COMMITTEE ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS HEARS RESPONSE OF THE PHILIPPINES

The Committee on Migrant Workers this afternoon heard the response of the Philippines to questions raised by Committee Experts on the initial report of that country on how it is implementing the provisions of the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Completing its responses to a series of questions raised by the Committee on 23 April, the delegation, led by Erlinda F. Basilio, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Office at Geneva, with regard to the feminization of migration, stressed that, while the Government was aware of the empowerment that overseas work could bring, it was also aware of the effects such migration could have on families. There were after school programmes in place to help children left behind, as well as a lot of good practices in terms of women's use of their remittances, including for entrepreneurship activities. Last year, the Government had sponsored the International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development, which had highlighted good practices as well as challenges in this area. Moreover, the household services reform package for domestic workers who wanted to go abroad included the raising of the age limit for permits to 23 years, the institution of mandatory training and language classes. Overseas performing artists were particularly vulnerable to exploitation and a similar reform package had been instituted for such workers, with much stricter requirements that had resulted in a large reduction in their numbers.

The delegation also provided responses on a number of other questions, including strategies and programmes to combat human trafficking; the issue of mail-order brides; consular assistance for overseas Filipino workers; efforts to combat the brain drain; social services and pension guarantees for migrant workers abroad; reintegration assistance for returning workers; and voting rights of overseas workers.

Prasad Kariyawasam, the Committee Expert acting as Rapporteur for the Report of the Philippines, in preliminary concluding observations, noted several innovative measures to facilitate and protect workers leaving the country, such as cell phone dissemination, the pre-departure seminar; the campaign "we are not for sale"; measures against organ trafficking; and mechanisms and plans to assist workers affected by the global economic crisis. There was always room for improvement, however. While there were various institutions to promote overseas employment and others to promote the welfare of those workers, the Philippines should work harder to coordinate that work to ensure that the human rights approach was mainstreamed.

The Committee will submit its conclusions and recommendations on the report of the Philippines towards the end of the session on Friday, 1 May 2009.

When the Committee next reconvenes in public, at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 30 April, it will hold a meeting with States parties in order to discuss the status of reporting, as well as ways and means to promote the Convention.


Response of the Philippines

Continuing to respond to a series of questions raised by Committee Experts on 23 April, the delegation of the Philippines said, with regard to human trafficking, there were a number of regional programmes that the Philippines was a party to within the ASEAN region with regard to trafficking. As had been mentioned, the Philippines was the current Chair of the ASEAN Committee Against Trafficking in Persons, which was going to look at whether ASEAN would draft its own convention on trafficking. On the domestic front, the Philippines police organized the Coalition against Trafficking in Women welfare centres, which served as a "one-stop-shop" with regard to access to assistance, psychosocial services, and legal advice. There was also the Philippines Border Management Project to strengthen and enhance the Philippines ability to better manage the inflow and outflow of goods, as well as to reduce transnational crime. Project activities included border management best practice review, best practice sharing, common database development, awareness-raising and training.

With regard to the prosecution of trafficking in persons, the Department of Justice's Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking had successfully obtained 13 convictions, resulting in the conviction of more than 50 persons in 2003. According to the National Bureau of Investigation's Anti-Trafficking Division, for the period from January to December 2008, out of 130 complaints lodged, 112 were under preliminary investigation, seven were under investigation by the Prosecutor's Office, and 11 had been terminated or closed. Also worth noting was the Naia Airport Task Force, which had been set up under the Vice President auspices. Of particular note was an operation carried out by the Task Force on 5 August 2008, in which 36 persons had been rescued, including 20 minors, who were being trafficked to Saudi Arabia for use as domestic workers. In addition, the Task Force had arrested 37 trafficked persons coming into the country, 24 of whom had subsequently filed complaints with the police.

As a result of these anti-trafficking efforts the Philippines had been taken off the United States watch list in this area, the delegation highlighted. The Philippines was now listed as a tier two country.

With regard to the issue of mail-order brides, there was a law declaring it unlawful to match Filipino women for marriage via the mail. When the law had been enacted, such traffic had been largely carried out through the mail and it did not contain provisions against such activities via the Internet. However, the anti-trafficking law did include a provision banning Internet trafficking that would cover this offence. The Commission on Filipinos Overseas helped Filipinos who wished to leave the country to marry foreigners. Those wishing to do so were required to attend the Commission's guidance and orientation programme as a condition for issuing their passports with the goal of ensuring they made informed decisions in this area and were prepared for the situations they might face. The President had also signed a decree setting up a task force against human trafficking under the Commission on Filipinos Overseas to complement the anti-trafficking task force and had helped a number of trafficked victims. As of December 2007 many districts and regions of the country had participated in Commission's seminars, and an annual cross-country awareness campaign was carried out every year via seminars, television and radio programmes. That had resulted in a 3.9 per cent drop in Filipino spouses of foreign nationals last year.

