09/28/10

Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

Privilege Speech

“In Memory of Romelyn Eroy Ibañez”

REP. RAYMOND DEMOCRITO C. MENDOZA

Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP Party-List)
September 28, 2010

Mr. Speaker /and Honorable Representatives, /Good Evening.

Today /I rise /to speak/ about /an Overseas Contract Worker, one of

the millions of Filipinas /who go into the dangerous, lonely and often fatal

path of overseas work./Her name /is /ROMELYN EROY IBAŇEZ- a Filipina

domestic helper/who recently died/in Saudi Arabia./ She was apparently/

murdered./ She was single/ and just 22 years old.//

My family/ personally knows Romelyn Ibañez./We fondly called her

“Yaya Bing-Bing”./ She was the nanny of our only son/ Emilio Ramon./ She

was the third/ of the four off-springs of a driver/ and a housekeeper/ in

Arakan, NorthCotabato./She came from a poor family/ but I knew that

there was something special about her./ I noticed / that she spoke and read

English well./She was also adept/ in using a computer,/ and sometimes

when my wife and I were abroad,/ we used to communicate with her

through a technology called/ Skype./I found out from her stories/ that she

had a 2-year degreeincatechism./She was teaching religion/ in one

community school./ She originally wanted to become a nun.//

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 We were so glad/ that we found an educated/ and caring woman/

whowould not only be able to take care of our son/ but also had the

capability/ to teach/ and could influence him/ in correct and proper ways.

Like all other working parents,/ we wished to have a good,/ learned/ and

caring nanny for our son./We wereso grateful to God/ when he granted

our request by giving us “Yaya Bing-Bing”. //

She was part of my family./And we tried everything to encourage her

to stay with us / even when we learned/ that she had a plan to work/ in

SaudiArabia/as a nursing aide./Mr. Speaker and Distinguished

Colleagues,/ the contract she signed here/ with PRA SOLIDWORKS

MANPOWERRESOURCES AND PROMOTION/stated/that she would

workin Saudi Arabia/ as a nursing aide/ in the DR. SULTAN AL OTAIBI

MEDICAL POLYCLINIC./Instead,/ she found herself/ as a domestic

worker/ for anemployer named MUSFER YAHYA MUSFER AL-ABBAS.//

When my wife Lala and I /read the report of the Philippine

Overseas Labor Office (POLO)/ we were emotional. It said/ that on

September 10, 2010,/ “she was found/ at the kitchen area/ of her

employer’sresidence. / She was found to have/ penetrating knife wounds//

in her neck,/ abdomen/ and wrist./ She alsohad/ acid burns on her mouth

area,/ arms/ and legs./ She passed away/ in the hospital./ Her internal

organs/ reportedly could not/ sustain/ the effects of the acid.”/ She

allegedly/ was forced to drink sulfuric acid/ Mr. Speaker!//

Mr. Speaker// and Distinguished Members of Congress,//Romelyn

Ibaňez/ is just/ one of the millions /of Overseas Filipino Workers/ who found

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themselves in dangerous/ and deadly situations abroad/ in their pursuit of

better lives/ for themselves and their families.

Today,/ there are around 10 million OFWs in almost all countries in

the world. /They remitted/ more than 17 billion/ US dollars/ in 2009,/ and it

is expected/ that they will send/ more than 18 /billion US dollars/ this year

to their loved ones in the Philippines./This huge amount of hard cash

remitted by our OFWs/keeps our economy afloat,/ accelerating the

Philippines’ real estate development,/ commercialand tourism

businesses,/as well as /boosting other sectors/ of the economy./Because

of those/ large foreign exchange earnings/ coming from the blood,/ sweat

and tears of our OFWs,/ many children/ are sent to school, concrete and

decent houses/ are built, health needs of relatives are met,/ and families

particularly/ in the rural areas/ were able to lift themselves from poverty.//

Mr. Speaker,/ there are only two kinds of OFWs./ Those who leave

thecountry legitimately,/ with highly valued skills/ and know-how,/ and in

the care of employers/ that value them/ and vice-versa -- these are the

lucky ones./ / There is a darker side/ to overseas employment/ -- where job

applicants/ are recruited with false promises,/ made to sign contracts/ that

have no meaning at all abroad,/ and thus become the subjects of abuse/,

exploitation,/ and even cold-blooded killings.//

Mr. Speaker/ and dear colleagues,/ this representation/ from the labor

Sector/ has the following recommendations:

 
1. / For the appropriate committees of this august chamber /to

conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation/ into the cold blooded murder of

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/Romelyn Ibañez./Specifically,/ I would like to know/ how SOLIDWORKS

Manpower Resources/was able to deploy her/ as a nursing aide/ when she

was actuallyhired/ in Saudi Arabia/ as a domestic worker./ Did not the

laborattaché/ and our own POEA/ verify and approve this contract?/ How

manymore Filipinos/ are being deployed for jobs/ much lesser and more

vulnerable/ than what iswritten in their contracts?

