Mr. MARIANITO D. ROQUE of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Mr. RICARDO CASCO, National Project Coordinator, International Labor Organization (ILO), Ms. Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, President, Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc., Mr. GERARDO SANDOVAL, Deputy Manager, Surveys and Training, Social Weather Station, Ms. MILA LUNA TIBUBOS, President, Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Manggagawang Pantahanan sa Pilipinas, fellow workers in government, social partners, guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to all of you.

On behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs, I welcome all of you to this press conference on the first National Domestic Workers’ Summit, which will be held on September 21-23, 2005 at The Skyline Riverbend Hotel in Marikina City.

This national conference to be centered on the domestic workers sector is a product of the partnership between the Visayan Forum, one of our most active and dynamic NGO partners, and the International Labor Organization, the number one advocate and ally of all forms of labor all over the world.

The Department of Foreign Affairs acknowledges the significance and timeliness of this initiative. Migration is viewed today as a universal phenomenon resulting from and complicated by globalization. The opening of national and regional borders has paved the way for the movement not only of goods but also of peoples seeking better opportunities in foreign lands.

In the global labor market, the Philippines plays an important role as a primary source of international labor providers. About one-tenth of our national population is made up of Filipino migrant workers.  This high incidence of international migration also happens in other similarly situated countries. The dynamic global market forces drive migrant workers to cross borders in search of more gainful employment and improved living conditions.

The Department recognizes both the positive and the negative impact of international migration. However, while the debate goes on as to the net effect of this cross-country movement of peoples, we cannot ignore the vulnerabilities that our very own migrant workers abroad face. These threats and risks come in different forms and oftentimes produce adverse results not only on the individual lives of the Filipino worker, but also on the nation.

It is precisely for this reason that assistance to distressed nationals abroad has become the third pillar of our foreign policy. The government sees the need for the protection and enhancement of the rights of our OFWs in the host countries. This need is underscored by the fact that a lot of our OFWs are composed of women, many of whom are employed as domestic workers in foreign homes. Indeed, certain Filipinas had suffered and died under suspicious circumstances in the course of their overseas domestic employment.

Amidst these realities, the Department of Foreign Affairs takes this opportunity to reiterate its mission to provide assistance and protection to Filipinos living and working abroad. It is our goal to keep any tragedy or misfortune involving our OFWs to the barest minimum.

On the other hand, the Department equally recognizes that the vulnerabilities suffered by our migrant domestic workers hold true even in the domestic arena.  There are many tales, reported or otherwise, of physical violence and labor law violations committed by local employers against their domestic helpers. It behooves all of us to ask the questions of why and how these injustices happen in a supposedly more advanced world.

Clearly, there is a need to provide protection and to improve and assert the rights of our domestic workers. We at the Department of Foreign Affairs believe that  problems confounding the domestic workers sector demands a multilateral and multi-pronged approach. The government needs the collaboration of concerned agencies, as well as the support and cooperation of non-government organizations, social partners particularly people’s organizations, and other stakeholders, in crafting concrete, specific, and doable programs for the domestic workers, regardless of their employment setting.

Noteworthy is the fact that the DFA is joined in this project by the Department of Labor and Employment, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Women in Development Foundation, SUMAPI, ACHIEVE, Center for Overseas Workers, Villa Maria Social Development Center Religious of Mary Immaculate, and of course, the ILO. These organizations have long been doing varied works in the areas of labor protection, human rights, gender sensitivity, and social welfare promotion. With this unprecedented national summit on domestic workers, these institutions will be recognized as champions of the causes of one disadvantaged sector in Philippine society.

The Department is optimistic that all of us stakeholders have made a big step forward by organizing this First National Domestic Workers Summit.  Let us ensure its success by engaging each other in productive dialogues even after the conduct of the conference next week. Let us together work towards realizing the objectives of this program and translating them into real and long term benefits for our domestic workers sector in particular, and to our country in general.

Muli, magandang hapon sa inyong lahat at maraming salamat po. END