...the Taiwan literary awardee

Filipino factory worker to receive second literary award

Chen Cheng-wei and William YenFocus Taiwan

28 September 2019

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) Filipino factory worker Melinda Babaran will collect her second award at the Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants Sunday following her win at last year's awards.

Melinda Babaran / Photo courtesy of Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants

Babaran will be presented with the Choice Award at the 6th Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants award ceremony for a poem titled "Kapirasong Papel," which is written from a man's perspective about facing his wife who has been having an affair while working abroad.

The inspiration for "Kapirasong Papel" came about one day when she was in her dormitory and heard a woman scream at her husband on the telephone because he was having an affair while the woman was working abroad in Taiwan, Babaran said.

But when she started composing the article, she changed the story to the wife committing the affair while overseas, while the husband was at home looking after their family and children, Babaran said.

Babaran said she got the inspiration from her father, who did not betray the marriage and instead concentrated on taking care of the children while her mother was working overseas.

The part in "Kapirasong Papel" that touched her the most was that when the husband discovers his wife's affair, he is on the verge of losing control, but eventually calms down when he hears his child's voice, Babaran said.

Babaran, who lives in Taoyuan, works in a semiconductor factory and has been in Taiwan for 12 years.

Prior to this year's award, Babaran won the Jury Award at the 5th Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants in 2018 for an article titled "Latay sa Laman," in which she expresses her love for her father.

The award ceremony for the 6th Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants will be held Sunday at the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area in Chiayi County.

The awards saw a total of 680 submissions this year and had a total of eight prize winners in nine categories.

...the Canada's Top Country for New Immigrants 2014

Philippines Was Top Source Country For New Immigrants To Canada In 2014

CIC News

May 19, 2015

More than 40,000 Filipinos became permanent residents of Canada in 2014, making the Philippines the top source country for Canadian immigration last year. The Philippines had previously been the top source country in 2012, with China having been the top source country in 2013.

Canada also issued nearly 47,000 visitor visas to Filipinos in 2014, a 56 percent increase since 2006.

The number of new permanent residents from the Philippines is up from 14,004 in 2004, a near three-fold increase in just one decade. Many of the Filipino newcomers originally came to Canada under the Live-In Caregiver Program, now simply the Caregiver Program after modifications made last November. The government of Canada’s immigration plan for 2015 states that it aims to convert between 26,000 and 30,000 caregivers to permanent resident status this year.

In just a few short decades, Canada’s Filipino community has grown to become one of the country’s largest immigrant demographics. The more than 700,000 people of Filipino descent in Canada make up one of the country’s larger diaspora communities, and this number is increasing constantly.

Filipino workers in Canada are important to both the Canadian and Philippine economies. While workers in Canada help to fill important labour shortages, families and friends in the Philippines benefit from remittances sent from Canada.

About half of Canada’s Filipino population lives in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with Vancouver hosting the second-largest Filipino population in Canada and Winnipeg also home to a large number of Filipinos.

“Oftentimes, individuals will first come to Canada as temporary workers, leaving spouses and children behind. But many Filipinos have also worked hard to bring their immediate families to Canada. Once permanent residence is achieved, they are then able to reunite with their families in Canada,” says Attorney David Cohen.

“Canada’s generous family sponsorship rules allow permanent residents to sponsor not only children and spouses, but parents and grandparents as well. These include the popular Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program as well as the new Super Visa Program, which offers long-term visitor visas to qualified applicants. The introduction of these family reunification programs has contributed to the upsurge in new arrivals from the Philippines.

“Within the broader Filipino community in Canada, we have observed success after success of smaller communities that have flourished across the country. The story of Filipino immigration to Canada is a story shared between a proud people and a welcoming land.”

...the NZ's major source of skilled migrants

Philippines Now Major Source of Skilled Migrates to NZ

Friday, 3 May 2013
Press Release: Immigration Placement Services
Immigration Placement Services Ltd– Press Release 


Filipinos have been migrating to New Zealand for the last 15 years and many New Zealand employers have become aware of their work ethics and skills. Many other countries around the world have been recruiting Filipinos for years because of their skills and their willingness to work in jobs that their local population has been unwilling to undertake. There is an increasing interest from New Zealand employers recently in hiring skilled migrant workers from the Philippines to fill the skills shortage in the local market. For some years many hundreds of dairy farm workers have been employed by New Zealand farmers if they have been unable to find suitable staff locally.

 Today the NZ dairy farming industry has become dependent on Filipino workers to provide the labour force to meet their requirements of this rapidly growing industry. Many of the Filipinos coming to NZ have previously been working on commercial dairy farms in the Middle East or Japan, and have settled as residents with their families.

Over 11 million Filipinos work outside the Philippines. They can be found working around the world. Many Middle Eastern countries are dependent on their Filipino guest workers to keep their economies growing, where they work under contract for a certain number of years. Employers have recognised their willingness to work, their cheerful dispositions, and their ability to pick up language and new skills. Before Filipinos can leave their country to work abroad they must obtain an Overseas Employment Certificate from the Philippines Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). Without this they cannot depart though many thousands do illegally out of desperation to find jobs abroad. The reason why the POEA requires this process is to ensure that workers going abroad have a genuine job offer and not subject to scams. The process requires employers to have their employment contracts examined and approved by the POEA, along with other under-takings before the workers they wish to hire will be issues their OECs. Why have so many Filipinos forced to work abroad, rather than in their own country? The main reason is the lack of job opportunities for Filipinos in the Philippines.

