Monday, November 03, 2008

REMITTANCE ECONOMY

Doy Cinco /
Nov 4, 2008

Tagumpay raw ang katatapos na 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development. Kung ano man 'yon, "nakasalalay pa rin ito sa isang matatag, may gulugod at isang gubyernong may political will." (Political cartoon; http://pinoyweekly.org/cms/files/u5/PWedcartoon_11july08.jpg)

Tulad ng inaasahan, nangibabaw ang interest ng private enterprises (private sector, banks, corporations, recruitment agencies at money transfer companies) kaysa sa matagal ng advocacy ng migranteng manggagawa at civil societies. Sa temang “pagpapalakas at pagsasakapangyarihan,” mas nanaig ang paninging isang "kalakal, commodity ang migrant worker." Bukud sa GLOBAL RECESSION, “mas magiging masalimuot, , hihigpit at magiging competitive, magpapatuloy ang pagsasamantala, pang-aapi at titindi ang kawalang katarungan at paglabag sa karapatang pantao ang hanay ng migranteng mangagagawa."

Bawat isa sa atin ay may kamag-anak na OFW at migrante sa US, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Middle East, Africa o Asia. Isang halimbawa ay ang bunso kong kapatid. Nung nagpasya siyang mag OFW, parang walang naglakas loob o nangahas na pigilan siya. Bunsod ng ilan taon hirap sa buhay, nakikitira sa aming magulang. Kahit isang propesyunal, hirap makahanap ng magandang trabaho at ang tanging pansalba ay ang kakaramput na kita ng kanyang asawang engineer. Ang problema, lumalaki ang mga anak at kailangang matugunan ang pangangailangan.

Sa mahigit sampung taon sa Saudi't Nigeria, nagsarili't bumukud siya sa aming magulang at nagkaroon ng sariling bahay, sasakyan, kumpletong gamit at simpleng pamumuhay. Ang kanyang mga matatalinong anak ay nasa kilalang private school sa Quezon City. Sa tuwing anim na buwan, siya'y umuwi't dumadalaw sa kanyang mga anak. Ang kanyang asawa na matagal ng namamasukan sa isang Engineering Firm sa Ortigas ay nakasungkit ng kontrata sa New Delhi, India at ngayon'y nakikipagsapalaran alang-alang sa pamilya. Tipikal ang ganitong sitwasyong pamilya sa Pilipinas.

As of December 2007, may sampung (10.0) milyong Filipinos na ang namamasukan, nag-alsabalutan at ngayo'y nanirahan sa mahigit 190 bansa sa mundo. Ayon sa Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), may isang milyong Filipinos (1.7 milyon) ang nagma-migrate taun-taon. Kaya lang, anuman ang kahinatnan at propaganda sa isyu, "mag-iintensify ang human instict for survival ng pamilyang Pinoy na nagnanais mabuhay bilang tao."

Ang Pilipinas na ang isa may pinakamalaking bilang ng migrant workers sa mundo at mukhang tinapatan na nito ang India, China at Mexico. May mahigit isang milyon (1.2 million) ang mga undocumented (excluding Sabah, Malaysia), halos limang libo ang inaalipusta, hinuhuli, tratong hayop at ginagahasa. Ang masaklap may 30 ang nakahanay sa death row na nag-aantay ng tulong mula sa gobyernong Arroyo.

Ang MIGRATION ay produkto ng mahabang kasaysayan ng karalitaan, underdevelopment, kawalang pag-asa't oportunidad at 'di pantay na distribusyon ng yaman ng bansa. Ayon sa mga historiador, bago pa dumating ang mga Kolonyalistang Kastila't Amerikno, kalat na ang mga ninuno natin sa Asia-Pasipiko. Noong 1960s-mid70s kung saan itinuturing isa sa pinakamaunlad na bansa sa Asia ang Pilipinas, " diniklarang pansamantalang (temporary) STOP GAP economic at employment measure" at kung sakaling marating ang status na “Newly Industrialized Country (NIC)” ititigil ang MIGRATION. After 30 years, nagtuloy-tuloy at nag-intensify ang labor export at ang inaa-asam-asam na NIC , naging bangungot.
(Photo:Remittances, http://www.blinkdesigns.org/illustrado/images/uncat/REMITTANCE.jpg)

Ayon sa World Bank, umabot na sa $251.0 bilyon ang remittances ng OFW at nilagpasan na nito ang $104.0 billion Official Development Assistance sa Pilipinas. Parang siya na ang bumubuhay sa "bangkang papel" na ekonomiya ng bansa. Tinitingalang bagong modelo ng kaunlarang umaasa sa remittances at consumption based, imbis na linangin ang mga highly skilled at professional, brain drain o parang silver platter na ibinibigay sa mauunlad na bansa ang resources at ipinundar, pinagbuwisan, (doctor, nurses, teachers, architects, artist, engineer, scientist at Information technologist) at nilikhang karunungan at kasanayan ng bansa. " Sa bandang huli, tayo pa rin ang papasan at magiging kawawa sa trahedyang pagbabayaran ng lipunang Pilipino."

Hindi maipagkakailang "hawak na ng Pilipinas ang trono bilang pinakamakapangyarihang bansang may industria ng KATULONG o SUPERMAID sa mundo." Bumabaha nga ng dolyar "kung apektado naman ang moral values, broken family, addict at iskul bukol sa mga napag-iwanang anak, wala rin, TRAHEDYA pa rin maituturing."

Walang klarong study at malalimang pananaliksik kung nakakatulong ba sa pag-unlad ang remittances sa bansa o sa mga kumunidad? Kaya lang, ano mang larawang ipakita, ito ma'y macro-micro analysis ng magkabilang panig, trahedya't hulog ng la
ngit, para sa isang MIGRANT WORKER, ang “mai-ahon sa karukhaan ang sariling pamilya't kamag-ankan at makapag-ambag kahit paano sa pagbabago." Trahedya man at “modern day slavery ang OFW penomenom,” magpapatuloy ang pag-aalsa balutan at pangingibang bansa ng ating mga kababayan.

Ginagamit ng Malakanyang bilang SALBABIDA ang tinatawag na mga bagong bayani at dahil daw sa remittances, "gumaganda't lumakas raw ang piso. Umunlad daw ng mahigit 6.9% ang ating Gross Domestic Product (GDP), tumaas ang per capita income, mula $1,000.0 nung 1990, umabot raw ito sa $1,400.0. "Nakahanay na raw ang Pilipinas sa Ikalawang Daigdig (2nd world) at wala na raw tayo sa kategorya ng Ikatlong Daigdig?"

Sa reality, tayo na ang may pinakamalaking squater's colony sa buong Asia, may pinakamalaking bilang ng child labor sa buong mundo at may pinakamatagal na insureksyon at rebelyon sa mundo. Tayo na ang sumasapo ng basura (scrap at ukay-ukay) ng Japan, US, Australia, China, India at Malaysia. Wala tayong maipagmamalaking STEEL INDUSTRY na sana'y magbibigay daan upang makagawa ng makina na magpro-produce ng panibago pang makina, tools / kagamitan, barko't katawan man lang ng eroplano o train na ine-export imbis na migrant workers. Puro abuloy ang barko de gera ng Phi. Navy at eroplanong pandigma't helicopter ng Phil. Air Force.

Mahalagang pag-isipan ng gubyernong papalit (2010, kung sino man 'yon) ang “alternative development strategy” na matagal ng adbokasiya ng maraming organisasyon kaysa sa "labor export policy" na itinakwil na ng mauunlad at mga kalapit-bansa.

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