 
2. /I also call on Labor Secretary/ Rosalinda Baldoz/ to form an

independent team/ composed of a DoLE undersecretary/ with

representatives /from the trade union /and civil society sectors /to look into

the rules and regulations /of the Philippine Overseas Employment

Administration./ Why a composite team, /Mr. Speaker? /I think that it is

Important/ to include representatives /from the trade union /and civil society

sectors /to ensure that all angles are looked into,/ and no one is spared. If

an IIRC/ was formed to look into/ the deaths of 8 Hong Kong nationals,/

why not form a smaller but similar IIRC /to look into the murders /and

anomalousdeployment/ of Romelyn/ and other similar victims of

reprocessed job contracts?//

 
3. /I urge our colleagues/ to remember Romelyn/ and others like her/

as we discuss/ and deliberate on the budget of /the Department of Foreign

Affairs. /I ask that we put up a united front /against any move /to slash the

budget of the DFA./ For 2010, /the DFA had a budget of P12.69 billion./

Next year,/ the budget for the DFA,/ as proposed by Malacanang,/ has

been reduced to only P10.98 billion./ Is this how we treat our OFWs/ -- the

saviors of our economy?/ For us in the TUCP/ and in the labor sector,/

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cost-cutting at the expense of our OFWs/ is a bad policy/ -- it is inhumane,/

unjust,/ untimely/,and even anti-Filipino.//

4. /As a labor representative,/ Mr. Speaker/, I believe that/ it is time

we create/ and offer decent opportunities/ for all Filipinos,/ most especially

for the poor/ and underprivileged,/ to finddecent work here at home./ Right

now,/ we have children of OFWs/ also dreaming of going abroad, / even

when/ theyare so young/ and innocent./ I propose,/ Mr. Speaker /and

distinguishedcolleagues,/ that we/ in the Lower House/ spearhead /a no-

holds barred forum/ with labor/ and trade experts to identify,/ once and for

all,/ the reasons for our jobless growth,/ and the continuing rise of

underemployment/ and unemployment /in the country. For so long, /we

keep hearing the phrase "job mismatch" /where available jobs cannot be

filled /because our workers / lack the right skills./ If this is the diagnosis,/

then what is the solution?/ And is this solution/ actually embedded/ and

recognized in the 2011 budget?/ Only an in-depth/ and candid assessment/

of our own domestic labor situation/ can provide the answers.//

 
The ultimate message/ of this humble representation/ is this/ -- unless

we do our utmost best/ to remove the obstacles/ to full and sustainable

employment in our own country,/ we lose the moral authority/ to ask our

people to stay put,/ and wallow in hunger and poverty.//

For the longest time,/ we have failed to make our nation/ a land of

better,/ ifnot the best, opportunities./Romelyn Ibaňezhad an academic

degree./ She was a former teacher. /Yet shecould not find a better job/ in

the country that will give her decent income/ tosupport herself/ and her

family. The chances for personal /and professional growth /remain limited.

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Social mobility/ is limited by feudal class systems./Only very few

Individuals/ who come from the poor/have been able to change their

situations for the better./ The rest,/ tens of millions of poor Filipinos, / just

live /and die impoverished, / deprived /and miserable.

Mr. Speaker and Honorable Legislators,/we will fail as a country,/if

We/ cannot give every Juan/ and Juana Dela Cruz/ the chances to

transform/ their lives of poverty/ to one of decency/ and fairness. //

Mr. Speaker/ and Fellow Representatives,/we cannot keep/ our

Countrymen/ from leaving the country /because they also have their own/

dreams and aspirations/that they want to achieve./But/ I can assure you/

that many more Romelyn Ibaňez/will grace our headlines /in the future/ as

long as our country/ remains a land/ of limited chances/ and opportunities.

For far too long,/ the millions of OFWs /were /nameless/ and faceless/

statistics to me./ Tonight,/ they have a name/ and a face / to me. And for

the rest of my life,/ I will remember them in my heart./ Mr. Speaker and

Honorable Lawmakers, /I hope that the story of/ “Yaya Bing-Bing” /will help

us enlarge/ our concept of family /beyond our immediate kin.//

In the spirit of compassion,/ I ask the DFA/ and OWWA /to make

sure/that Romelyn's family is being cared for,/ that Yaya Bing-Bing's

remains/ willbe repatriated/ as soon as possible,/ and that proper

charges/ will be broughtto bear against her killer, as well as the agency/

that deployed her.//

I deeply mourn/ for “Yaya Bing-Bing”,/ and my family /grieves with her

family/ for their loss. /I pray /that /she /rest in peace.

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 [In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, may I request you and our colleagues to

stand up and join me in offering a minute of silent prayer to our fallen hero,

and my family's beloved Yaya Bing-Bing, Miss Romelyn EroyIbaňez of

Arakan, North Cotobato.]

 
Thank you Mr. Speaker,/ thank you honorable representatives.//
 

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