 Unlike most of the rest of Asia, the Philippines have been unable to attract overseas investment to finance the growth in manufacturing and jobs as elsewhere in Asia. Yet the Philippines are one of the richest countries in Asia, with many natural resources and a talented English-speaking work-force. Overseas investors have preferred other Asian countries for investment as a result of poor government policies, and less flexible labour laws, a weak and corrupt legal system, poor infrastructure and high electricity costs. (As recently pointed out in an IMF report).

Yet in recent years the country has benefited enormously from the remittances from their overseas workers (OFWS) – over $US20 billion is sent back into the country annually providing an inflow of capital to fiancé domestic growth. The No 1 earner of overseas currency is the remittances from OFWs. 

In spite of this, nearly a third of the population lives in poverty and wages in the Philippines remain low. While the economy is expected to grow 7% this year driven by a boom in property construction, the population is growing faster than new jobs are being created. As in the nineteenth century, when many migrated from the UK and Ireland to settle around the world, today Filipinos are likewise migrating around the world to seek better opportunities than can be obtained at home. Migration of Filipinos is likely to continue until structural changes are made to the Philippines economy to become competitive to investors with other Asian economies.

As the only New Zealand Company based in the Philippines (for the last five years) supplying skilled migrants to meet the skills shortage in New Zealand, Immigration Placement Services Ltd has helped settle many hundreds of Filipinos successfully in the country. Many of these have now bought their families to New Zealand and have since become permanent residents, contributing to our society.

 New Zealand is a preferred destination for Filipinos as Immigration policies allow for approved skilled migrants on a work visa to bring their partners and children, something that is not possible for many Filipinos working in many other countries.

Many Filipino children grew up not knowing their parents as one or both need to work abroad to provide for their children’s education and necessities in live. Filipinos have integrated into NZ society well. As English is widely spoken throughout the Philippines they have fitted into NZ society much better than other Asian ethic groups, and can now be found from one end of NZ to the other.

 

...the Filipino people

Who is the Filipino? genome expert asks

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Monday, February 18th, 2013

 

It is a question that has been asked for generations: “Who is the Filipino?”

A Filipino-American scientist and global genomics expert believes the answer is in every one of us, literally.

Michael Purugganan, a world authority on the molecular study of the origin, evolution and characteristics of organisms, is calling on the government, private sector and Filipino scientists to embark on the Philippines’ own genome project—an undertaking that would determine where the Filipino comes from.

 

 

 

 

“One of the things that I’ve always advocated is a systematic analysis of the genome of Filipinos… It’s still really basic research but I think it has practical values. It allows us to see, for example, what genetic diseases we might have, which might help doctors,” Purugganan told the Inquirer on Jan. 30.

“Just as important is that it allows us to see who we are, to tell the story of who we are. That’s a very powerful idea, that we as Filipinos can go to our DNA and see who we are and what makes us different,” said the dean of science at New York University (NYU) while on a visit to Manila.

Purugganan, who works closely on rice genome studies with the Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute, proposed to look into the DNA of a representative group of 10 Filipinos from different provinces and tribal groups, and sequence their genome, the entirety of an organism’s genetic makeup.

The project would ultimately answer the question that one local apparel brand posed through billboard ads last year: “What’s your mix?”

 

 

“I remember somebody asking me that and I had to think about it. I said, ‘I actually don’t know what being a Filipino means genetically.’ So, genetically we’re mixtures of Taiwanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, Arab, Spanish, probably some American and British. It’s just different degrees,” Purugganan said.

This is not to say, however, that no one is native Filipino, said Purugganan, who became the features editor of the Collegian in the early 1980s and finished a chemistry degree at the University of the Philippines (UP), before taking up advanced studies in top universities in the United States.

Most everyone, after all, is born with a mix of bloodlines from different parts of the world, given the long history of human migration, settlement and, in the case of the Philippines, colonization.

“Of course, there is native Filipino. What it means to be native Filipino is to be somebody who lives on these islands and traces his ancestry from all these people who have come to these islands for tens and thousands of years,” said the professor, who heads NYU laboratories in New York and Abu Dhabi primarily studying the evolution of plant genomes.

“Even though we’re mixtures from all these places, we can find out what makes us different from all those mixtures,” said the Manila-born Purugganan.

He said other countries like India and China had sequenced the genomes of their citizens as they understood “why it’s important economically and culturally.”

“India has sequenced 200 genomes. China has done it and there’s a big international project on a thousand genomes. They want to know who they are. They want to know what mutations there are in genomes of citizens that would allow them to develop new drug therapies,” the professor said.

It’s a test that Purugganan had done on himself to determine his ancestry. “I actually thought that my father was a quarter Spanish. Turns out my father was half-Spanish. My grandmother was full Spanish. I’m quarter,” said the 49-year-old professor, who visits the Philippines once or twice a year.

“And I found out that my Y chromosome, the maleness gene, is related to the Y chromosomes found in China, which is probably true because we probably got a lot of immigration from China and a lot of intermarriages,” he said.

While already tied up in teaching, laboratory and administrative tasks at NYU, Purugganan said he would be willing to lead the effort. He believed the project should be conducted by an all-Filipino team.

“We do have in the country people who can do it. They’ve never done this project but I don’t think that would stop them from doing this… I think our scientists are very, very good, really motivated, well-trained and they’re looking for exciting challenges,” he said.

He expressed admiration for his Filipino colleagues, noting how they cope with challenges that continue to hound scientists in the Philippines, including limited resources for research and low pay.

Purugganan said the Philippine Genome Center at UP Diliman had expressed interest in the project if granted proper funding. The NYU dean of science, who sits on the center’s international advisory board, said he was “very impressed” with UP’s genome lab, saying it had genome sequencers and other equipment at par with those used in top laboratories overseas.

