March 2011 Sulyapinoy Issue

8/7/2019 March 2011 Sulyapinoy Issue

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The Voice of the Modern Living Heroes

The Official Publication of Fi l ipino EPS Workers Association-South Korea (FEWA)

Volume 2 Issue 13 2011 www.sulyapinoy.org NOT FOR SALE

mage from filipinovillage.com


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Poverty is the common reason why Filipi-nas work abroad. The unavailability ofjobs for them to earn and live a decent lifeforces them to abandon their traditionalreproductive roles and seek better paying

jobs for their productive contributions to theglobal chain of labor. Their emancipationfrom one form of bondage would be experi-enced again in a different form in a foreignland and, in some unfortunate cases, a lotworse that continue to put them at a disad-vantage condition.

Today, Filipinas are not just confined tochild rearing and domestic chores but havebecome active in the international labormarket. In the 80 s and 90 s the Philip-pines saw a rapid increase of women leavingthe country to become domestic helpers inBrunei, Singapore or HK; factory workers inTaiwan; nanny and caregivers in some Euro-pean countries; beauticians and dressmak-ers in the Middle East; nurses in the US andCanada, as well as entertainers in Japan.

In the global job market, women are pre-ferred because they are known to be more

submissive. Companies pay them lesser thanmen. They rise in the ladder of careers veryslowly or not at all with the so-called glassceiling , where women cannot reach fur-ther height since the climb is just an illusion.Often discriminated and marginalized aresob stories read and heard of Filipinas whofall victim to cruel employers if not grimtales of trafficking where they end up intoprostitution.

To be a woman and be poor is a burden.To be married, raising a family and at thesame time working without help from the

husband is double burden. But it is multi-ple burden for a Filipina or a woman mi-grant worker toiling to earn income to sup-port her family while suffering the hazardsof being an undocumented worker.

This year, International Women s Day is

being celebrated for its 100th year. The

problem then of women who first started

the march and campaigned for women s

and workers rights continue to be experi-

enced today. In her interview with Democ-

racy Now!, Ms. Kavita Ramdas, who servedas president and CEO of the Global Fund

for Women said, the connection between

women s rights and workers rights has

always been closely linked. She added that

the goal of having women as full and equal

participants in all aspects of their socie-ties is in the context of larger strugglesfor justice.

Women empowerment is a call that con-tinues to reverberate in many societies.Women continue to experience differentforms of discrimination and marginaliza-tion. Particularly in South Korea, mar-riage migrants and women migrantworkers are vulnerable to all these kindsof injustices against them.

Although there are many Filipinas hap-pily married to their Korean husbands,there are also sad exceptional cases thatmake us shudder with gloomy tales ofseparation, divorce and even controver-sial deaths of Filipinas (read Cathy sstory) who came for marriage in thehope of making their lives better. A con-cern that is not foreign to the experienceof a Filipina migrant worker. Exceptionalwould be the case of a Filipina workerwho gets good treatment or even con-sidered as a family member from thefactory owner she works for. Most often

companies treat them as slaves to exactthe salary they are paid for. Obliviousand insensitive of the particular needsand health concerns of women.

And the biggest challenge of all is the vio-lence against women that continue to beperpetrated by their husband or their em-ployers alike. Although Korea is largely apatriarchal society, with all the foreignwives and women in its workforce thepressure is tremendous for it to transforminto a society that is respectful of its ownwomen and of women of colors. Someforeign brides and women workers end upbeing trafficked into prostitution. Theirhusbands complain that they cannot fulfilltheir duties as wives due to language andculture differences, and, much worse, they

were purchased anyway so that they canbe sold like a commodity. Some unscru-pulous employers would shortchange theirwork contracts as entertainers into sellingtheir bodies to keep their working visa andget proper compensation.

Discrimination, marginalization, and vio-lence against women have been constantissues for centuries. Definitely there havebeen victories and changes in some areasof the struggle for women s rights. ButFilipina migrant workers are asked, quo

vadis? Time and again you have provenyourself courageous and independent, yetwhere will you find yourself, for yourself?Where to that will empower you? Wherewill that make you realize your dreamsand be happy?

