Overseas Filipino Workers

We had our short yet fruitful last meeting Phifocy class last August 16. What I remember most of our discussions that day was the intruiging point of view of our professor regarding OFWs. She said that Filipinos go through a lot of challenges and dangers in other countries in order to earn a few more bucks than what they earn here. She also made a point wherein Filipinos are not proud of the fact that they work at MCDO taft but act with pride when they tell people that they work in MCDO dubai. She looked like someone who doesn't believe in a better future abroad. She looked happy with her job here and do not envy those who work abroad. I praise her for decision to stay here because I myself want to migrate in the future. Part of my decision to take up CDA was my dream of living abroad and giving my children a better life than what I have here. I know that there are a lot of difficulties that I'll be facing wherever I may stay but I want to have a higher standard of living. Our country makes everything cheap from taxes to food but what we receive back are also made cheap. I want more.I don't look down on people who want to stay here. I also don't look highly on OFWs. I respect their decisions and do not judge them. Everyone of us have a choice. And my choice is to live abroad and bring my family along with me.

43rd ASEAN Foundation Day

Having read Pres. Aquino's speech on the celebration of the 43rd ASEAN Foundation Day, I was impressed on his choice of words in the speech given. I too was impressed on his vision especially his idea of accomplishing his goals a year before his term ends. However, when he said the statement, "..making sure that our country is a predictable and consistent place for investment." I cannot agree with the sentence. I believe if a country would be predictable then there would be only a slight chance for improvement or change. It's like saying that the situation of our country would be only stagnant and no rise will come from it. Aside from that point, I completely agree and support his ideas not only concerning our role in the ASEAN but also for the future of our country.

VFA

Despite the negative comments I hear about the Visiting Forces Agreement, I looked upon the positive side of it. It is a fact that we owe a lot to the Americans since they colonized our country years ago. They influenced our lives in every way they can and I believe that despite the gaps in the VFA, the idea of them wanting to make agreements with us still is a big factor in our relationship. If we permit them entry, with no specific limitations according to the agreement then I think we will still be benefactors. In terms of tourism, these Americans will discover the beauty of our country and possibly may go back here for vacation and bring a long their friends with them. At present, we should still support the VFA because it is a chance for the Philippines and the US improve our friendly relations with each other. In reality, our country needs America to support us because our country lacks the resources and power to gain international prestige.

SONA

Aquino-ArroyoAdministration

Having read the 1ST SONA’s of both Presidents, I must say the greatest comparison they have is the idea of improvement in all aspects in our country and government. Both speeches also listed down their priorities and stated in what aspects are we in need of change. Apart from what I said they had completely different ideas in mind. They had different goals and saw different rooms for change. Arroyo’s SONA 2001 had a theme: Trabaho, edukasyon, sariling tahanan, pagkain sa bawat mesa (http://www.gmanews.tv/sona2006/sona2006summary.htm), while Aquino’s speech was mainly all about the past Administration’s wrong doings and insufficiencies. Indeed, he had brilliant goals and changes in mind such as the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, Procurement Law, Anti-Trust Law, Whistleblower’s Bill and others but his speech was almost spent on listing down proofs of Arroyo’s shortcomings. I too cannot blame him for mentioning it because he wanted transparency for the people to understand what are the problems he received as the next President of the country. I respect both Presidents for their numerous goals in their 1st year in office because they have experienced and seen even the smallest of things what the country has been through before they succeeded into Presidency. Even I dreamt of numerous changes if I were elected President someday. I don’t want to get into technicalities and numbers because a summary of their ideas would be better than feeding you with facts.

Aquino-Estrada Administration

Looking through both President’s speeches I saw a lot of commonalities in their ideas and outline of the speech given. Former President Estrada’s speech in summary was also mentioning the corruption and shortcomings of the former administration. He also mentioned ‘excess’ a lot in terms of funds, lifestyles and theft in which he plans to stop it all just like what Aquino plans to do. Also his plan of making the past as a lesson to the Administration of their weaknesses and studies the past to look for rooms for improvement. Mindanao conflict, Economy and Radical Restructuring are 3 concepts in which I can summarize Estrada’s speech. I cannot put simply into 3 concepts the ideas President Aquino have considering the numerous problems our country faces today compared to the past administrations. Just from the starting point of his speech, you can see how Estrada has his sights on the Mindanao conflict wherein he wants to focus on more. Radical Restructuring according to Estrada was what we really needed and he highlighted this concept over and over again throughout the SONA. Basically the main contrast of the 1st SONA’s of both Presidents was that Estrada had 3 focuses while President Aquino wants to heal all problems. What made President Aquino entirely different from Estrada was that President Aquino wants everything to be done in hasten.

Arroyo and Estrada’s last SONA

Firstly I want to mention the important details in both Former President’s SONA. Arroyo mentioned the false accusations on her Administration, the changes she has done for the country and that the country should keep moving forward as one. Basically this is everything that she said.
“Towards a new beginning”. The title of former President Estrada’s speech. He spoke of doing well in his administration but we’re supposed to be doing better. He talked of success in the future but also passing through a phase of struggle. He asks for support from the people and that he has brought renewal to our country.