He said his proposed Philippine genome study could be done at P5 million. Government and private foundations could partner for the program. “It’s something that would be exciting, something that would resonate with Filipinos,” he said.

 

 

...the Filipina nurse in State of the Union address

Obama praises Filipina nurse in State of the Union address

 

abs-cbnnews.com

02/13/2013

 

 

First lady Michelle Obama is applauded by Menchu Sanchez (second from right) along with Dr. Jill Biden prior to U.S. President Barack Obama's State of the Union Speech on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 12, 2013. Photo by Jonathan Ernst, Reuters

MANILA, Philippines - US President Barack Obama praised a Filipina nurse, who is considered one of the heroes of the Hurricane Sandy disaster, in his State of the Union address before the joint session of Congress in Washington D.C., Tuesday evening (Wednesday morning, Manila time).

In his speech, Obama mentioned Menchu Sanchez, a nurse at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, as an example to all Americans.

"We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans in the same way they look out for one another every single day, usually without fanfare all across the country. We should follow their example," he said.

"We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness, she wasn't thinking about how her own home was faring.

Her mind was on the 20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe," the US president said.

Sanchez was seated between First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, during the State of the Union address.

When President Obama mentioned Sanchez, the First Lady was seen nudging Sanchez and smiling at her.

Sanchez was invited by Obama for her role in saving 20 at-risk infants during the Hurricane Sandy disaster that devastated large parts of New York and New Jersey last year.

She devised a plan to transport 20 at-risk infants at the Langone Medical Center to intensive care units around the city. She organized the nurses and doctors to carefully carry the babies down eight flights of stairs with only cell phones to light the way.

Even as her own home was flooding, Sanchez thought only of protecting the babies in her care, the White House said.

Sanchez was born, raised, and educated in the Philippines and she immigrated to the United States in the 1980s.
 
She has worked as a nurse in New York for more than 25 years, and has been at NYU since 2010.

Sanchez currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children, both of whom are in college. - With report from Rodney Jaleco, ABS-CBN News

 

...the highest remittance recipients

PH third highest remittance recipient among developing nations

By Kim Arveen Patria

Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom

23 November 2012

 

AFP News - A bank employee displays 100 peso notes in Manila. The Philippine economy is facing major risks from abroad that could limit its growth prospects next year, the central bank governor said Wednesday.

Despite a gloomy global economic climate, Filipinos may still count on a boost from overseas workers who will continue to send cash back home, new World Bank projections showed.

Among developing countries, The Philippines will be the third highest recipient of remittances from overseas workers this year, the World Bank said in its latest "Migration and Development Brief."

Cash inflows from Pinoys abroad are seen to reach $24.3 billion in 2012, up 5.4 percent from $23.1 billion last year.

Latest central bank data pegged OFW inflows at $15.6 billion as of the end of the third quarter, up 5.5 percent from year-ago levels.

The World Bank's forecast growth in remittances to the Philippines, however, is slower than 2011's expansion of 7.6 percent.

This may be attributed to an appreciation of the peso, which the World Bank says prods "migrants to delay sending remittances until exchange rates are more favorable."

Globally, inflows to developing countries are expected to grow by 6.5 percent to $403 billion in 2012.

"International migrants are weathering the effects of the ongoing global economic crisis..." the World Bank said.

India will be the top recipient of remittances this year, with inflows reaching $69.8 billion based on World Bank estimates, followed by China at $66.3 billion.

The Philippines is a far third, followed by Mexico ($23.5 billion), Nigeria ($20.6 billion), Egypt ($18 billion), Pakistan ($13.9 billion, Bangladesh ($13.7 billion), Vietnam ($9 billion) and Lebanon ($7.6 billion).

The World Bank also expects remittances to developing countries to spike further by 7.9 percent in 2013, 10.1 percent in 2014 and 10.7 percent in 2015, when it is seen to reach $534 billion.

"We expect growth of flows to remain robust in regions that rely on remittance flows from the US, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and Russia," the multilateral lender said.

Risks to remittances growth remain, however, with the World Bank citing "increasingly harsh rhetoric and policies hostile towards migrants in many destination countries, especially Europe."

Meanwhile, the World Bank cited the Philippines as one of the countries where innovations such as international mobile remittances effectively ease the cost of sending money.

This, as it noted that worldwide, only 20 percent of 130 mobile banking operators worldwide offered international remittance services as of early 2012.

The Philippines, as well as Kenya, "are ahead of the curve in fostering an ecosystem of mobile payment services," it added.

"They may provide fertile ground for adoption of international remittance services via mobile phones, but most other countries are much further behind at this point," the World Bank noted.

...the Canadian pledge

Canadian premier pledges more investments in PH

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Saturday, November 10th, 2012

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gestures during a joint news conference with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, unseen, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 at Malacanang Palace grounds in Manila, Philippines. It was the first visit by a Canadian head of state in 15 years which was aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries. Canada is home to hundreds of thousands of Filipino immigrants. AP

MANILA, Philippines – Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Saturday he saw the Philippines as “an emerging Asian tiger,” echoing the bullish outlook on the country painted by political and business leaders in various parts of the world.

From the current US$1.5 billion total trade between Canada and the Philippines, Harper pledged increased investments in the country when he met with President Benigno Aquino III in Malacañang before noon Saturday.

Speaking at a news conference, Harper did not cite specific amounts, but described the Philippines as an “important economic partner.”

Both he and Mr. Aquino witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on “Government-to-Government Transactions in Defense and Military-related Equipment, Materials and System and/or Services.”