Ms. Jasmine Lee was featured in Arirang Today for her efforts in promotingMigrant womens rights in South Korea. (photo from ArirangYoutube Channel)
http://www.democracynow.org/appearances/kavita_ramdashttp://www.democracynow.org/appearances/kavita_ramdashttp://www.democracynow.org/appearances/kavita_ramdashttp://www.democracynow.org/appearances/kavita_ramdas


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SULYAPINOY is

The Official

Publication of Filipino

EPS Workers Association

-South Korea (FEWA)

OFW-KOREA-2006-001

3

People and God-centeredAssociation

MARCH 2011

he Assistance-to-Nationals Unitof the Embassy is handling ten

cases of Filipinos detained by theKorean immigration this month for

using fake identities. The Filipinosare workers under the EmploymentPermit System (EPS), the govern-ment-to-government hiring mecha-nism between the Philippines andSouth Korea. Last year, ten otherFilipino EPS workers were refused

entry by the Korean immigrationbecause of assumed identities andpassport forgery.

Despite having valid visas and suc-cessfully complying with all the re-

quirements for deployment throughthe EPS, the concerned Filipinoswere sent back to the Philippinesafter South Korean immigration offi-cials established that they had pre-viously entered South Korea using adifferent name.

by The Philippine Embassy

During the meeting, Ambas-sador Cruz mentioned that1,680 Filipino workers and 308Korean employers submitted apetition to the Korean govern-ment, recommending improve-ments to the EPS regulations.The petition seeks the followingamendments:

1. Waiver of the retaking of theKorean Language Test and otherrequirements for workers whohave returned to the Philippines,but who wish to return to Koreaunder the EPS scheme;2. Extension of the age limit ,

which is 38 under the existingMOU;3. The extension of the stay ofworkers beyond the prescribedmaximum of four years and 10months; and

4. The reduction of the waitingperiod of six months before aformer worker can return to Ko-rea for a new sojourn.

SULYAPINOY is accepting cash donations for its monthly printing \

expenses. You may deposit them @ Account # : 1002 640 334730 /

Acct Name: Marcelino M. / Bank: Woori Bank - Hyehwa-dong Branch

Minister Bahk said that the issuesraised would be considered by his Min-

istry, and that some of them would beaccepted in the future. He declared, how-

ever, that the matter of extending the stayof foreign workers beyond the prescribedtenure would have to be addressed to-gether with other Korean governmentagencies, such as the Ministry of Justiceand the Korean Immigration Service.

During the meeting, Director General HanChang-hun announced that for 2011, Ko-rean will increase the quota of foreignworkers to 48,000. The figure is arrived atbased on the number of workers whosecontracts will expire in 2011 (35,000) plusthe number of undocumented workers(13,000). He warned, however that coun-tries with a high rate of undocumentedworkers will be subject to suspension ofreceiving process or rejection of the MOUrenewal.

Beginning 2004, Korea signed bilateral la-bor agreements with 15 countries throughthe Employment Permit System (EPS),

which includes Indonesia, Thailand,Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangla-

desh, Mongolia, Timor Leste, Pakistan,Vietnam, China, Nepal, Philippines, Kyr-

giztan and Uzbekistan. The hiring of non-professional foreign workers is aimedto fill the vacancies in the manufactur-ing, agriculture and construction sec-tors, which are normally shunned byKorean workers.

During the last six years, the Philippinessent a total of 26,217 EPS workers toSouth Korea. A total of 1,250 have com-pleted their contracts while another

6,452 will finish their contracts thisyear.

by The Philippine Embassy South Korea uses a database systemthat records the photos and finger-

prints of foreigners entering or leavingthe country.

The Philippine Embassy also reports

that some Filipino nationals have mar-ried Korean nationals using their as-sumed identities, resulting in serious

consequences to their marriages andvisa statuses.

Those whose identities were assumedby other Filipino nationals will similarlyface problems when they later decide

to travel, marry or engage in otheractivities that will require strong proofof identification.

