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An Open Letter to President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo
President, Republic of the Philippines
28 November 2002
Dear President Arroyo,
Greetings from concerned members and leaders of the Filipino
community in Japan!
Once again you are visiting Japan this December 2002 and
yet we the Filipino migrants are just given a side trip with
no opportunity to have an audience with you to state our appeal
to the Philippine government. The Philippine Embassy is organizing
Filipinos for an extravaganza of presentations of songs and
dances for your delight, as what it usually does in your past
visit.
We cannot take this cold treatment any longer. Despite our
desire for our problems as migrant Filipinos in Japan be heard,
the Philippine government representative office here has chosen
to ignore our request. Our request to have a forum with you
was denied by the Philippine Embassy. We have no chance to
dialog with you on issues affecting us. The office prefers
to represent us through dance and song presentations.
Therefore we have no other option but to write you this open
letter to have the following issues and demands below heard:
1. On the issue of undocumented Filipinos in Japan, the Philippine
government should use all diplomatic means with the Japanese
government to convince them to abstain from using the immigration
rule prohibiting undocumented Filipinos to return immediately
to Japan. The immigration rule sets a five-year bar period
for undocumented Filipinos, preventing them to return to Japan
within this period.
There are many mothers of Japanese-Filipino children, for
example, who would lose their chance to fight for the rights
of their children once they are sent back home. Also, there
are many undocumented workers whose employers are willing
to take them as regular staff. But the five-year bar provision
prohibits sponsoring the undocumented workers.
2. The Philippine Embassy should assist Filipinos on health
issues, specifically designating a health and medical service
center, especially for undocumented Filipinos.
3. The Philippine government should request for the revision
of the Japanese government's rules and policies on trainees,
entertainers and domestic helpers, allowing those in the three
categories to be able to file a complaint with the Japan Labor
Standard Office for grievances and conciliation.? The President
of the Philippines should urge the Japanese government to
create a grievance and conciliation agency to ensure the protection
of Filipino migrant workers, especially entertainers and trainees
in construction companies.
4. The President of the Philippines should establish a regular
Consular Service in Nagoya City, home to many Filipino migrant
workers.
5. Lastly, we question the onerous fees charged by the Philippine
embassy in Japan for standard services, i.e. passport fee
at 16,000 yen, travel affidavit at 4,000 yen, etc. The President
of the Philippines must lower these fees to reasonable rates
being charged to the already burdened Filipino migrants.
We are also addressing this open letter to all our Filipino
compatriots in Japan and in the Philippines to support our
demands to the President of the Philippines.
Respectfully yours,
Filipino Migrants Center (FMC)
Filipina Circle for Advancement and Progress- Nagoya (FICAP-Nagoya)
Filipino Migrants Union (FMU)
Philippine Society of Japan (PSJ)
San Lorenzo Society (SLS)
Hibino Family Crusade
Minato-ku Filipino Community
League of Filipino Seniors
Kalipunan ng mga Filipino na Nagkakaisa (KAFIN) ESaitama
Kalipunan ng mga Filipino na Nagkakaisa (KAFIN) ENagoya
Kalipunan ng mga Filipino na Nagkakaisa (KAFIN) EOsaka
Kalipunan ng mga Filipino na Nagkakaisa (KAFIN) ETokyo
Boshikatei No Kai (Filipino single mothers association)
Ecumenical Filipino Fellowship (EFF)
Tulong Pinoy Movement
Global Filipinos in Information Technology
NGO-ICT-WorldReply and inquiries can be sent to our spokesperson
at the given address below:
Virgie Aquino-Ishihara
Executive Director
Filipino Migrants Center
4-D Maruzen Bldg
4-20-11 Sakae, Naka-ku
Nagoya-shi, Japan
Tel no. (81) 522421277 / Fax. No (81) 522432527
Email: ham70690@rio.odn.ne.jp
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