“This will help us in our efforts to build our defense and security capabilities,” said Mr. Aquino, welcoming Canada’s help in the modernization of Philippine armed forces.

Both leaders also pledged their nations’ commitment to defense and trade cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges between Manila and Ottawa during a tete-a-tete in the Palace.

...the Filipino spirit

‘Bayanihan’ Spirit Shines In Storm-Ravaged East Coast

 

 

By ELLSON QUISMORIO

Manila Bulletin

November 4, 2012

 

 

There’s Bayanihan on stage, and then there’s “bayanihan” on the streets.

The Philippines’ world-famous national folk dance company, the Bayanihan, performed last Thursday at the Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York City as tales of mutual cooperation among Filipinos in the US East Coast cropped up in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy’s wrath.

Performing before a large audience, the Bayanihan took center stage on the same night the lights reopened in Broadway in a sign that New York was slowly picking itself up from the storm that brought it to its knees just a few days ago.

“What makes the performance particularly memorable is that it took place while Filipinos in various parts of the East Coast were performing their own acts of bayanihan to help each other rise on their feet,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr.

The envoy cited stories received by the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Philippine Consulate General in New York of how Filipinos have opened the doors to their homes to assist their kababayans (compatriots) in getting over the effects of one of the worst storms in American history.

“True to its name, the bayanihan is a shining example of the can do spirit of the Filipino and that hope endures,” said Cuisia. “In its own special way, the Bayanihan was able to dance its way into the hearts of both Filipinos and Americans who came to see the performance.”

“It was spectacular,” said former Ambassador to Manila Frank Wisner who raved about the beautiful, creative, and energetic repertoire of the Bayanihan that included six dance suites showcasing the diversity of Philippine culture and traditions.

According to Consul General Mario De Leon, almost 2,000 Filipinos in the Country Village section of Jersey City, New Jersey are helping one another emerge from the storm-wrought devastation.

“The few Filipinos who have generators let kababayans who have no electricity charge their mobile devices,” he said. “Filipino store and restaurant owners also kept their establishments open despite fears of possible looting.”

In Staten Island, where two Filipino families lost their homes to storm surges, fellow Filipinos opened their doors to them and took them in. The same is true in New Jersey and Long Island where Filipinos whose houses were damaged by floodwaters, falling trees or violent winds found shelter in the homes of friends and relatives.

In Suffolk Country in Long Island, a Filipina said kababayans can come to her home where they can have hot meals, take their showers and do their laundry. In Manhattan, a family of Filipino doctors and nurses has been volunteering their services in local hospitals.

The Consulate General in New York itself had launched Operation Kapitbahay (Neighbor) that allowed Filipinos access to the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue where they could charge their mobile devices and connect to the Internet.

Filipino organizations have also risen to the occasion. The Oriental Mindoro Association headed by Juliet Payabyab is gathering clothes and water for affected Filipinos in Staten Island, which is among the worst-hit in New York. The Handang Tumulong Foundation Inc. is also mobilizing assistance for relief efforts.

Even the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan has offered to a helping hand with its Operation Kaligtasan (Safety). Bayan leader Gary Labao visited the Philippine Consulate and volunteered to search for Filipinos who may have been in evacuation centers in hard-hit New York and New Jersey.

The Association of Filipino Teachers in America led by its Vice President Ronnie Mataquel are volunteering at a shelter in the Bronx that caters to displaced residents of City Island while members of the Filipino-American Amateur Athletic League in Connecticut are helping out at the Red Cross facility in Greenwich.

In Long Island, community leader Ramon Villongco is leading efforts to look into the situation of Filipinos in Long Beach, Mastic Beach, Babylon, Hempstead, Bayshore, Brentwood, Hicksville, Glen Cove and other areas that were badly struck by Sandy.

The East Coast-based Filforce airsoft group was the first to provide the Embassy with the first reports of the impact of Sandy on the Filipino Community as some of its members in Atlantic City, Jersey City and Long Island absorbed the brunt of the storm in terms of flood-damage to their homes and vehicles.

In Washington, the Filipino Migrant Heritage Commission also responded to the call of the Philippine Embassy for Filipino organizations to look into the situation of their members in the affected areas. FMHC leader Grace Valera said their group was in touch with members in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey before, during and after Sandy’s onslaught to make sure that all of them are all right.

...the Fil-Am power

Fil-Ams Top Amerasian Voters in US

By ROY C. MABASA

Manila Bulletin

November 4, 2012

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines --- Among Asian American citizens, there will be more Filipino Americans who will troop to the polls in the Nov. 6 United States presidential elections, a report by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) said.

According to the NAAS, which conducted a tracking survey from July 31 to September 19, 52 percent of Filipino Americans are likely to vote in 2012--considered one of the highest among Asian Americans.

The results of the survey -- which was included in the NAAS report titled “Public Opinion of a Growing Electorate: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2012” -- also showed that a high proportion of Filipino Americans are political independents, reaching as high as 47 percent in 2012.

The report explained that a substantial percent of the Filipino American non-partisans are driven not only by those who positively affirm their identification as independents, but also “non-identifiers” -- those who “don’t know” how they identify, or do not yet think in terms of US political parties.

But among Asian Americans who do identify with the political parties, Filipino Americans are now emerging as the constituency that offers more support to Republicans than Democrats.

This is a significant shift from prior surveys, the NAAS report noted.

In the 2008 presidential race, Filipino American voters favored Democratic bet Barack Obama over Republican John McCain (50 percent vs. 46 percent).

Four years later, the pattern is reversed: Filipino Americans now give Republican Mitt Romney the highest level of support among Asian Americans with 38 percent, a six-point advantage over the incumbent President (32 percent).