The Philippine Embassy reminds allFilipinos to use only valid documents.Those who falsify documents or as-

sume the identity of others, whetherby theft or with the agreement of theother party, can be held criminally li-able for their actions.


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Photos by Samuel Grado and Kuya Nhads

re-investigation of the case to KonjuMayor Jun Won Lee. A Filipina fromGongju volunteered to serve as transla-tor for the Deocades family when dealingwith the Gongju police.

According to Consul General Sylvia Mara-sigan of the Philippine Embassy in SouthKorea, she already coordinated with the

Korean Police about the case and is wait-ing for the original copy of the autopsyreport for the conduct of re-investigation.Because of Cathy Deocades case, theEmbassy is implementing a tighterscreening of Korean grooms that go tothe Philippines to marry Filipino women.The family of Cathy would like to find outthe real reason of her death. If she com-mitted suicide, they want to know thereasons for her to take her own life. Andif found out to be murder, they hopethat those who are responsible are putto justice.

Lucky are those who could marry ahusband who would treat them as a

partner, a real wife. But what if, it turns tobe the other way around.

A Filipina named Cathy Bonessa Mae Tag-puno Deocades, 25 years old, got marriedon the 3rd of September 2009 in PasayCity Philippines to a Korean Nationalnamed Park. They moved to South Koreaafter and gave birth to a baby girl last year.On January 11, 2011 Cathy was founddead in Gongju-City, Chungnam. KoreaPolice released a statement on the causeof death as suicide by hanging. Her friendsand family were shocked about the news.Her father, Tatay Larino , on a phoneinterview said, She is a promising child,a lot of dreams in life, she always thinkabout how she can help us to make ourlives better . He related that few monthsbefore the incident Cathy called asking forhelp to be brought back home because of

the abuses and maltreatments to her byher mother-in-law and her husband. Ta-tay Larino was angry and bothered byCathy s revelation that she was sold toother men.

On the police report, it was noted that shesuffered from a postpartum depressionand was confined to a hospital in October.In Cathy s case, her depression andmental instability could have been com-pounded by mixed emotions from her in-laws and husband s cruelty. The KoreanPolice did not conduct further autopsy

after declaring the cause of her death.

Tatay Larino requested an autopsy assoon as Cathy s remains arrived in Gen-eral Santos City, Philippines. He related I saw Cathy s body and noticed thebruises all over her body and some burnmarks on her abdomen. The rope markson her neck are suspicious. It does notlook like suicide to me .

The autopsy result made by Dr. Ma. An-

tonetta Odi M.D. Medical Legal Officer who

performed the autopsy, found bruises overher body specially on the neck, and found

full of food particles that are partially di-

gested in her stomach, and cause of death

is asphyxia by ligature strangulation.

Ligature Strangulation is a form of as-

phyxia which is caused from constriction

of the neck by ligature without suspend-

ing the body. Thus, putting into question

the veracity of the report made by Ko-

rean police.

Tatay Larino is asking help from the Fili-

pino Community to help him in herdaughter s case. He wants to come toSouth Korea and seekjustice on thedeath of her daughter and seek the cus-tody of their grandchild.The Osan Migrant Center offered help insecuring for the visa to the bereavedfamily. MIGRANTE is offering plane ticketto the family, while other joint humanrights groups will provide free legal ser-vices. MTU chairperson Michele andDAMAYAN are extending all the neces-sary assistance to the said case.There s a renewed call for solidarity

among the Filipino community on thecase of Cathy to give justice to her fam-ily and to prevent this tragedy from hap-pening again. Responding to this call areseveral Filipino communities, like theCheonan Filipino Community and TaskForce Cathy Mae, that continue to pushfor the reinvestigation. About 19 Filipinowomen from Konju filed a

by Jinelyn " Jen" Betacura

Seeking Justice forCathy Bonessa Mae Deocades


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by J ames Oppenh eimAs we come marching, marching in the beauty of the day,A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,

Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,

For the people hear us singing:" Bread and roses! Bread and

roses!"

