Tough talk with Labor Attaché Rey Regalado

LABOR ATTACHÉ TO JAPAN ATTY. REYNALDO “REY” REGALADO MEANS BUSINESS! In an interview with Philippines Today, Atty. Regalado demonstrated his firm and solid grasp of issues affecting Filipino workers, not only in Japan but at home as well. It revealed his brilliance, nurtured through years of experience in the intricate labor sector, considered a virtual snake pit meant only for the tough.

His job makes him a perfect target of mudslinging and rumormongering from those whose vested interests aim to sway his principles. Yet he has proven many times that there are still honest men left in public service and that government is just.

Rey was re-appointed as Labor Attaché on March 16, 2001 after serving as Administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) from July 7, 1998 to March 2001. A member of the Philippine Bar, Rey has had a long experience working with various government agencies.

He began as Monitoring Analyst at the National Housing Authority in 1983, where he later became Supervising Operations Officer from 1983-1987. His other former positions were as Senior Legislative Staff Officer (1987-1992), Director of the Senate-Malacañang Legislative Liaison Office (Philippine Senate) and Labor Attaché to Japan (1993-1998). He was also Technical Assistant (1992-1993) to the Office of the Secretary, Department of Labor and Employment.

He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law (1988) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (1982) from the UP School of Economics where he was an Entrance and Gerardo Roxas Foundation Scholar. He is also a Government Civil Service Professional (1983) and Career Service Executive (1998).

He sat in the Boards of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), National Maritime Polytechnic, Maritime Training Council, POEA and the Philippine Overseas Construction Board.

This month, Philippines Today presents an insightful interview with the man tasked to protect the rights of Filipino workers in Japan. Among others, issues pertaining to entertainers and Japan’s labor and immigration laws are tackled with no holds barred. Rey gives us a clear perspective of what it means to be an OFW in Japan from the eyes of a true expert.

Read on.

May mga biglaang pagbabago sa itaas ng pamahalaan natin sa Pilipinas. Ano ang epekto nito sa trabaho natin bilang Labor Attache?

Si Ka Blas Ople ang ating bagong Secretary of Foreign Affairs kaya expected na mas grounded siya sa issue. Ang kanyang undersecretary ay si dating Labor acting secretary Chito Brilliantes. I would expect na mas institutionalized ang program hindi lang puro services.

I would expect mas malapit ngayon ang approach sa mga tao. I think Ople’s appointment is an advantage in terms of getting support from congressmen and senators for purposes of funding certain programs.

How does it feel to sit in this office for the second time?

I was here from October 1993 to December 1996. I was supposed to have extended for three more years. At that time ang takbo ng isip natin… si Ramos, Philippines 2000. So I went home. Apparently hindi pala ganon ang picture. A couple of months afterwards nagkaroon ng Asian financial crisis. Noon ang focus natin ay reintegration ng mga tao at ang mood natin that time was very high. I thought it was a good time to be there to influence policy. I tried to work my way up. That accounts for my having been the administrator of POEA. I felt satisfied that I had a chance to draft policy and implement programs.

Kumusta naman yung stint mo doon sa POEA?

Unang-una, gusto kong pasalamatan ang labor market dito sa Japan. It gave me good grounding to perform legal tasks and responsibilities. Japan is a microcosm of the overseas employment industry.

Bakit mo pinili uli ang post na ito?

You know Japan has a diverse labor market—sa land-based, entertainers, household workers at professionals. Tapos may very big seafarers market and they are developing other markets. The Japanese are also big employers of Filipinos in other countries. If I were to go back to the ground, ito talaga ang pinakamagandang balikan, kasi dito lahat ay makakapa mo.

Give us a general sense of the Filipino demographics in Japan.

Unang-una ang total population natin dito ay about 140,000 plus idadagdag pa natin ang overstayers. Pababa ang figures. Ang pinakamalaking sector pa rin ay entertainers.

Give us an idea of the scope of your job.

We used to call this the Office the Labor Attaché. We expanded it to what we now call The Overseas Labor Offices because of the increasing responsibilities. Dito pumapasok yong ibang services for overseas Filipino workers particularly ang Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and other services which may be attached to us, as well as personnel that maybe seconded from time to time. We plan to bring doctors and social workers.