On the issue of the feminization of migration, the delegation stressed that the Government recognized this phenomenon. While they were aware of the financial empowerment that overseas work could bring, they were also aware of the effects such migration had on their families. Overseas performing artists were particularly vulnerable to exploitation. There were programmes in place to help children left behind, including after-school programmes. There were also a lot of good practices in terms of women's use of their remittances, including use for entrepreneurship activities. The National Commission on Filipino Women, a policy body on women's right and gender equality, was working to ensure that the Government mainstreamed women's concerns in its programmes and policies.

As had been mentioned, last year, the Government had sponsored the International Conference on Gender, Migration and Development. That two-day conference had highlighted good practices as well as challenges. Among recommendations were to provide advice to prospective women migrants, to provide legal advice for women migrants and to strengthen implementation of anti-trafficking laws. The household services reform package for domestic workers who wanted to go abroad included the raising of the age for permits to 23 years, the institution of mandatory training and language classes, etc. A similar package had been instituted for female overseas performers, with much stricter requirements that had resulted in a large reduction in their numbers, from 74,000 in 2002, to just over 6,000 in 2006.

Recently, they had seen a trend towards the de-feminization of migration, partly owing to the construction boom in the Middle East, the delegation observed.

The brain drain was a phenomenon that had long been a concern of the Philippines, and a number of measures to address that were being taken, including through the establishment of bilateral agreements with other Governments, and the setting up of Chairs for higher studies at the university level.

The delegation said that all Philippine diplomats and foreign serviced personnel were also trained to extend consular services, including assistance to overseas Filipino workers. There were 68 embassies, 24 consulates and 148 honorary consulates worldwide that were ready to assist Philippine migrants. In addition, the Philippines had an agreement with ASEAN Member States to extend assistance to members of those countries, thereby greatly extending the overseas assistance network available to overseas Filipino workers. The question of whether the persons seeking assistance were in a regular situation or not was immaterial with regard to the assistance they would receive. All that mattered was that they were Philippine citizens.

The National Reintegration Service had the mandate to help those overseas Filipino workers returning home. Via the National Reintegration Centre returning workers had access to programmes to promote their psychosocial well-being, and to provide investment encouragement, education and development, livelihood and enterprise training. Also conducted were reorientation seminars. An important part of the assistance being given to returning migrants was assistance provided to displaced overseas Filipino workers, which was an initial 10,000 pesos working grant, including training and working capital in the form of tools and equipment. That money was not simply given away. It was based on participation in the entrepreneurial training seminars and was to be used as start up money for a business. In phase two, if the business succeeded, the returnee would have access to a further non-collateralized loan of up to 50,000 pesos. In the third phase another loan up to 200,000 pesos could be accessed.

The delegation also spoke about the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration "Bridge Education Programme", run in partnership with Microsoft Philippines and the Department of Labour and Employment, which provided overseas Filipino workers with information technology (IT) training and access to technology that would enable them and their families to communicate through the Internet. The Programme aimed at providing technology and skills for underserved individuals. Overseas Filipino workers and their families learned the basics of computer applications as well as Internet and e-mail use at Community Technology Learning Centres. It was hoped that these new IT skills could further help overseas Filipino workers become more competitive in pursuing careers in the country upon their return.

Migrant workers working in the Philippines were covered in terms of their pensions and social services. The Government did not discriminate in that regard by nationality. The Government also had bilateral agreements with a number of countries, including the United States and many European countries.

Foreign workers from countries who were members of the relevant ILO Conventions (87 or 98) were extended the right to join trade unions in the Philippines, on the principle of reciprocity. It was felt that this was the best way to encourage adherence to these principles worldwide and, by extension, the best way to protect Philippine nationals when they worked overseas.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration created in 1992 was responsible for optimising the benefits of the country's overseas employment programme. Later, its mandate had been expanded to include the oversight of foreign recruitment agencies. The most crucial requirement for recruitment agencies in obtaining a licence from the Administration was the submission of an escrow payment and surety ban, to provide a financial guarantee for the workers in the case of violations of the employment contract. Spot inspections could be conducted on such agencies if complaints had been made, and sanctions applied, including revocation of licenses, if the allegations were substantiated. In 2008, 64 agencies had had their licenses cancelled, 40 owing to charging exorbitant placement fees, and in 2009, so far 14 agencies had had their licenses cancelled, 11 for charging exorbitant fees.

With regard to voting rights, those were set out in the Constitution, which provided that suffrage could be exercised by all citizens who were at least 18 years of age and had lived in the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place where he or she proposed to vote for at least six months prior to voting. As a result of long congressional debates, the voting act of 2003 had finally been enacted, which provided equal opportunity for all overseas Filipinos to exercise their right to vote. It was true that that law required overseas Filipinos to file an affidavit of intent to return to their domicile in the Philippines. It was felt that this would ensure that those who exercised it had a substantial tie to the Philippines. Here, the delegation underscored that the affidavit requirement did not apply to migrant workers, as in their case it was considered that their permanent domicile was still in the Philippines.

