na burgesya upang panatilihin ang paghahari ng imperyalistang US sa pandaigdigang ekonomiya.

Dalawampung taon matapos ang huling APEC Summit dito sa Pilipinas, nasaan na ang ipinangakong kaunlaran? Sa halip na malutas ang malawakang kahirapan, kawalang-trabaho, kawalang-lupa at serbisyong panlipunan, lalong nasasadlak ang mamamayang Pilipino at daigdig sa busabos na kalagayan, habang ang mga mayayamang bansa ay nagpapakasasa sa likas-yaman at lakas-paggawa ng mga mahihirap na bansang tulad ng Pilipinas.

Ano ang lalamanin ng gaganaping APEC ELM ngayong Nobyembre?
Ngayong darating na Nobyembre 18-19, gaganaping muli sa Pilipinas ang taunang Economic Leaders Meeting (ELM) ng APEC sa Maynila. Nagsimula na ang mga serye ng pre-meetings, senior leaders meetings at ministerial meetings ng APEC sa iba’t ibang syudad sa bansa noong Disyembre 2014 pa.

Noong 1994, inilabas ng APEC ang deklarasyon ng Bogor Goals na lantarang nagtutulak ng liberalisasyon ng kalakalan at pamumuhunan (investment) sa rehiyon hanggang 2020. Mula noon, ginamit na ng US at iba pang malalaking bansang imperyalista ang APEC sa pagsusulong ng mga neoliberal na mga patakaran sa mga maliliit na bansa. Tiyak na pangunahing agenda pa rin ng gaganaping ELM ngayong darating na Nobyembre ang pagsusulong ng interes na ito.

Para sa taong 2015, ang tema ng APEC ay “Building Inclusive Economies, Building a Better World”. Gamit ang mga mabulaklak na terminong tulad ng “inclusive growth”, “human capital development”, “small and medium enterprises” at “resilient communities”, layunin ng APEC na higit pang mapatindi ang pagkubabaw ng interes ng monopolyo kapitalismo sa lakas-paggawa, ekonomiya at maging sa small and medium enterprises.

Kabilang din sa mayor na agenda ng APEC ang Regional Economic Integration(REI) na pagsisilbihin naman para isulong ang ibayo pang pagtalima ng buong Asya Pasipiko sa neoliberal na globalisasyon. Kabilang sa balangkas ng REI ang:

(i) Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) – na magtutulak sa mga kasunduan para sa “integrasyon” alinsunod sa layunin ng mga sunud-sunod na nabigong mga pagpupulong ng WTO, mula Uruguay hanggang Bali. Ilan sa mga patakarang mariing tinututulan ng mga mamamayan ng maliliit na bansa ang ibayo pang pagtatanggal ng mga regulasyon sa mga angkating produkto at ang pagluwag sa tariff.

(ii) Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) – isang mabangis at mapaminsalang kasunduang ibayo pang magbubuyangyang sa ekonomiya ng mga maliliit na bayan sa mga atake ng imperyalismo alinsunod sa US Pivot to Asia. Bahagi ng TPPA ang pagbabago o repaso sa mismong mga batas ng mga bansa upang umayon sa interes ng mga imperyalistang bayan sa ekonomiya at pulitika, tulad ng di mamatay-matay na panukalang charter change sa Pilipinas. Kung maaprubahan, ang TPPA ang magiging pinakamalaking rehiyunal na trade agreement sa buong mundo.

(iii) Ang bansang Tsina naman ay nagtutulak din “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)” – sariling bersyon nito ng FTAAP na layuning “tapatan” ang pamamayani ng US sa rehiyon.

Dahil dito, ang paparating na APEC ay nagiging larangan hindi lamang ng kutsabahan kundi paligsahan at palakasan din ng mga malalaking kasaping bansa, partikular sa pagitan ng US at Tsina, sa kapinsalaan ng maliliit at naghihirap na mga bansa.

Sa darating na APEC ELM sa Nobyembre 18-19, tiyak ding ipagmamalaki ng mga lider ng mga nasyon ang diumano’y pagbaba ng “trade barriers” mula 16.9% noong 1989 tungong 5.8% noong 2010. Ipagmamalaki ring tiyak ang pagkakaroon ng nasa 140 “free trade agreements” sa rehiyon.

Sa kabila nito, kailangang mailantad na mahigit na 200 milyon ang walang trabaho sa buong mundo, 2.7 bilyon ang naghihirap (impoverished) at 808 milyon ang nagugutom. Samantala, nananatiling nakakonsentra sa 1% ng populasyon ng daigdig ang higit kalahati sa kabuuang yaman ng mundo at katumbas lang ng yaman ng 80 pinakamayayamang tao ang kabuuang yaman ng nakabababang 50% ng populasyon ng daigdig.