“In a significant shift from prior surveys, Filipino Americans who identify as Republicans now outnumber those who identify as Democrats,” the report pointed out. “Indeed a larger portion of Filipinos now identify with the Republican Party than any Asian American group.”

Previously, the staunchest Republicans were Vietnamese Americans.

Despite this, the survey still found that the performance rating of Obama was high among Filipino Americans with 45 percent approving the way he is handling his job.

Filipino Americans also have a more favorable impression of Obama than Romney (46 percent vs. 37 percent). However, it was noted in the study that Romney’s favorability ratings among Filipino Americans were the highest ratings among Asian Americans.

Likewise, 33 percent of Filipino Americans have a more favorable impression of the Democrats who are running for Congress than the Republicans (30 percent).

Furthermore, a substantial proportion of Filipino American respondents still have yet to decide who to vote for the presidency. Perhaps, the study suggested, this percentage of the Filipino American population is more amenable to campaign appeals and mobilization efforts.

The survey also considered voter preferences of Asian Americans in the so-called battleground states: Ohio, Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Nevada, and North Carolina.

Based on the polls, 15 percent of Filipino Americans in the US live in these battleground states.

However, they constitute a smaller share of the likely voter population than their national averages -- 19 percent vs. 25 percent.

The study noted that voting is just one of many different ways that citizens express themselves politically and become politically engaged.

For Asian Americans who are non-citizens, these non-voting modes of participation are especially important, the study stressed.

The survey made clear that a majority of Filipino Americans (59 percent) discuss politics with family and friends.

In other non-electoral activities--working for an election campaign, contributing money to a certain candidate, contacting elected representatives of government officials, attending a protest or demonstration rally, and engaging in politics online--the levels are somewhat low.

The study further showed that Filipino Americans generally follow political affairs in the Philippines.

But this attention is not a deterrent to their political involvement in the US.

Indeed, it was noted that that those involved in their home country were slightly more likely to be involved in the US elections than those who were not.

The report is based on data collected from telephone interviews of adults in the US, registered and unregistered voters.

The NAAS survey conducted its first nationally representative survey of the political views of Asian Americans in 2008.

This year, they conducted a tracking survey with the addition of even more Asian ethnic groups than the first.

The survey also noted that one of the key factors in voter turnout is mobilization--being recruited to register to vote and being asked to participate on Election Day.

Overall, only 26 percent of the Filipino respondents reported being contacted by anyone about registering or turning out to vote.

In this respect, Filipino American community leaders have already made a strong commitment to be actively engaged in the US political process by registering hundreds of eligible voters and getting them out to vote in the November 6 elections.

For them, it is now all about building political power as an ethnic community.

“And that means translating our numbers in a way that truly count,” said Bert Dayao, Capital Region chairman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). “And that means translating our numbers in a way that they truly count.”

Political mobilization and empowerment were among the themes that formed the FilAm Vote Coalition of Hampton Roads (FAVCOHR)--a non-partisan voter mobilization project, tapping into the estimated 40,000-strong Fil-Am community in Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Filipinos in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area grew by 33 percent in 10 years, according to the 2010 Census – a rate of growth that has caught the attention of state and local elected officials and policy makers.

Latest data issued by the US Census Bureau showed that US residents of Filipino descent were the second largest subgroup in the single-race Asian category of the US population with 3.4 million in 2010, a 44.5 percent increase in the first decade of the 21st century.

According to the bureau, among the Asian race, the Filipino population in the US (which numbered around 2.4 million in 2000) was second only to the Chinese numbering around 4 million in 2010 and slightly higher than Indians with 3.2 million.

These three groups accounted for 60 percent of Asians which is considered as the fastest-growing segment by race of the US population within the period 2000-2010.

According to the bureau, almost half of the total Filipino population in the US (49 percent) resides in the West Coast, 16.3 percent lives in the South, 9.7 percent in the Northeast and 8.4 in the Midwest, while the rest are scattered throughout the other states of the US.

Filipinos have the highest proportion of Asians who lived in California (43 percent).

The state with the second-largest proportions of Filipinos is Hawaii (10 percent), followed by Illinois (4.1 percent), Texas and Washington (both with 4 percent).

...the Canada's fastest growing foreign language

Tagalog now the fastest-growing language in Canada

 

October 25, 2012

GMA News

 

 

Tagalog is the fastest growing foreign language in Canada, jumping by 64 percent from 2006 to 2011, a recent survey showed.

According to a report of the news site canada.com, "robust immigration" would probably explain the whopping increase in the number of Tagalog-speaking residents in Canada.

The country is home to some 667,674 Filipinos, based on the 2010 Stock Estimate of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

Canada.com said some 279,000 people claimed to be Tagalog speakers in 2011, compared to 170,000 five years earlier.

"It was the most-spoken foreign language in Edmonton; the second-most-spoken foreign language in Calgary; and the sixth-most-common in Vancouver and Toronto," the report said.

The report added that Canada admitted more permanent residents from the Philippines last year — 34,991 — than from any other country.

In 2002, new permanent residents in Canada numbered only 11,011.

Some 279,000 people reported using Tagalog in 2011, compared to 170,000 five years earlier.

Canada.com said the rise in the number of permanent residents in the Philippines can be attributed to the "Live-In Caregiver Program" that provides nannies to Canadian families.

"As well, incoming nurses and service-sector workers send money home to their families (remittances from overseas Filipinos account for roughly one-tenth of the GDP of The Philippines)," the report said.

Canada's linguistic landscape

Even though Tagalog is the fastest growing foreign language in Canada, Mandarin "is expected to make a bigger splash. How big of a splash, though, isn’t known precisely," the report said.