The Elections Commission was carrying out an active campaign to ensure that overseas nationals voted, with a target of registering 1 million overseas Filipinos to vote in the 2010 elections.

Further Questions by Committee Experts

In a second round of questions, PRASAD KARIYAWASAM, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of the Philippines, said that he felt that the delegation and the Committee were perhaps talking a bit at cross purposes. What the Committee was concerned about was a rights-based approach. It appeared that the delegation was more focused on ensuring Filipinos were successful migrant workers, especially economically. Using an analogy, what the Committee was interested in was whether the migrant workers were safe while they went fishing; not whether or not they were good fishermen.

Mr. Kariyawasam said they had heard some responses, but he would appreciate still more details on the special measures taken to protect female domestic workers and female performing artists.

MYRIAM POUSSI, Committee Expert serving as co-Rapporteur for the report of the Philippines, in some general comments, said it was striking that the programmes referred to in the report were intended above all to resolve the programmes of migration; they were not programmes intended mainly to maintain Filipinos in place. That could be interpreted as encouragement to migration. They should have programmes and measures that would enable the Philippines to retain its nationals in whom it had invested so much training and should beef up programmes to mitigate the social problems that naturally flowed from migration. It was true that the decision to migrate was a personal one. However, that choice was often driven by a desire for a better standard of living. If the State was creating the conditions for that better standard of living it could help to curb that phenomenon.

A Committee Expert said that the principle of reciprocity, as far as he knew, did not apply in questions of freedom of association. In any case, this was irrelevant as, setting aside the ILO Conventions, the Convention on Migrant Workers itself said that migrant workers should enjoy equal footing with citizens with regard to the right to freedom of association.

In the case of Philippine overseas workers living in States that had no social protection schemes, how did the Philippines ensure, among others, those workers right to a pension, an Expert asked?

Response by Delegation

Responding to questions just raised and others, the delegation, with regard to the status of the Convention in domestic law, noted that laws regarding Philippine overseas employment were in complete harmonization with the provisions of the Convention. The Philippines did not promote overseas employment as a means of increasing the State’s gross domestic product; it was a rights-based approach.

With regard to summary expulsion and deportation, Philippine law dictated that no foreign nationals could be expelled or deported without first carrying out an investigation and thereafter there was a procedure that involved due process guarantees. Foreigners had three days to prepare their cases. The right to hearing could be exercised through the Board of Special Inquiry. An appeal could be lodged with the same Board of Special Inquiry. If good cause were shown, a stay could be ordered.

Foreign nationals seeking employment in the Philippines could seek a permit from the Labour Ministry. Such permits were valid for one year, coterminous with the employment contract. There were also possibilities for obtaining visas for three-year periods which allowed foreigners to work, the delegation said. The moment the visa or the permit of a migrant was extended, the visas or permits of their family members were automatically extended. All foreign nationals were required to obtain social security services, so that they would not become a public charge on the State.

Regarding the protection of Philippine workers in the disputed territory of Sabah, the Government, through its Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, was ensuring protection for those workers. Teams were regularly sent from the Embassy to monitor the conditions of workers in the territory. Consultations were also being undertaken between the Philippines and Malaysia to ensure the rights of Filipino workers in Sabah were upheld, in particular with regard to health and education, and paying special attention to the needs of women.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

PRASAD KARIYAWASAM, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of the Philippines, in preliminary concluding observations, thanked the delegation for the very good dialogue with the Committee. The dialogue and responses could lead to a better understanding of the actual situation in the Philippines and that engagement would no doubt enhance the quality of the Committee's concluding observations and, in turn, the services provided by the Philippines to migrant workers and their families, so that the Philippines could continue to be a model in this area. He also wished to recognize the unique role played by Philippines civil society with respect to migration, and the role of civil society as well as the role of the national human rights institution should be encouraged.

Mr. Kariyawasam noted several innovative measures to facilitate and protect workers leaving the country, such as cell phone dissemination, the pre-departure seminar; the campaign "we are not for sale"; measures against organ trafficking; and mechanisms and plans to assist workers affected by the global economic crisis. There had also been candid information about how the Philippines perceived the situation of female foreign workers.

There was always room for improvement, however, Mr. Kariyawasam said. While there were various institutions to promote overseas employment and others to promote the welfare of those workers, the Philippines should work harder to coordinate that work to ensure that the human rights approach was mainstreamed. As the Committee saw it, overseas employment was given primacy in the Philippines over a rights-based approach.

Mr. Kariyawasam would also appreciate more information on female domestic workers, and felt that that area deserved more focus.

Finally, there were a plethora of institutions and regulations to promote the rights of migrant workers. However, when they next met he hoped to see more results of those and implementation of those regulations.


For use of the information media; not an official record


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