Tough time to be a Filipino

I still remember it as a proud moment to be a Filipino abroad. At about this time of the year in 1986, Ben Milano (a United Nations consultant) and I were asked to lead an impromptu discussion of the People Power revolution during a break in the IABC Conference in Kansas City. IABC is the largest association of international business communicators. They were interested in how the Filipinos managed official censorship and control of communications media. Our presentation became the cover story of the association magazine.

We stood tall that time. We proudly wore our being Filipino as some kind of a badge of honor everywhere we went. How we won freedom back without bloodshed simply astounded the world. We had the moral high ground. We inspired similar People Power uprisings in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world. It felt good being looked up to instead of being looked down upon.

Now, it is back to the doghouse… maybe the outhouse, even. This is a tough time to be a Filipino abroad these days. When someone asks you if you are Filipino, you instinctively duck and look defensive. Yes, I’m a Filipino, what about it? When they ask for your passport at international borders and immigration lines, you have this sinking fear in the pit of your guts that they won’t let you through, valid and genuine documentation, notwithstanding.

In Los Angeles, the fact that someone from the Los Angeles area is one of the hostages of the Abu Sayyaf is broadcast all the time on radio and television, bringing Filipinos under the spotlight. The wife of the hostage is constantly interviewed for the evening newscasts pleading for her husband’s life. And while the news item is being read, there is the graphic of the Philippine map behind the anchor, with Manila set out clearly.

Long-term Filipino residents abroad shake their heads in disbelief at everything that’s happening back home. Their blue American passports aside, they know the negative image of the Filipino also affects their daily lives in America. They too, hope and pray that things will finally settle down in the homeland.

Fat chance, right?

OFWs

The Arroyo administration might just as well resign itself to the need to send more Filipino workers abroad because there are no jobs here and we badly need the foreign exchange they earn. Having realized that, government must clean up its act in the matter of protecting the rights of our workers abroad. We must use diplomacy to get the best deal we can for our new heroes.

We also need proactive programs to secure better than the most menial entry level positions for our workers abroad. There is no doubt that the waiters in cruise ships for instance, earn as much if not more than middle management at home. But I feel we can do infinitely better than that. With a little more training, we should be able to target higher level positions for better pay and prestige.

Government, possibly the agencies of the Department of Labor, should do a better job of marketing, including market research to better place our workers abroad. I wonder if government agencies have up to date information on labor requirements abroad.

Take the case of nurses, for instance. Both the United States and Canada need a lot of nurses. From what I have heard and read, the quality of health care in North America has deteriorated due to a severe shortage of nurses. They are so understaffed that overworked nurses are prone to make serious and life threatening mistakes.

Yet, there is an obvious bias against foreign educated nurses. This is where government must step in. Why are we, for instance, sending our nurses to Canada under a caregiver program that reduces them to the status of a household maid? Surely, if government makes the right representations, something could be done to have our qualified nurses hired as nurses.

The other thing that comes to mind is the importance of keeping our training standards high. Every effort must be made by regulatory agencies to make sure local nursing schools are not mere profiteering diploma mills. That is the only way we can keep the trust and confidence of regulatory agencies in countries where our graduates go.

It is unfortunate we cannot keep our best graduates at home. Such is the nature of our situation as a developing country that somehow escapes development. Our best resources, exportable or otherwise, are our people. They are our most reliable dollar earners.

The export market for electronics and garments can decline or even vanish. But they will always need our nurses, computer technicians and even our maids and waiters. Let us just make sure we look after their welfare. Thus far, those on top of our OFW program do not seem to have their best interest at heart. Obviously, this is something that urgently needs GMA’s attention.

SEC responds

I love it when things come together. We reported a problem with the way SEC frontliners are dealing with the public and something really positive came out of it. Because of the problem encountered by a Filipino executive of a Taiwanese investor, SEC Chairman Lilia Bautista has taken decisive action.

According to Blesilda B. Magno, Asst. Director of the Investor Information Assistance and Publications Division of SEC, processing of applications at the Name Verification Unit will now be open to the public from Mondays to Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A Quality Customer Service seminar for all SEC employees who deal with the public was also conducted last week. Aside from defining the standards by which employees should attend to their clientele, the seminar aims to improve employees’ competencies in providing services to the public.

We invite our readers to give a feedback if there is, indeed, a market improvement in the service provided by the SEC. I am sure Chairman Bautista also wants to know. As I have written in the past, she is one government official who really means business.

Advertising

Dr. Ernie E. sent in this one for today.

A well-stacked young advertising secretary wore tight knit dresses that showed off her figure, especially when she walked. Her young, aggressive boss motioned her into his office one afternoon and closed the door. Pointing to her tightly covered derriere, he asked, "Is that for sale?"

"Of course not!" she snapped angrily, blushing furiously.

Unchanged, he replied quietly, "Then, I suggest you quit advertising it."

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected])