7 October 2005 – Chargé d’Affaires, a. i. (CDA) Luis T. Cruz of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Malaysian Government, at the Second Meeting of the Philippines - Malaysia Working Group on Migrant Workers, has requested the Philippines to consider encouraging more Filipino workers to work in Peninsular Malaysia in areas other than the services sector.   The meeting was held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah state, on 29 September 2005.

Citing the report of the 2nd Meeting, CDA Cruz said that, in response, “the Philippine side promised to review its procedures and regulations pertaining to the deployment of workers to Malaysia.”

On the issue of the One Stop Processing Centers (OSPCs) in Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi, CDA Cruz said that Malaysia raised the need for concerned clients such as employment agents and workers to be better informed as only 1,454 Philippine passports and 617 Malaysian working visas had been issued.  The Philippines, on the other hand, considered the implementation of the OSPC as successful in achieving its objectives in responding to those who need assistance, especially in facilitating the issuance of visas and passports to Filipinos staying illegally in Sabah.

CDA Cruz further reported that the Meeting agreed on the importance of coordination between the Philippines and Malaysia on the repatriation of Filipino illegal migrants, particularly since the Philippine Repatriation Processing Center in Zamboanga City can only accommodate around 200 people at one time.

Both sides also agreed to discuss further ways of improving the repatriation exercise of Filipino illegal migrants such as the requirement of pre-repatriation medical checkups.

CDA Cruz also stated that the Meeting took note that the Sabah State Government would be conducting a survey in major towns to compile data on the number of undocumented or stateless street children.  In this regard, Malaysia requested the Philippines to inform the concerned individuals so that an accurate figure of undocumented or stateless children in Sabah could be obtained.

The Philippines also informed Malaysia on the offer by UNICEF to assist in the funding of education projects for street children in Sabah.  Malaysia then requested the Philippines to provide details of the UNICEF’s offer for its consideration.

The Philippine delegation was headed by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Celia C. Yangco, with the following as members: CDA Cruz; DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs (OUMWA) Executive Director Pedro O. Chan; Labor Attaché Josephus B. Jimenez; Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) Welfare Officer Abdulwahab M. Jaafar; and Social Welfare Attaché Junaida M. Bagis. The Malaysian delegation was headed by Secretary General Tan Sri Aseh Jahi Che Mat of the Ministry of Home Affairs, with a number of Immigration officials from Kuala Lumpur and the State of Sabah attending.

The 3rd Meeting will be held in the Philippines early next year.  END