A global protective network for overseas Filipinos

The recent earthquake in New Zealand and the anti-government protests in Libya and in other countries have called attention to the sad and dangerous plight of our overseas Filipinos globally. Specifically, the unexpected events have highlighted the lack or absence of a global protective network for our overseas Filipinos.

Just intent on labor export of our people, primarily because of the remittances and the profits that can be reaped from their migration, previous governments have left the new P.Noy government with the legacy of a huge administrative structure that has never prioritized the welfare and protection of our overseas Filipinos, especially those who are in distress, especially during emergency situations like those we are now witnessing in New Zealand and in Libya, among others.

But who is to say when earthquakes and anti-government protests will take place? Who is to say when any calamity or danger may take place? No one can say for sure when earthquakes or riots will take place, where.

However, protective networks can still be set up earlier, anticipating any possible danger to our overseas Filipinos at any given time, anywhere in the world.

Information networks can be set up, for one. In case of any emergency, who can an overseas Filipino in any part of the world contact closest to where he/she is at the time of need?

Emergency strategies can also be devised earlier. Which groups should be formed, what to do, where to go, who to contact not only overseas but back home in the Philippines should also be arranged.

Philippine embassies all over the world should prioritize, on equal or even on a more privileged level, the welfare of the overseas Filipinos in their territories. Always complaining that their staff and resources are limited, then by all means, by now, after decades of similar complaints, the DFA and the embassies should already have found a way to expand networking and build a large community of partners who will take care of overseas Filipinos especially those in need.

There are many religious groups, churches and other civil society partners that can be tapped globally to support and protect not only overseas Filipinos but other overseas migrants as well. By this time, all embassies should already be expected to have the directory of these partners and their locations as well as an active, effective system of communication and networking that can be utilized during normal or emergency situations.

Regular mobile embassy services should be undertaken by all overseas Philippine Embassies that are often criticized by overseas Filipinos for ineffective and bad service abroad. Despite decades of similar complaints from overseas Filipinos, the so-called heroes of the Philippines, their legitimate complaints have not at all been responded to and corrected by DFA and Philippine Embassies globally.

The sad plight of this country’s protective network for our overseas Filipinos being witnessed now by all (especially where quick, safe evacuation measures are lacking yet urgently needed), should be an eye-opener to the P.Noy administration to move towards a substantive revamp of the DFA (including Philippine embassies and missions abroad), POEA, OWWA , TESDA and all other government agencies that are involved with our overseas Filipinos.

Ensuring that global effective, protective network that will prioritize the safety and welfare of our overseas Filipinos is a sincere gift that this government and this country can give back to the millions of our migrants who continue to sacrifice their time and their lives for the sake of their families back home.

The global migrant protective network should also involve those back in our country, including the families and communities of overseas families. They can provide the much-needed communication network that can inform government agencies and media about the whereabouts of our global migrants. They can also be trained for counseling work to reach out to their overseas family members and other migrants as well as to family members left behind in the communities.

Crises can make or break anyone or any country. Let us use these serious lessons of the present challenges globally to strengthen our protective network for our people, both here and abroad.

Enough of blaming, enough of criticizing. Let us all move now, slowly but surely to ensure that our people are protected and their needs responded to, whether here at home or abroad.

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