Bakit dapat tutulan at malakas na labanan ng migrante at mamamayan ang darating na APEC ELM?
Napatunayan na ng dalawang dekada ng APEC na kasangkapan ito ng mga imperyalistang bansa upang ipagpatuloy ang pagsasamantala at paghahari sa mga maliliit na bansa at sa buong daigdig. Sa panahon ng pandaigdigang krisis pang-ekonomiya, naipapasa ng mga imperyalistang bansang tulad ng US ang krisis sa kanilang bayan sa mga maliit na bansa sa pamamagitan ng mga kasunduan sa loob ng APEC.

Bagamat “boluntaryo” at “konsenswal” ang mga kasunduan sa loob ng APEC, sa pamamagitan ng mga rehiyunal, ministeryal at bilateral na mga kasunduan ng mga kasaping bansa, naipatutupad ang mga neoliberal na patakaran sa migrasyon. Isang matingkad na halimbawa ang Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement o (JPEPA) kung saan pinayagan ng Pilipinas ang pagtatambak ng toxic waste ng Japan at walang-taning na access (unlimited access) sa mga kagamitang industriyal ng bansa kapalit ng pagbubukas ng mga “job order” para sa mga Pilipinong health worker sa Japan. Ang JPEPA ang kauna-unahang kasunduan sa kasaysayan ng labor export ng Pilipinas na ginamit ang migrante manggagawa bilang “bargaining chip” sa isang tratado.

Gayundin, dahil hindi kailanman totoong may “malayang kalakalan” at “malayang pamilihan” at “kooperasyon” sa pagitan ng mga imperyalistang bansa at mga pinaghaharian nito, nagagamit ang APEC upang selyuhan ang mga kontra-mamamayang mga patakaran sa “trade in labor”. Sa TPPA, halimbawa, iwinawasiwas ang “better labor mobility” bilang isa sa mga “haligi” ng naturang kasunduan. Kinakatangian ang “labor mobility” ng higit pang pagpapadulas ng pagpapatupad ng labor export sa pagitan ng mga kasaping bansa, pagbubukas na mas malaking “market” para sa “cheap labor” ng mga migranteng manggagawa, at pagpapatupad ng tinaguriang “employable labor standards” na nakakiling sa interes at dikta ng mga “migrant-receiving” kaysa “migrant-sending” na mga bansa. Dahil nakatuntong sa ibayo pang liberalisasyon ng industriya ng migrasyon, kapalit ng kasunduang tulad ng TPPA ang mas masahol na pagbaratilyo sa mga migranteng manggagawa.

Sa sektor ng migrante, malaon nang isinisigaw ang pagtutol at paglaban sa APEC at mga neoliberal na patakarang itinutulak nito:

(i) Dahil sa malawakang deregulasyon at liberalisasyon, nagresulta ito sa ibayong kawalan ng trabaho, lupang sakahan at serbisyong panlipunan na siyang nagtutulak sa milyong migrante sa pwersahang migrasyon;
(ii) Nagresulta ito sa mas mababangis at pinalawig na pagpapatupad ng patakarang labor export ng mga bansang tulad ng Pilipinas bilang tugon ng gobyerno sa malawakang kawalan ng trabaho;
(iii) Nagresulta ito sa mga kontra-migranteng patakaran at batas, tulad ng “austerity measures” (budget cuts) upang pondohan ang mga bailout o di kaya’y pagluluwag sa mga regulasyon sa mga pribadong kumpanya at/o recruitment agency sa ngalan ng labor export;
(iv) Nagresulta ito sa mas maraming “state exaction” at pagbubuwis dahil sa malawakang pribatisasyon ng batayang mga serbisyo at utilidad (halimbawa, mandatory insurance, pagtaas ng singil sa terminal fee, pagtaas ng singil e-Passport, at iba pa)
(v) Habang binabawasan ang responsibilidad ng gobyerno sa pagbibigay ang welfare at proteksyon para sa mga migrante (hal., OOP, kawalan ng sustainable reintegration program, kawalan ng mga benepisyo, atbp);
(vi) Nagresulta ito sa mga kontra-migranteng mga patakaran, laluna sa host countries, tulad ng ibayong diskriminasyon, xenophobia, ibayong pagbaba ng mga sahod at kawalang benepisyo at pagtitibay sa mga trabahong 3D (dirty, dangerous, demeaning) para sa migranteng manggagawa sa ngalan ng labor export;
(vii) Dahil sa epekto ng pandaigdigang krisis sa ekonomiya, nagiging bulnerable o biktima ang mga migrante sa mga pinahigpit na immigration at labor policies (hal., Saudization, Mos Maiorum sa Europa, EPS sa South Korea, EU Return Directive, TFW Program sa Canada at iba pa), at nagresulta sa kriminalisasyon ng mga migrante at/o malawakang retrenchment (tanggalan) sa mga naluluging industriya sa host countries ng mga migranteng manggawa;
(viii) Nagresulta ito sa mas maraming mga paglabag sa karapatang-tao ng mga migrante at pamilya, laluna kapag sila ay naiipit sa mga imperyalisatang gerang agresyon.