As we come marching, marching, we battle too for men,

For they are women's children, and we mother them again.

Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;

Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses!

As we come marching, marching, unnumbered women dead

Go crying through our singing their ancient cry for bread.

Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.

Yes, it is bread we fight for -- but we fight for roses, too !

As we come marching, marching, we bring the greater days.

The rising of the women means the rising of the race.No more the drudge and idler -- ten that toil where one reposes,

But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses! Bread and roses!

( Th e slogan " Bread and Roses" is commonly associated with a textile

strike in Lawrence, Massach usetts in 19 11.Th e slogan appeals for both

fairwages and dignified conditions ofwomen workers. { source Wikipe-

dia} ) .

Babae kani Susan Fernandez-Magno

Babae ka

Hinahangad sinasamba

Ipinagtatanggol ikaw nama'y walang laya

Ang daigdig mong laging lang isang tahanan

Ganda lang ang pakinabang sa buhay walang alam

Ang pinto ng pag-unlad sa iyo laging nakasara

Harapin mo, buksan mo ibangon ang iyong pagkatao

Babae ka

Kalahati ka ng buhay

Kung ikaw kaya'y wala

Saan ang buhay ipupunla

Pinatunyan mong kaya mong magpaalila

Ngunit kaya mo ring magpalakad ng bansa

Ang pinto ng pag-unlad ngayon sa iyo'y napabungad

Harapin mo, buksan mo ibangon ang iyong pagkatao

Babae ka

Dahil sa akala ay mahina ka

Halaga mo ay di nakikita

Bisig mo man ay sa lakas ay kulang

Ngunit sa isip ka biniyayaan

Upang ang tinig mo ay maging mapagpasaya

Upang ikaw ay lumaya

Lumaya ka

Babae pinagpalaang ganda ng daigdig sa iyo nagmumula

(Awiting pinasikat ni Susan Fernandez-Magno, 1956 -2009. Isang Filipinang aktibista,

composer/singer at guro.)

Bread & Roses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Oppenheim


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6 www.sulyapinoy.org MARCH 2011

By Tin Camba

To those who can dream there is no such

place as far away.-Anon-

Working in another country is not assweet as honey. Rough times and

struggles will always cross the path. Ad-justing to new culture, language, weather,and people around will always be part of theendeavors that come their way.Ma. Lourdes Buenaventura Espinola isworking at UPITECH, INC., " AdvancedLaserTechnology" in Quality Control /production team (R&D) located at Paju City.She is from Taguig, Metro Manila. She is aB.S. Tourism graduate majoring in AirlineOperation. She used to work at LagunaTechno Park until she heard about EPS fromher mother. From the night shift of her old

job, she went to POEA to submit the re-quirements for the pre-screening in EPS.

Although applicants were few, still, it tookher until 4pm to finish the final screening ofher papers. She passed and was informedshe will be notified once an employer isavailable.She waited for almost a year and lost herhope so she decided to apply for Taiwan.

She paid half of her placement fee and wasabout to leave for Taiwan when a letterfrom POEA arrived informing her that shegot an employer. Right away, she withdrewher application in Taiwan to prioritize herapplication for Korea where she can earnmore.She took care of all the requirements for

the application and even attended all theneeded trainings without resigning fromher job. She wanted to be sure that she

can have the job. For that reason, she didthe training in the morning and worked atnight.

Almost the same circumstances happenedto Ms. Liezl R. Manalo. She works at DAE-SUNG Company as a Machine Operator.She is from Sta. Rita Pampanga. She has aBachelor s degree in Business Admini-stration majoring in Financial and Mana-gerial in Accounting. Due to the low salarythat she s receiving from her former jobin Philippines, she decided to work abroadso that she can help her parents. Shelearned about the hiring information inSouth Korea from a friend of her motherwho is already in Korea. According to hermom s friend, the salary is big. Shedecided to apply and submitted all therequirements to POEA.