My vision of the last SONA of President Aquino
3 words.
Legacy.Power.Hunger.
I believe he will speak of upholding the Aquino name and that he was able to make his parents proud of what he did for the Filipino race. Accomplishments whether big or small will never be out of the picture and that he passes on the responsibility to the incoming President. Power will be mentioned in terms of that the country has risen and gained respect in the international community resulting to increased power our country has on the world. Lastly he will speak of hunger. Not the hunger for food but the hunger for more. He will speak of the Filipinos wherein we should not be satisfied with what we have and should want to attain more in life because it will help us reach greater heights.
President Aquino seems to be a wise man. Learning from the experiences of his parents. I hope he makes a name for himself instead of being known as Ninoy Aquino’s and Cory Aquino’s son.

Kota Kinabalu

I learned the capital of Sabah today. We've discussed the latest SONA with our professor and with our groupmates through thorough analysis. We were given a task wherein we were supposed to compare SONA's from the past and at present. I want to give away the highlight of my paper so as to attract attention to my paper.

My vision of the last SONA of President Aquino.

3 words.
Legacy.Power.Hunger.

July 12

This day was supposed to be our midterm exam according to the schedule that was posted in our google groups. We had a recap on the previous lesson and we discussed the process on how the implementation of foreign policy works. The topic was very simple and easy to comprehend. After, we were also separated into groups in which we were going to submit an output. We were dismissed earlier than usual and then we went home.

Our take home SW

What is the mandate of the Department of Foreign Affairs in terms of being the principal arm to implement foreign policy?
1. Preservation and enhancement of national security
2. Promotion and attainment of economic security
3. Protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare

What other institutions help or assist the DFA in realizing foreign policies?
1. Department of Labor and Employment
2. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
3. Overseas Workers Welfare Administration

Enumerate the 8 foreign policy realities of former Pres. Arroyo.
1.China, Japan and the United States and their relationship will be a determining influence in the security situation and economic evolution of East Asia;
-By virtue of its dominant military and economic power, the United States will continue to be an important factor in the affairs of the region and of the nation. Moreover, the Philippines has had enduring historical, cultural and economic ties with the United States. The last three years in particular saw a close partnership between the Philippines and the United States. I'm pleased that the Philippines and the U.S. embarked on broad security cooperation to address the issues of terrorism, illegal narcotics trade, human trafficking and other transnational crimes. Despite the domestic problems that it sometimes causes, the security alliance with the United States is on the average a strategic asset for the Philippines.
2.Philippine foreign policy decisions have to be made in the context of ASEAN;
3.The international Islamic community will continue to be important for the Philippines;
-Negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group, are bogged down by issues such as territory, wealth and power-sharing, although a shaky ceasefire was re-established in mid-2009. Maoist-led guerrillas have been waging a decades-long insurgency, but peace talks stalled under Arroyo.
4.The coming years will see the growing importance of multilateral and inter-regional organizations to promote common interests;·
5.As an archipelagic state, the defense of the nation's sovereignty and the protection of its environment and natural resources can be carried out only to the extent that it asserts its rights over the maritime territory and gets others to respect those rights;
6.The country's economic policy will continue to be friendly to both domestic and foreign direct investments;
7.The Philippines can benefit most quickly from international tourism
8.Overseas Filipinos will continue to be recognized for their critical role in the country's economic and social stability.

What do you think will be included in Pnoy foreign policy list now that he has assumed presidency?
1.His foreign policy would suit democracy movements in Asian countries.
-At least one of Aquino’s deputies was very familiar with Burma’s long democratic struggle and the two secretariat members from the NCUB would lobby him for support in the cause of democracy for Burma, he said. His Liberal Party nominated Aung San Suu Kyi as an honorary member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, a regional organisation of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia. Suu Kyi’s famous quote “Use your liberty to help ours” is in one of his late mother’s unfinished tasks, which Burmese pro-democracy supporters hope he will take up.
2.His administration aims to generate more local jobs to give Filipinos another option rather than leaving the country to work abroad.
-“Layunin nating paramihin ang trabaho dito sa ating bansa upang hindi na kailanganin ang mangibang-bansa para makahanap lamang ng trabaho,” he said in his inaugural speech.
3.Aquino's promise to be more responsive to the needs of overseas Filipinos is a good start but will raise expectations of Filipino migrants.
-“I hope we can soon get a more detailed plan and clear definition of this new level of responsiveness on the part of the [Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment] and attached agencies,” Ople, head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, told abs-cbnNEWS.com.
4.He ordered the DFA, POEA and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), as well as other relevant agencies to be more responsive to the needs of overseas Filipino workers.
-Ople hopes that Aquino would also include among his marching orders an intensified campaign against human trafficking and illegal recruitment.
5.His emphasis on the need for more vocational skills training programs and reference to emergency employment
-“Still, I am optimistic about the President's commitment to draw new investors and create decent jobs. I also appreciate his emphasis on the need for more vocational skills training programs and reference to emergency employment,” she said.

How significant is the ASEAN in PHIFOCY?
The Philippines' relationship to its asian neighbors has been close for a lot of years now and through ASEAN it grew tighter and stronger. Through ASEAN the Philippines will be able to execute its foreign policies and in turn improve its relations to fellow ASEAN members.