Tag: migrante

Italy-Philippine Friendship Association joins call to free Rafael Baylosis and all political prisoners!

[Rome, Italy] Italy-Philippine Friendship Association joins the call to Free Rafael Baylosis and all political prisoners!

Last Sunday February 25, 2018 the Italy – Philippine Friendship Association (Comitato di Amicizia Italo-Filipino) held a successful discussion forum on current national situation in the Philippines.

Luciano Seller president of IPFA read the Association’s statement for the immediate release of Rafael Baylosis and All Political Prisoners.

They have express the condemnation for the continuous human rights violations and political persecution that is happening in the Philippines and called for the continuation of the Peace Talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

A video presentation of the association’s last year activities was also viewed and leaders from other Italian and Migrants organizations had expressed their solidarity for the Association and the struggle for just and lasting peace for the Filipino people.

FREE RAFAEL BAYLOSIS AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

PEACE NOT WAR!

CONTINUE THE PEACETALKS AND RESOLVED THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE ARMED CONFLICT!

STRUGGLE FOR JUST AND LASTING PEACE!

Source: Umangat Migrante

27 February 2018
Open letter of MIGRANTE to President-elect Rodrigo Duterte: The change OFWs want to see

May 13, 2016

Dear President Duterte,

We congratulate you on your overwhelming victory in the May 2016 polls. The Filipino people have spoken, and they chose change.

You sweeping victory is testament to how Filipinos, wherever we are in the world, thirst for a new leadership that is not corrupt and cacique. We want a new government that will depart from all the failures and empty promises of the so-called ‘tuwid na daan’. We want accountability for all the crimes committed by the Aquino government against the Filipino people.

For these elections, despite and against all odds, a record-breaking 407,000 overseas Filipino voters exercised their right to vote and fulfilled their duty to the nation. This big increase is proof of overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs’) stake in the outcome of the May 2016 elections. It disproved all claims that there had been a growing apathy among our OFWs. We have once again proven how significant the OFW vote is.

We are one with the Filipino nation in hoping that your presidency will immediately address fundamental problems that beset the country – widespread unemployment, lowest wages, contractualization, landlessness, lack of basic social services, corruption, violations of human rights and national sovereignty – the root causes of forced migration.

We are one with all OFWs in hoping that your presidency will scrap the labor export policy that exploits our cheap labor and remittances but offers us nothing in return, especially in times of need. We will hold you to your promise to make OFWs your top-most priority in your labor agenda. We want new leaders who will be nurturing to OFWs and their families. We want a new government that will uphold and protect our rights and welfare.

We specifically call to your urgent attention the case of Mary Jane Veloso who remains on death row in Indonesia and others like her who have received no legal assistance from the previous administration; the immediate recall of notorious abusive and erring embassy officials, as well as accountability of high-level government officials responsible for the tanim-bala extortion scheme and other unresolved anomalies in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA); the urgent and full audit of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds and its immediate release to rightful OFW beneficiaries; the quick resolution of illegal recruitment and trafficking cases filed by countless OFW victims at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC); and, the scrapping of unnecessary fees that are viewed by our kababayans as nothing but ‘legalized kotong’, such as the abolition of the rubbish Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), among others.

We are very much open to hold a dialogue with you to further discuss urgent and fundamental OFW concerns, especially as the nation is set to commemorate Filipino Migrants’ Day on June 7.

We dream of a society where families will need not be broken by the need to survive. We wish to come home to a country where there are opportunities for everyone to live decent and humane lives.

Mr. President, these are the changes we want to see in your administration. ###

For reference:
Garry Martinez
Chairperson, Migrante International
0939-3914418

—
Website: http://migranteinternational.org
Office Address: #45 Cambridge St, Cubao, Quezon City
Telefax: 911491

13 May 2016
Migrante-Milan matagumpay na inilunsad

Migrante-Milan
Communique

02 Mayo 2016
Milan, Italy
Unang Kongreso – Mayo 1, 2016

Matagumpay na naidaos sa unang pagkakataon ang makasaysayang kongreso ng Migrante-Milan chapter nitong nakaraang Mayo uno, kasabay ng pagdiriwang ng pandaigdigang araw ng paggawa. Ito ay inilunsad sa viale Monza 40 Milan, Italy na nilahukan ng humigit-kumulang sa 60 katao na kung saan 56 ang nagpahayag ng kusang-loob na pagsapi.

Sa ilalim ng temang “Pahigpitin ang Pagkakaisa, Isulong AngDemokratikong Interes Ng Ating Sektor, Itatag Ang Tunay na Organisayon Ng Migrante”, nilinaw sa mga migrantengmanggagawa dito sa Milan ang napapanahong pangangailangan nito na maitatag ang isang organisasyong tunay na magsisilbi at magsusulong ng interes at kagalingan ng sektor ng migrante kasabay ang pagsusulong ng interes ng sambayanang Pilipino. Naniniwala ito na ang paglutas sa ugat ng suliranin sa lipunangPilipino ang s’yang papawi sa suliranin sa migrasyon ng Pilipinas,
kung kaya’t wastong manawagan ng ibayong pagkakaisa sa hanay ng migrante.