Mandarin users grew by 51 percent since the last census, it noted.

The 2011 census of Statistics Canada noted that the respondents who claimed Chinese as their mother tongue included:

• 255,000 Mandarin speakers;
• 389,000 Cantonese speakers, and
• 441,000 people who simply wrote “Chinese” as their mother tongue.

"Statistics Canada couldn’t say exactly how many of these were Cantonese speakers, Mandarin speakers, or used one of the other eight languages spoken in China today," the report said. - VVP, GMA News

...the Pinoys in Kiwi country

Pinoys help rebuild NZ city destroyed by earthquake By Nicholas Jones  (The Philippine Star)  October 20, 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos will play a key role in rebuilding a New Zealand city devastated by earthquakes, an example of growing ties between the two countries to be strengthened when President Aquino visits on Monday.

 

Aquino will be in New Zealand for two days and will head a group including a large trade delegation and members of the Cabinet.

 

Trade and business cooperation will be a focus of the visit, with the Philippines targeted by New Zealand as its third-largest market for dairy exports such as milk.

 

But with New Zealand’s Filipino population growing rapidly, cultural ties are also bringing the two countries closer.

 

That has been underlined by Filipino tradespeople’s help in getting Christchurch back on its feet.

 

The city was devastated by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in February 2011 which killed 185 people – including 11 Filipinos – and left much of the central city in rubble.

 

The cost of the rebuild is estimated at $25 billion and will continue for several years.

 

But with a total population of 4.4 million, there are not enough local tradespeople to get the job done.

Nathanael Mackay, manager of NZ Immigration’s Manila branch, said working visas for the Christchurch rebuild had already been granted to 157 Philippine nationals.

 

That number will grow as the rebuild intensifies, with New Zealand construction companies visiting the Philippines to recruit workers.

 

Up to 30,000 workers – local and foreign – will be required during different times of the work.

 

“The rebuild is expected to create a variety of work opportunities in the Canterbury region, particularly for skilled tradespeople such as painters, carpenters and plasterers,” Mackay said.

 

The Philippines was a main skilled labor market being targeted by New Zealand employers, the others being Ireland and the United Kingdom.

 

Mackay said his office had created a website with the relevant information, and stressed work visas needed to be obtained before arriving in New Zealand.

 

 

Cultural links

 

 

New Zealand Ambassador Reuben Levermore said the Christchurch recovery was just one way the countries were being linked culturally.

 

 

He said the Filipino community in New Zealand had almost doubled in size since the last presidential visit in 2007.

 

 

“Small numbers in Philippine terms... heading towards 40,000 people – but that’s also heading towards one percent of our population,” he said.

 

 

Most of those people were skilled migrants, Levermore said.
 

The Philippines is currently New Zealand’s fourth-largest source of skilled migrants.
 

“These are people who are engineers, nurses, IT professionals, and now dairy workers as well. And they have a good reputation,” Levermore said.

 

 

His sister has a dairy worker from Mindanao on her farm in New Zealand’s mid-Canterbury region.

 

 

“If you live in rural New Zealand, you’re probably not going to know much about the Philippines. But again, it’s that human element.”

 

 

Levermore said as people learn more about each other they would do more together – whether in tourism, business, or education.

 

 

“Maybe in time New Zealanders might start to think, I’ll go on holiday there. We go to Bali, we go to Vietnam and Thailand.”

 

 

Filipinos had proven themselves ideal migrants to New Zealand, Levermore said.

 

 

“They speak English, they are very outgoing, friendly people who integrate well. And the fact that most Filipinos are Catholic, means they connect well to our Catholic communities in New Zealand.”

 

 

Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang, speaking to The STAR before he flew to New Zealand this week, said those shared values were at the base of the countries’ relationship.

 

 

President Aquino’s party will also visit Australia after two days in New Zealand.

 

 

“It doesn’t always make it to the headlines, but the ties are deep, they are historical, and they are multi-faceted,” Carandang said.

 

“We are a Christian-based democracy. And there aren’t many of those in Southeast Asia. We have shared values with Australia and New Zealand.”

 

 

Business high on agenda

 

 

During the state visit, the Philippines and New Zealand are set to sign a number of agreements to expand business between the countries.

 

 

The finalization of the Philippine Dairy Development Program and a Memorandum of Agreement on geothermal energy cooperation are likely to be on the agenda.

 

 

Levermore said energy was an example of how New Zealand expertise could benefit the Philippines.

 

 

The countries had much in common in terms of energy generation, with both producing hydro and geothermal energy, he said.

...the "Heroes" protection

To protect Pinoy workers, recruitment agencies adopt Code of Ethics

ROUCHELLE DINGLASAN,

GMA News

August 15, 2012

To protect overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), at least 28 land- and sea-based recruitment agencies adopted Codes of Ethics, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

“We welcome this move from the overseas employment sector and we commend them for their commitment to safeguard the interest, not only of their industry, but also of our overseas Filipino workers,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a news release.

The 23 land-based recruitment agencies' associations and five sea-based manning agency groups signed their codes last Migrant Workers’ Day in June.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration chief Hans Leo Cacdac said the land-based group pledged to observe what is best for the workers, the sector they represent, and their stakeholders.

Cacdac said the group also promised to uphold the highest principle of ethics and integrity.

He added that the manning sector stressed its adherence to the rule of law and committed to maintain the dignity and good reputation of the Philippine manning industry.

Land-based Groups

“The land-based groups’ Commitment to Ethical Conduct and Best Recruitment Practices put into writing their assurance to comply with all legal requirements, including local laws, and those of host countries as well as international standards,” the Labor department said.

