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| 06 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 06 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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Bunye sees 2008 as another banner year for overseas Filipino workers |
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835,600 poor families seen to benefit from 'Pamaskong Handog' project |
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| Bunye sees 2008 as another banner year for overseas Filipino workers |
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Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman
Ignacio R. Bunye expressed confidence today that 2008 would be another
banner year for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) marked by increased job
opportunities and higher wages. In his weekly column “The View From the Palace” which comes out tomorrow (Monday), Bunye based his prediction on the shifting employment profile of Filipino migrant workers from non-skilled to skilled. He said that unlike in previous years, most of OFWs leaving the country now are professionals and skilled workers. “In 2006, 60 percent of Filipinos working abroad were professionals and skilled workers. In 2007, the deployment ratio became 73-27 in favor of skilled workers,” Bunye said. He described this change in the employment pattern of OFWs over the last two years as no less than dramatic. “This explains why despite the constant level of deployment, foreign exchange remittances has been increasing,” he added. Earlier this week, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said the country’s track record of sending one million OFWs workers abroad in the past two years would be topped this year. He pointed out that although it is not a policy of the government to send workers abroad, OFWs continue to help sustain the country’s economic growth through their remittances, especially Filipino migrant workers belonging to the higher pay levels. Brion said one reason for the increased OFW remittances in 2007 was that “more professional and skilled workers were employed abroad than non-skilled workers.” He said Filipinos with higher opportunities for deployment overseas are those coming from the medical and health, information and technology, and services sectors. Brion explained that contrary to the fears voiced by some sectors, the recruitment of nurses for overseas jobs was not affected by the nursing board examination scandal last year. The demand for Filipino nurses in Europe, Canada and even Saudi Arabia remains high, he added. In fact, last year the Philippines could only send about 3,000 of the 5,000 nurses needed by Saudi Arabia, the DOLE official said. Brion assured, however, that the DOLE and the Department of Health (DOH) would also adopt a new policy in the deployment of nurses so as not to unduly affect the operations of local hospitals and clinics. |
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| 835,600 poor families seen to benefit from 'Pamaskong Handog' project |
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“Pamaskong Handog,” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Christmas
gift-giving project for the poor, winds up Monday (Jan. 7), a day after the
“Feast of Three Kings.” The first Sunday of January is celebrated by the Catholics worldwide as the Feast of Three Kings. The Pamaskong Handog project, which was launched by the President at the Masbate provincial capitol in Masbate City last Dec. 13, was intended to reach at least 835,600 poor families in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the country’s 30 poorest provinces. Four government agencies -- the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) – spearheaded the gift-giving project. "Pamaskong Handog" was launched as part of the Arroyo administration’s Accelerated Hunger Program to reduce hunger among poor families through food distribution and supplemental feeding for children. The gift baskets contain rice and assorted grocery items. The bulk of the amount for the Yuletide project came from Pagcor which put up P100 million, with the DSWD contributing P50 million. The beneficiaries come from what the National Nutrition Council (NNC) had identified as “food-poor” provinces. Ten provinces, including the NCR, were classified as first priority of the project while 20 other provinces were classified as second priority. Families residing in “first-priority” provinces received P250 worth of gift packs containing two kilos of rice, one kilo of sugar, two cans of corned beef, coffee, juice, spaghetti noodles and sauce, and instant noodles. On the other hand, families belonging to the “second-priority” areas received P100 worth of gift packs consisting of two kilos of rice, two cans of corned beef, and two packs of instant noodles. Representatives from the different government agencies involved in the pro-poor program were present during the gift-giving activities, according to DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral. The gift distribution also featured on-site services such as microfinance, medical missions, training programs, cooking demonstrations, nutrition education and “Botika ng Barangay.” |
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