What I experienced in applying is noteasy and not a joke. I experienced beingpushed just to be able to register for theKLT exam and slept on the street using abox for a bed with other applicants. ThankGod, I passed the exam and after a yearand few months, I got an employer , saidMs. Manalo.

During their first year in Korea, they hadundergone lots of adjustments with thelanguage, food and nature of work. Ms.Lourdes, says she work the 4Ds job:dirty, difficult, dangerous and delayedsalary. It was hard and degrading for awoman like me. I am the only female inthat company. For Ms. Manalo,

she was not used to the alternating shiftsof work schedule in the factory.Mr. Ariel Espinosa introduced Ms. Lourdesto the ADHOC (an organization that ad-dresses OFW issues when EPS was firstintroduced) headed by then Fr. Glen Jaronof Hyewha Catholic Church. She was en-couraged to hold the position of secretary.Fr. Glen inspired her to become an activevolunteer and was able to help other peopleunconditionally.Ms. Lourdes was appointed as secretaryduring the term of Mr. Ricana, then FEWA(Filipino EPS Workers Association) President,until she got elected currently as one of theboard members. She believes that FEWAofficer should be willing to help other people,be aware of the responsibilities as an officer,open minded and willing to cooperate toachieve the goal of the organization.Ms. Manalo was introduced to FEWA by afriend. She was invited to join the activitieswhere she met the other officers and wasencouraged by their missions and purpose.She then decided to become a member ofFEWA. She was offered the vacant post of

secretary. At first, she was hesitant becauseshe knows that it is a big responsibility andFEWA is a big organization. It requires anofficer who can devote time. But she took itas a challenge for herself so accepted theposition.Lourdes and Liezl are the few women offi-cers of FEWA who are active in promotingthe interests and providing voice to FilipinaMigrant Workers. In their own ways, theycontinue to engage in leadership rolesthrough FEWA, an organization that con-tinuously fights for the rights of Filipino EPSworkers. FEWA helps to meet the needs and

labor related concerns of OFWs. The or-ganization through their Balik-tanaw pro-gram conducts humanitarian and philan-thropic works. They provide computers toremote public schools in the Philippines andalso administer financial support to calamityvictims.

Contributors: Zel Kim, Tin Camba, Sofia Jean Betacura


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EDITOR SNOTE

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FILIPOS Womens CommitteeBy Zel Kim

Since FILIPOS is composed mostly of male members, and women have different needs and particularagenda in photography, our president Pete Rahon suggested to create the FILIPOS Women's Committee lastFebruary 3, 2011. It was then that the FILIPOS Women's Committee was founded and the group elected meas the Chair of the Women s Committee. Though I am still a newbie in photography and a woman with afamily to attend to, it was not easy for me to accept the responsibility. Our first task involved topics and con-siderations for food photography, and some of our activities are to schedule cooking demos and PhotoFood

sessions workshops and kainanto enhance both cooking and photo skills.

We then decided to schedule our first PhotoFood session last March 13, 2011, held along with our Pre-Nuptials Photo workshop inAIDA village (Incheon Women's Hotline). We didn't have any clue what food photography was, and had no idea how to shoot toachieve better photos so we did all the cooking and let the male mem-bers do the shooting. We were glad the outcome was excellent andlearned more from them when they shared their photos in Facebook.

From then on, I learned that there are things we have to learn to

achieve better photos. The aesthetics of food photography, which styling

goes and supports the look of the food to be appealing to the audi-

ence s appetite and taste, and the proper lighting and handling tech-

niques. More importantly, I learned about friendship and cooperation. I

could never be thankful enough to those who helped us out in the

kitchen and to those who supported us. Maraming Salamat! Kamsaham-

nida!

Zel Kim and Corinna Estarija of FILIPOS Photo by Levy H. Aragon

Pumunta sa Fund Transfer

Section ng Korea Post branch na

pinakamalapit sa inyo. KRW 8,000 lang angRemittance fee para sa perang padalang aabot

sa halagang USD 1,000 o KRW 1 M!

For inquiries, send email to [email protected].

MARCH 2011


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