Jose Marcelo



Everyday dozens of Filipinos roll the dice in Macau not inside the halls of its grandiose casinos but in the airport and ports leading to this gambling capital of Asia.

Lured by its thriving economy, Filipinos take advantage of cheap flights mostly from the former Clark Air Base in Pampanga and take their chances in the former Portuguese colony.


"ang daming Pilipinong dumadagsa sa Macau araw araw," said Ariel, a security guard in one of Macau's casinos.
"Marami sa kanila ay legal, marami ring mga turista, pero marami rin sa mga ito ang nag babakasakali lang na makakita ng trabaho dito."


The latest statistics at the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong show there were 8, 260 documented Filipino workers in Macau at the end of June. But consulate officials estimate there are well over 10,000 Filipinos there on any given time.


The bulk of the difference represents Filipinos who go to Macau in search of work. Some hit the jackpot, but some suffer the proverbial lutong Macau and there the problem starts.

to be continued....

I have always been curious about why so many Filipinos choose to work abroad.
It is the money, of course. I know that. And I am aware that most Filipinos speak much better English than people in most countries, thus making it easier to land a job abroad.
But there must be some other explanations as well motivating so many people to seek their fortunes outside their own country.
Any comments on this?

John

The common reason for people leaving the Philippines is widespread poverty both in urban and rural areas.

The government's inability to energize domestic economy to create good paying jobs

economic deprivation due to unemployment or underemploymen

the rising costs of basic commodities/education, the continuing downward trend of economy

the unstable political landscape and the worsening peace and order situation in the country are the main reasons why many Filipinos leave the country to work overseas.
http://www.asiapacificymca.org/mission/po/po_philippines.html

...<br><br>Post edited by: linsi, at: 2007/04/12 11:02

in contrary to the notion that Filipinos speak better english than other asian countries, the english standard
which we use to have declined attested by an article i posted, worst, it was written as if we are only self-professed.

compared to villagers in most asian countries we may
speak english but only enough to be understood common terms and commands, this is where superiority comes in for us MAYBE..


compared to higher university english speakers,
we find filipinos mostly inferior in commanding it.
in other words the fluency of chit chat exchanges at the spur of a moment in english is a hinder to most filipino this is maybe due to lack of usage in the country in everyday living which is very crucial in order to speak fluently.


the notion that professional filipinas are working as domestic helpers donot give a better english standard.

we can read, and speak but our comprehensions need more polishing and our language grasp need more exposures

this is the evidence of what i say

i take note that here in hong kong one have to pass IELTS,ESL OR TOEFFL to apply for teaching english wether in primary, secondary or university. ( how could this be? when hong kong is not an english speaking territory lolz!)this is a proof of a high standard needed to english language here. this is exactly the credentials being asked to those who are applying for it.

those who are hiring english tutors or teachers must be a native english speaker (specially from england or america)

this is a clear indication and a reality index to us filipinos on how we fare today.

hope others can contribute to this.

Dear Sandvand,

You're wrong if you think it's because of their proficiency in English that they went overseas to work. The main reason is that not only that they are paid more but also that they are being treated very well in regards to the remittances that they made which is a big earnings in foreign currency for the country.

If circumstances permit, apart from those who are adventurous, why would people want to leave their families.

You're just talking about the lucky ones. What about those who have been maltreated working as maids in either Singapore or Dubai. They can't use English whe they are working in non-English speaking countries like Italy.

We have to raise our hats to whoever risked their lives and comfort of home to work overseas and espcially to those who are being exploited as 'migrant workers' whether they are from the Philippines or Burma or Mexico.

Warazein and Linsi,

Thanks for many interesting points. I didn't think well spoken English in itself was a reason for many Filipinos to go abroad. But it certainly makes it easier for them compared to people from many other poor countries, I would think.

I have spoken to many Filipinos living abroad and often felt sorry for the big personal sacrifice they made in order to be able to support their families.

John

Hi john

i think warazein has a point, i was just also thinking about filipino overseas foreign workers in hong kong and singapore. i agree with him when i thought about the middle east and europe with the exception of england
because great bulk of pinoys (short term for filipinos)
are also found among non-english speaking countries such as mentioned by warazein. as a matter of fact here in hong kong filipinos must speak cantonese to give them an edge from the rest.

i think pinoys can adjust more quickly than other asian countries when it comes to learning dialects and adjusting to cultures to grab the seats from other poor asian countries..the notion that speaking english as a main factor isn't so, it is only one of the many reasons today ..

bottomline:

poverty
http://www.asiapacificymca.org/mission/po/po_philippines.html

whenever i hear people here insulting our domestic helpers,( partly or greatly true because of their flaws) i just think that they sacrifice a lot for their dear families and have slimmer options compared to the japanese, sinaporeans, hong kongers, indians and south koreans.

sad to say many pinoys would opt to stay in victoria prison here for overstaying or illegal entry than go home.

or stay, go back to iraq and other war torn middle east countries than go home and get hungry..they usually say
any country is better than the philippines a remark in distress.

well that was what i heard.



..

hope others could join with their opinions<br><br>Post edited by: linsi, at: 2007/04/13 09:21

to continue with the article..



Filipinos without working papers are growing in alarming numbers in the territory, according to consulate officials who have seen for themselves , these men driven into desperation.

Some of them are victimised even before boarding the plane to Macau, falling prey to unscrupulous Filipino immigration officials at Clark who reportedly force them to cough up US$100 to US$200.

If they don't, sources said their passports are stamped &quot;Not allowed to Work&quot; or simply offloaded the plane.


&quot;Because of their status, these workers have no proteciton and no security which is unfortunate&quot; said Vice Consul Noel Novicio.

continuation....


Macau Immigration laws allow them an innitial 30-day stay without a valid working visa, and a maximum of two months, assuming they exit the territory twice in between.


But the stakes go higher on their fourth reentry when they are given &quot;Ultimo visa&quot; after which they would not be allowed to enter again until after another 55 days.

Some cut their losses and go home. Some go into hiding. some get busted and end up in jail while the ingenious of them simply &quot;lose&quot; their passport, in the hope of getting a &quot;fresh&quot; start with a passport minus the ultimatum.

&quot; You'd be amazed at the number of the people who lose their passports in Macau,&quot; said one consulate official. But gfor some others, the macau gamble cost them their lives.

In October, the consulate had to repatriate three bodies from Macau,not an easy process with no compensation or OWWA benefits to draw from. The consulate in Hong Kong holds monthly consular missions in Macau led by Novicio, but it has been barely enough to fully address the mourning problems.

Several officials feel it is time a consulate was set up in the t4erritory. &quot;We are hoping to better addres these problems&quot;

<br><br>Post edited by: linsi, at: 2007/04/25 15:38