Sa pamamagitan ng APEC, pinagtibay ang ibayo pang komodipikasyon ng lakas-paggawa ng migranteng manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng neoliberal na patakarang labor export. Tumindi ang “trade in human labor” sa iba’t ibang porma, kabilang na ang laganap at mas masidhing human trafficking na isa nang pinakapinagkakakitaang (most lucrative) industriya sa rehiyong Asya-Pasipiko. Halimbawa’y kakatwang itinaas pa ng US ang trafficking rating ng Malaysia mula Tier 2 tungong Tier 1 sa kabila ng notoryus na rekord nito sa trafficking at matapos ang naging papel nito sa krisis ng Rohingya. Ang Malaysia ang isa sa mga pinakatanyag na destination at transit point ng mga biktima ng trafficking sa Asya-Pasipiko. Isa rin ito sa may pinakamasahol na rekord ng paglabag sa karapatan ng mga biktima ng trafficking sa rehiyon.

Bahagi rin ng agenda ng APEC ang mga neoliberal na “reporma” sa edukasyon at paggawa, gaya ng K+12, wage cuts at kontraktwalisasyon, na naglalayong higit na ituon ang sistema ng edukasyon at paggawa sa pangangailangan ng malalaking imperyalistang kapangyarihan.

Malinaw kung gayon sa migrante at mamamayan na ang mga usapan at kasunduang target na abutin ng darating na APEC ELM ay naglalayong lumikha ng ibayo pang “bukas” at “malayang” kalakalan at pamumuhuan, wasakin ang nalalabing mga proteksyon ng mga bansa, at lalupang ibubuyangyang ang kapital, yaman at lakas-paggawa ng mga mahihirap na bansa sa imperyalistang pandarambong at pagsasamantala.

Ano ang ating mga tungkulin?
Dapat ilunsad ng migrante at mamamayan ang malakas at dambuhalang protesta sa Nobyembre 18-19 upang ilantad at labanan ang APEC at ang kinakatawan nitong mga neoliberal na atake sa mamamayang Pilipino at daigdig.

Dapat malakas na ilantad na salot sa bayan ang APEC at ang pananalasa ng imperyalistang globalisasyon. Ilunsad ang pinakamaraming mga pag-aaral, talakayan, aktibidad at protesta sa mga komunidad, eskwelahan at iba pang konsentrahan ng migrante at pamilya. Katuwang ng gabay na ito, maramihan at malawakang talakayin din ang “Panunupil at Pandarambong, Tigilan Na! (KPMM, 2015)”, “Ang migranteng Pilipino sa panahon ng imperyalistang krisis at gera (Migrante International, Pebrero 2012)”, at “Ang Imperyalismong US at Paglaban ng Sambayanang Pilipino (Prop. Jose Maria Sison, April 2014).
Pagsilbihing “palaman”, pagpapatotoo at “build-up” ang malakas na pagtutol at protesta ng sektor sa mga neoliberal na patakaran sa migrasyon, tulad ng mga kampanya laban sa OOP, budget cuts sa serbisyo para sa mga migrante at laban sa di-makatarungang mga pangongotong/pagbubuwis at kawalang-benepisyo. Dapat ipabatid sa migrante at mamamayan kung paanong ang mga lokal at sektoral na mga suliranin at laban ay epekto ng pagtutulak ng mga makadayuhan at kontra-mamamayang imperyalistang mga patakaran.

Mahalagang pagkakataon din ang paparating na APEC ELM sa Nobyembre upang ibayong ilantad at labanan ang walang-kahihiyang pagpapakatuta ng rehimeng US-Aquino sa mga dikta ng imperyalistang globalisasyon. Dapat malaman ng buong mundo kung paanong isinusuka ng migrante at mamamayan ang mga neoliberal na patakarang isinusulong ng rehimeng US-Aquino. Si Aquino ang pinakamasahol at pangunahingpapet, tagapagtanggol at tagapamandila ng imperyalista. Si Aquino ang pinakamatinding tagapanatili ng bulok na sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal sa bansa.

Sa pagtatapos ng termino ni Aquino, tiyak na marami pang mga neoliberal na patakaran at kasunduang nakatakdang selyuhan tulad ng pagpapatindi ng pribatisasyon, ibayong labor export at pwersahang migrasyon, charter change bilang rekisito sa TPPA, pagpasok ng tropang dayuhan at muling pagtatayo ng mga base militar at iba pa.

Dapat ilahad sa migrante at mamamayan na tanging ang pambansa-demokratikong program at alternatiba ang siyang solusyon sa bulok na sistemang malakolonyal at malapyudal – at tanging sa pagbubuo at pagkakaisa ng pandaigdigang kilusang anti-imperyalista ng mamamayan ng daigdig makakamit ang tunay na kalayaan at demokrasya. ###