Our primary focus here is to ensure employment at the best possible terms and conditions. So how do we go about it? First of all, we scan the labor market. Then we are supposed to get labor market data. We do labor market intelligence—where are we strong, how do we maintain these markets, what other markets may be opened or threatened? We do strength-and-weakness analysis.

Ang kasabay niyan, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, ang welfare. First, I still believe that the best welfare for overseas Filipino workers is employment. Secondly, we try to make sure that they are entitled to the benefits that are provided by the host country, including both government and private employers. Pangatlo ay ang role namin bilang tagapamagitan.

Labor market intelligence is not just limited to what we should do in Japan, but also on how to maintain Japanese employers or industries in the Philippines, particularly focusing on the global strength of Filipino workers. We assist in providing information to prospective Japanese investors, particularly on HRD.

Paano nakakaapekto ang patuloy na recession sa employment opportunities natin dito sa Japan?

Tungkol sa growth opportunities, ang adjustments na ginagawa ng Japan ang binabantayan natin. We have seen how they are transferring their factories to China. So ang hinahabol natin ay paano natin ma-i-transfer ang kanilang factories sa Philippines in response to this cost-cutting. We’re just an attache office but you will hear discussions here, for example, to ensure that the automotive industries like Toyota and Honda are still in the country. We try to use our offices to link them with the Philippine government and Philippine partners. Usually, some of the problems they raise are on labor relations.

Hindi ba nag-o-overlap ang trabaho n’yo diyan sa Commercial Attache?

Hindi naman kasi we focus on the human resources. We complement their efforts. Sa investments, ang Commerce ang main na kausap. We provide information on general conditions of work—wages, labor laws, etc. Part of our work is using labor education. When we have employers, unionists, labor organizations and government functionaries who conduct training with their Japanese counterparts, we provide secretariat work.

Give us a perspective of trends in the Filipino labor market in Japan.

Usually ang nakikita lang natin all over the place ay ang entertainment industry. The big one is actually the sea-based workers. That’s 20,000 to 25,000. Malaking market ito dahil tayo primarily ang may handle nito at well-entrenched tayo dito.

When we talk of the labor market in Japan, we should be grateful to those who have been ahead of us, yung mga naunang nagtrabaho. Tingnan mo ang strength natin sa household workers, drivers and even the type of entertainers we have had in the past years. It did not simply happen overnight. Kaya nami-maintain natin yung market despite certain problems is because they have maintained a very good reputation for those who are coming over. So dapat natin bigyan ng focus ang mga taong nakakalimot na sa pagdating dito, basta akala nila pasok na lang sila, okey na sila. It was very hard work for those ahead of us. Even organizing or ventilating certain issues did not happen overnight. These are the workers who help us with our intelligence work. Sometimes nauuna pa sila. They show us where the jobs are.

Ano ang major concerns ngayon ng Filipino workers in Japan? And when we say ‘workers’, are we limiting these to documented or legitimate workers?

I think we should equally treat them, hangga’t maari we should try to equally provide optimal terms to both.

So unang-una, for the legitimate ones--maintenance of market. Palaging sinasabi sa atin na we have so many rules especially on entertainers. This is a crucial. If you look at why we have maintained this market and the quality of Filipinos we have brought into this field, that’s because we have tried to put a system in place, notwithstanding criticisms on both sides, including criticisms dito sa functions ng ating embahada. We try to tone down on how we assist them. We are trying to push for conciliatory mechanisms because we are an embassy.

Ang isang responsibilidad pa namin ay maintenance of other markets. For example, sa seafarers we have to ensure education and training. Ito kasi ang binabantayan nila. We have to make sure that these links are clear. Maraming Japanese are already there. We also try to help in getting the Japanese involvement and cooperation in education and training. Pagdating dito we try to ensure their competence. Sa area ng welfare, importante yong linkages. Aside from us talking to their employers, for example with the seafarers, may All-Japan Seamen’s Union, we have a very strong working relationship with them. All our seafarers are members. Contributing members pa nga sila dito sa union and in the past they have been our allies in protecting our workers.

On the issue of the verification mechanism for employers, we are presently streamlining this with the cooperation of Immigration. I have been discussing this with the Immigration.

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