Nagkaruon ng maikli ngunit makabuluhang paglalahad ng kasaysayan ng migrasyon sa Pilipinas at sa mga obhetibong kundisyon na nagtulak sa pagkakatatag ng Migrante International nuong 1994. Kabilang din sa kasaysayang ito kung paano ang naging pag-iral ng Migrante-Milan bago pa man idaos ang pormal na kongresong ito.

Matapos ang paglalahad ng kasaysayan, nagkaruon ng payak ngunit makabuluhang parangal sa pumanaw na si kasamang Sol Pillas, tumayong Pangkalahatang Kalihim ng Migrante International (2014-2016). Taas kamaong kinanta ng buong asembliya ang “Bayan Ko” bilang munting alay sa kasama at bukal sa pusong nag-ambag ang bawat isa ng kaunting halaga bilang tulong pinansyal sa kanyang naiwang pamilya.

Bago talakayin at aprubahan ang saligang batas ng organisasyon ay ipinakita at binasa ang mga video at sulat ng pahayag nang pakikiisa mula sa iba’t ibang balangay at alyadong organisasyon tulad ng Migrante-Europe, Umangat-Migrante Roma, KanlunganConsortium-UK, OFW Watch-Italy at ang mismong Migrante International sa pamamagitan ng mensaheng video ni ka Gary
Martinez, tagapangulo. Sinundan din ito ng isang presentasyon na video ng isang anak ng kasapi na kung saan kinanta ang “Tatsulok” ng dating grupong Buklod.

Naging masigla at buhay ang talakayan sa pag-apruba ng binalangkas na Saligang Batas ng organisasyon kung saan nagkaruon ng ilang pagsusog at pag-amyenda, kabilang na rito ang pagtatakda ng sapi at butaw sa organisasyon at ang dalas ng pulong ng asembliya. Sa huli’y pinagtibay at sinang-ayunan ng lahat ang Saligang Batas. Ipinakita rin ng mga dumalo ang kanilang pagsang-ayon sa pamamagitan ng kusang loob napagpapasa ng kani-kanilang mga membership form at ang ilan ay nagbayad na kaagad ng kanilang sapi at butaw.

Nagkaruon din ng masiglang pagbabahagi sa ilang mga dumalo ng kanilang mga karanasang nagpapatotoo sa mga suliraning kinakaharap nating mga migrante tulad na lamang ng mga namamatay na migranteng kailangan ng tulong pinansyal ngunit hindi miyembro ng OWWA. Halimbawa ito ng ilan lamang sa mga usaping kagyat na haharapin ng organisasyon.

Ang halalan ng pamunuan nito ay masaya, masigla at aktibong nilahukan ng lahat kung saan nahalal sina Ed Turingan bilang taga-pangulo, Cecil Morales bilang pangalawang taga-pangulo,
Franklin Irabon bilang pangkalahatang kalihim, Lea Gulle bilang pangalawang pangkalahatang kalihim at si Alma Panis bilang ingat-yaman. Binuo din sa asembliyang ito ang mga komite sa organisasyon, edukasyon at propaganda, kultura, tulong serbisyoat pinansya.

Inaprubahan ng pangkalahatang asembliya ang pang isang taon Pangkalahatang Programa ng Pagkilos nito na sasaklaw mula 01 ng Mayo 2016 hanggang 30 Abril 2017. Binibigyang diin ng naturang programa ng pagkilos ang pag-oorganisa sa hanay ng migrante, pagbibigay ng mga pag-aaral at pagsasanay para sa higit pang sandata sa kritikal na pagsusuri ng kanilang sariling kalagayan bilang sektor, paglulunsad ng mga pagkilos para sa kongkretong pagsasakatuparan ng pagsusulong ng interes at kagalingan ng migrante at sambayanang Pilipino at ang pakikipagkaisa nito sa malawak pang bilang ng iba’t ibang demokratiko at makabayang sektor at mamamayan ng ibang nasyon.

Umaasa ang lahat na ang kongresong naganap ay umpisa pa lang nang tuloy-tuloy na pagpapalakas, pagpapalawak at pagkilos ng Migrante-Milan para sa pagtataguyod ng mga demokratikong karapatan at kagalingan ng mga ofw at ng kanilang pamilya.

Mabuhay ang manggagawang Pilipino !
Mabuhay ang Migrante-Milan !

Ed Turingan
Tagapangulo
Migrante-Milan

1 May 2016