Press Statement
24 September 2005

Reference: Ramon Bultron, Managing Director
Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), Hong Kong
Contact Numbers: (+852) 9477-3141 / 2723-7536

Genuine Services for the Filipinos in Taiwan!
We Demand Transparency and Auditing of MECO!

The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants is very much concerned and aghast at the revelation made by Senator Panfilo Lacson on September 22 that the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan allegedly initially paid for Venable LLP, a US Lobby Firm. This amounts to US$75,000 or NT$2,482,725.

One of the things that the Lobby Firm would do is to request the US Congress to provide funding for Charter change. In effect, this is requesting US interve ntion in framing a new constitution that would take away its remaining nationalist provisions favorable to the US government.

If this is true, we call on Filipino government officials to call for an audit of the de facto Philippine Embassy in Taiwan, which is still under the Office of the President. We also call for an investigation on the sell out and indifference of MECO officials on the plight of Filipino OCWs in the island.

Since there have been several exposés made by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and Migrante International on transfer of government money to the President?s campaign fund in the last elections, it is but natural that MECO be audited.

This is to find out if the allegation of Senator Lacson is true and to determine if MECO funds were used to pay for the treacherous deal with Venable LLP.

At the same time, we are calling for an investigation on MECO?s performance in handli ng the issues faced by Filipino OCW?s in Taiwan. These include the following:

1. The sell out and indifference of/to occupational accident victim Seraflor Mabuti who has been paralyzed for life. MECO persuaded him and his wife to agree to sign an agreement written in Chinese with no English translation, which forfeited his right to get all the compensation money for his accident in favor of his employer.

   At the same time, MECO did not provide him with anybody to look after him while he was confined in a hospital in Taiwan. All that Philippine Labor Representative Reynaldo Gopez could say was pass on their responsibilities to the Filipino community. He appealed to the community to look after our sick countrymen even if he knows that OCWs have only one day off in a week while many do not even have this right.

   He even defended the broker of Seraflor by saying that; ?They are businessmen so why would they pay for your caregivers? Even if we were able to push that, it would still not be enough?

2. The criminal neglect shown by MECO officials in the beating up and forced repatriation of Filipino workers in Formosa Plastics in Maliao last Aug. 2. This was in retaliation for a strike staged by the workers on July 14-15 because of deplorable labor and living conditions. Officials of MECO Taichung were informed of the incident before and after it had occurred. They were coldly told that their place is too far and that there are other Filipinos who are also in need. At the same time, Henry Parel, head of Labor in Taichung, even blamed the workers for staging an illegal act, which can even be criminal in nature.
3. The statement made by Mr. Gopez last September 11 to Filipinos who staged a picket/dialogue inside MECO that the practice of the POEA in agreeing to an addendum in the employment contracts of a growing number of OFWs has stopped this year. The addendum requires the OFW to pay for his/her plane ticket to and from the Philippines. He was shown by a migrant worker one contract with an addendum that was authenticated by the POEA this year. In fact employment contracts are verified by MECO after being sent to Taiwan.
4. The policy of making Filipino rehires pay again for their placement fee and other documentation costs (Philippine government fees) when they are made to exit Taiwan after three years of work for immigration purposes. This is only implemented for those working in Taiwan. Last year, MECO admitted in a dialogue with Filipino groups that this was because of an agreement between the POEA and Taiwan?s Council of Labor Affairs (CLA). On September 6 of this year, the CLA denied that such an agreement exists and that they have even been encouraging the Philippine government to lower the costs of deployment expenses.
5. The failure of MECO to stop overcharging of placement fees on OFWs, especially if there are salary deductions made on the migrants in Taiwan. At the same time, its propensity to refer such cases to the POEA even if it is very clear that this can be settled in Taiwan in favor of the workers as this violates a CLA regulation and a provision of the Labor Standards Law of Taiwan.

These are only some of the problems being faced by our compatriots in Taiwan. There are many more. MECO should be held accountable to these together with the alleged disbursement of funds to pay for a US Lobby Firm that invites foreign intervention into our internal affairs.

What is very clear from the above two is that MECO is inclined to serve the interests of foreign governments first than its own people both in the Philippines and in Taiwan.