By signing the Code, the recruiting agencies promised a full disclosure of all matters pertaining to the employment of the worker and non-discrimination of applicants because of political affiliation, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and gender, especially for household services workers.

The agencies likewise vowed to support the skills development of their recruits.

The land-based agencies seek to:

• Make the process of seeking overseas employment cost-effective;

• Eliminate the collection of placement fees;

• Comply with regulations on the recruitment of workers;

• Work actively with government agencies in addressing overseas employment issues, and

• Stop predatory recruitment.

Sea-based groups

By signing the Code, recruitment agencies seek to spare sea-based workers from “unlawful, dishonest, immoral, deceitful and predatory” conduct of recruitment.

The Code sought to prevent opportunities for exploitation of seafarers.

The other salient features of the Code include:

• The publication of all the cost that will be shouldered by the seafarers;

• Negotiating for the best terms and conditions of employment for the seafarers;

• Avoiding anything that may unjustifiably jeopardize seafarer’s current work or future work opportunities;

• Safeguarding the seafarer’s information, and

• Actively helping the cause of the seafarers.

The recruitment agencies

The land-based groups that signed the Code were:

1.    Associated Accredited Agencies for Cyprus

2.    Association for Professionalism in the Overseas Employment Inc.

3.    Association of Licensed Recruitment Agencies for Singapore Inc.

4.    Association of Manpower Agencies for Bahrain

5.    Association of Philippine Licensed Agencies for Technical Internship Program

6.    Coalition of Licensed Recruitment Agencies for Domestic and Service Workers

7.    Philippine Association of Agencies for Kuwait

8.    Federated Associations of Manpower Exporters, Inc.

9.    Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines

10.Philippine Association of Agencies Accredited to Oman

11.Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies Deploying to Lebanon 

12.Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies for Jordan

13.Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies for Malaysia Affiliates, Inc.

14.Association of Service Contractors of the Philippines

15.Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies for Northern America

16.Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies for the United Arab Emirates

17.Philippine Association of Recruitment Agencies Deploying Artist, Inc.

18.Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc.

19.Pilipino Manpower Agencies for Taiwan

20.Philippine Recruitment Agencies Accredited to Saudi Arabia

21.Philippine Recruitment Agencies for Qatar

22.United Manpower Agencies for Israel Association, Inc.

23.Overseas Placement Association of the Philippines

Representing the five maritime associations in signing the Code were:

1.    Filipino Association for Mariners’ Employment, Inc.

2.    Filipino Shipowners’ Association, Inc.

3.    International Maritime Association of the Philippines

4.    Philippine Association of Manning Agencies and Shipmanagers, Inc.

5.    Philippine-Japan Manning Consultative

“The Joint Manning Group (JMG) manifested its adherence to the rules of law and to continue the development of the industry under a relationship of mutual respect, trustworthiness, and true brotherhood,” DOLE said.

...the wings of change

Honesty crusade excites OFWs

By Tony Meloto
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Sunday, July 1st, 2012

 

By simply making honesty the highest measure of leadership and good citizenship, we can gain global trust, open the floodgates of investments and rebrand  the Philippines as the new wonder economy of Asia. The Filipino brand will mean top quality ethical products, good business climate, unmatched hospitality, happy and hardworking people and strong moral governance.

 

 

GAWAD Kalinga volunteers in New York formed the first human marching Philippine flag during a parade on Madison Avenue on June 3. Lester Echem/Contributor

TORONTO—“A new revolution is rocking the Philippines.” This was the message I announced to audiences in the United States and Canada during a series of activities launched by Gawad Kalinga to celebrate our independence day.

It is the revolution to regain our honor as a nation by demanding a high standard of honesty from our top leaders and citizens unseen in the Philippines before.

While the 1986 People Power was a peaceful struggle to break free from the tyranny of absolute power, the new “people honor revolution” waged by President Aquino is about liberation from the grip of endemic corruption and the cycle of poverty that drove many of the most educated and skilled Filipinos to seek their fortune abroad.

Mislabeled people

The buzz was about the impeachment wherever I went.

The unprecedented conviction of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the first in our history and unheard of in any democratic country in recent years, is a loud declaration to the world  that many Filipinos will no longer accept passively the label that we are the “corrupt man of Asia.”

By simply making honesty the highest measure of leadership and good citizenship, we can gain global trust, open the floodgates of investments and rebrand  the Philippines as the new wonder economy of Asia.

The Filipino brand will mean top quality ethical products, good business climate, unmatched hospitality, happy and hardworking people and strong moral governance.

Businesss responds positively to transparency and accountability.

After only two years with an honest President, the Philippine stock market is the most stable in the region. Our 6.4  gross domestic product (GDP) in the last quarter was second only to China. We are now one notch below investment grade after several credit upgrades. While the dark clouds of recession and depression hover over Europe and America, the light is shining through our emerging landscape.

Definitely, the grass is getting greener and the sky is becoming bluer in the Philippines.

This radical optimism towards the homeland, after years of self-exile and self-bashing, pervaded the air of rejoicing at the successful Gawad Kalinga (GK) Hope Ball (June 2) and the Independence Day parade (June 3) at the Big Apple where GK volunteers formed the first human marching flag along Madison Avenue.

Our greatest challenge is for more Filipinos to learn that integrity is more powerful than money.

Capacity for greatness

“The result of the impeachment conducted through a true democratic process gained for us the admiration of the global community. Mr. Aquino’s visit to meet President Barack Obama caused excitement in DC. This was the message to us of Philippine Ambassador to the United States Joey Cuisia at our table conversation as he himself could not contain his amazement at the size of the crowd at the GK Hope Ball, many of them doctors and nurses, more eager to help the country now that there is clear proof of decency in governance.

Christopher Thornley, the Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines and a GK volunteer, was no less enthusiastic in declaring his optimism the following week at the GK Global Summit in Toronto. “I have great affection for the Philippines and a big admiration for GK—they bring out the best in people.”

Undervalued country

At the round-table meeting he organized with a dozen Canadian corporations and institutions—notably Sunlife, Blackberry (RIM), Bombardier, SNC-Lavalin, York University—the mood was upbeat from the top executives present. Their comments were mostly encouraging:

“The Philippines is the undervalued economy of Asia … ”

“The effort of the present Philippine government to curb corruption will attract more Canadian investors … ”

“Filipinos are outstanding citizens in Canada. They are our biggest immigrants in the last two years, surpassing the Chinese and the Indians … ”

“Now Canada has to compete with other countries to attract the most qualified Filipinos to come … "

Not to fault Canada but the brightest and the best from the Philippines are being harvested by rich countries that did not spend to raise and educate them. It would be wise that they invest not just in business in the Philippines but also in the education of our poor if they see Filipinos as their first choice for future immigrants.

A season of hope

This is my first visit to North America in nearly half a century where the mood everywhere I went, both among Filipinos and foreigners alike, is positive and hopeful about our often battered country, not only by natural calamities but by bashing from Filipinos themselves.

It is an astounding paradigm shift to those raised with a colonial mentality like me to hear that our country is becoming an attractive proposition for visitors and investors due to the rise of Asian economies and the slowdown in the West.

Finding the lost Filipino

When I first landed in California in 1966 as a 16-year-old American Field Service scholar I was totally captivated by the technicolor world of Hollywood and the endless fun of the Beach Boys. I came back a year later to study in Ateneo as an “amboy,” hiding my Ilonggo accent—and my past, as a poor boy from a public high school in Bacolod City—with an exaggerated American twang to show the “coños” in the campus that I spoke better English than them. One year in America helped erase my insecurity from a lack of pedigree in the premier university of the Filipino elite.

I guess I was an addict to anything American or imported then. Made-in-the-Philippines never seemed good enough.

Over the years it has always been for me, and for many Filipinos like me, that everything was right in America and everything was wrong in the Philippines. We exaggerated our faults—our politicians were corrupt (there were bigger crooks in Wall Street), our poor were lazy (adding insult to injury to those who were denied justice and opportunity), our traffic was crazy (LA is worse!) … which blindsided us to our many good qualities and potential to be a great nation.

Sadly, we simply gave up on ourselves early, bashed ourselves unreasonably, accepted poverty as our fate and played bad politics as the only game in town.

Somehow I understood why people left and their skepticism over my lack of pragmatism for staying when I regained my soul as a Filipino and my decision not to give up on our country because of Gawad Kalinga.

Ending poverty in the Philippines was a pipe dream for most in the beginning of our nation-building journey.

Happy to be home

These last ten days however the mood was refreshingly different, although it had been slowly changing in the last ten years for a growing number of believers in our radical optimism about the motherland.

“I realized I am a Filipino born and raised in America … ” said GK-USA chair Tony Olaes, acknowledging his deep connection to his roots “and my business success here means nothing if I cannot help the Philippines in nation-building.”

“The Filipino does well here and gives back to those he left behind … ” GK Canada chair Pidoy Pacis spoke about the success and generosity of Filipinos in his Saladmaster team who donated a GK village in his hometown in Pototan, Iloilo.

“There is no life for me here now. The United States has been good to me but my children are gone, my home is empty, I have just sold my clinic and plan to live in the Philippines where there’s a bigger purpose waiting for me,” said pediatrician Linda Punzalan of Port Arthur, Texas.

“I want to sell my house in Staten Island so I can do more medical missions in the Philippines and help out in the Enchanted Farm.” That’s from my Ilocano host Dr. Tony Buendia, another successful doctor still practicing in Pennsylvania, as he shared his new career scenario with us over blueberry pie dessert that he baked in his plush home.

“Do you have a place for a young investment banker in your organization to handle the social venture capital fund for GKCSI (Center for Social Innovation)?” was a straightforward question from a 23-year-old  recent Harvard graduate now working for Morgan Stanley in Wall Street, who followed me to Madison Avenue after the parade.

Even my best friend from college who has a comfortable life in Canada was proud to tell me over steak and beer dinner at his clubhouse that he and his wife are “happy to be Filipinos again” as dual citizens after 25 years in Ontario working as a vice president of a Canadian bank and raising two kids who have left their big nest in Missasauga to find their place in the world.

Happy to be honest

So much to take in and process and so much to do with so little time for a senior citizen like me.
But right now I just want to enjoy this awesome moment of inspiration.

Many here are excited but do not fully comprehend  the mind-blowing outcome of the impeachment that they watched religiously over The Filipino Channel and the new image that the world is beginning to see—that the Philippines can be the land of the honest, of trustworthy lawyers and judges who cannot be bought, of politicians who will follow their conscience and businessmen who pay the right taxes and have a big heart for just causes.

The possibility of ending corruption is a big attraction for Filipinos abroad to come home and those who are here not to leave.

This will not remain merely wishful thinking if we don’t allow the cynics and the critics to have the last say. It will entail huge perseverance from all of us to purge corruption out of our system, beginning with a simple resolve from us men—who are generally more dishonest than women—not to cheat on our spouses or on our tax declarations. But it is a mind-boggling beginning that calls for great rejoicing and dancing in the streets.