Federation of Filipino Communities in Israel
Month of August FFCI Newsletter Highlights
- GMA Signs Dual Citizenship Bill
- Voluntary Deportation Project on Foreign Workers with Families in Israel
- RP tells Israel: Go slow on deportation: By Veronica Uy (INQ7.net) 12 August 2003
- NOTICE OF REGISTRATION AND ELECTION TO ALL FILIPINO CITIZENS
- CONVENTION ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS
Macapagal
signs
dual citizenship bill
By Fe Zamora
INQ7.net - Fri. 29 Aug. 2003
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday signed the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003, a vital piece of legislation that would allow overseas Filipinos to retain their citizenship, own property as well as enjoy the other rights of a Filipino citizen in the Philippines.
The new law allowing Filipinos abroad to retain their Filipino citizenship "will foster unity among Filipinos," the President said.
Also known as the dual citizenship law, this piece of legislation is a "twin" to the Overseas Absentee Voting Act passed earlier this year, which grants overseas Filipinos the right to vote even from their adopted homeland.
"The passage of the bill is also a response to globalization as much as it is a response to the strong homing instinct of every Filipino after a long sojourn in a foreign land," she said.
The President also signed Friday the Act Rationalizing the Excise Tax on Automobiles, a law which she described as a symbol of a "political will" to make the tax system work.
She said the signing of the two "vital pieces of legislation" also symbolized the return of normalcy in governance, ending almost a month of tension resulting from the failed July 27 coup attempt and the continued rumors of destabilization plots from opposition groups.
Voluntary Deportation Project on Foreign Workers with Families in Israel
The message below is distributed by the Israel Immigration operatives to the foreign workers in the streets of Tel-Aviv in the beginning of August. (click here for the PDF printable form)
Dear families,
About
a month and a half ago, a new person took on the position of Head of the
Immigration Administration. When he began his post, the Head of the
Administration met with dozens of foreign workers in their workplaces, homes and
entertainment spots. The Head of the Administration witnessed the conditions and
severe hardship in which you live, studied the trials and tribulations and as a
result, decided to launch a project aiming to minimize the harm inflicted on the
families who have been staying in Israel illegally —
in other words
to encourage you to leave Israel with dignity, after fully exhausting your
rights.
The
project will be implemented in several key stages:
The
first stage will begin on August 1st, 2003
and will continue until the end of August. The Immigration Administration plans
to enable the families staying in Israel illegally to register at any of the
immigration stations located throughout Israel and to settle their departure
date.
Families
who register at any of the immigration units during the month of August and
settle the date of their flight will be able to stay in Israel until October 1st
2003, with the promise that the Immigration Administration will not implement
any law enforcement activities or make any arrests against these families.
During
these two months, we ask each family to make all the necessary arrangements in
Israel, including buying plane tickets, settling any salaries as yet unpaid by
their employers, terminating leases, as well as all matters pertaining to
getting organized for leaving.
The
second stage will begin on September 1st, 2003
—
the Immigration
Administration will launch law enforcement activities and arrests against
families who did not register at one of the immigration units during the month
of August and did
not settle the matter of their flight date.
|
The
Head of the Immigration Administration is appealing to each family in
person with the following requests: Do not let us arrest you. You
deserve to leave Israel with dignity. Please go to the Immigration Administration station closest to your home and arrange the date of your flight without delay. |
National
information center: 03-5584874
List
of units:
Tel
Aviv Unit, 5 Hazoref St., Holon industrial area —
telephone no.
03-5584228
Central
Unit, Ben Gurion Airport —
telephone no.
03-9728400
Jerusalem
Unit, 4 Hasadnah St., Champion Bldg. —
telephone no.
02-6717029
Southern
Unit, 12 Haalumot St., Omer industrial area —
telephone no.
08-6466165
Northern
Unit, Haifa Port Station —
telephone no.
04-8686462
RP
tells Israel: Go slow on deportation
By Veronica
Uy
INQ7.net
12 August 2003
PHILIPPINE Ambassador to Tel Aviv Belen Anota has registered a plea to Israeli authorities to go slow on its ongoing deportation drive, after Israeli immigration authorities officially informed the Philippine Embassy that the ongoing campaign to arrest and deport illegal foreign workers in Israel will be intensified, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said Tuesday.
Quoting a report of Philippine Labor Attaché Jalilo Dela Torre, Sto. Tomas said that since the campaign started in January this year, 300 Filipino workers have been deported. She warned Filipinos planning to work in Israel not to enter the country illegally.
"Those who wish to work in Israel must be properly documented, or they will risk being arrested and immediately deported," she said.
The labor secretary said Israeli authorities are giving illegal foreign workers with families the chance to voluntarily register themselves with the police or immigration authorities and to present one-way tickets to Manila from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30.
"Those who will register will not be arrested but will be allowed to leave Israel [of] their own volition within a reasonable period after registering," she said.
However, despite this intensified crackdown on illegal foreign workers, Sto. Tomas allayed the fears of a mass deportation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Israel. She said OFWs in Israel continue to be preferred workers, particularly in caregiving and allied services.
The Philippine Embassy has already advised Filipino workers staying or working illegally in Israel, specifically those with families, to avail of the limited reprieve as announced by the Israelis.
Israel's current campaign targets the deportation of 100,000 illegal foreign workers in Israel by 2004.
Dela Torre said the Israeli government has announced the establishment of a tent city near the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv to temporarily house illegal workers due for deportation. He said the tent city will have medical and professional teams that will check on the condition of deportees and help them recover unpaid salaries and benefits from their employers.
Notice
is hereby given that under Republic Act No. 9189, otherwise known as “The
Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003”, all citizens of the Philippines abroad,
not otherwise disqualified .by law, at least eighteen (18) years of age on the
day of the election, and who are registered overseas absentee voters with
approved application to vote in absentia, may vote for President,
Vice-President, Senators and Party-List Representatives.
All qualified Filipino citizens not registered as voters under Republic Act No.
8189, otherwise known as “The Voters Registration Act of 1996” (the system
of continuing registration), shall file an application for registration while
those who are already registered under the said Act shall file an application
for certification.
For purposes of the May 10, 2004 elections, the filing of applications shall be
from August 1, 2003 to September 30, 2003 at the Philippine Embassy located at 2
Kaufman Street, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
The voting period will be from April 11, 2004 to 10:00 a.m. on May 10, 2004
except for duly qualified Filipino seafarers who may vote from March 12, 2004 to
10:00 a.m. on May 10, 2004.
For details, please contact Mr. Jalilo dela Torre at telephone number 03-5
162344 or 5165818 or the following website: www.polota.com.
Department of Foreign Affairs (Manila) - www.dfa.gov.ph
Commission on Elections (Manila) - www.comelec.gov.ph
Hotline: (632) 833-0914/833-0686
|
UNITED NATIONS |
|
CONVENTION ON
PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS TO ENTER INTO FORCE
NEXT JULY |
|
19.03.2003
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families will enter into force on 1 July 2003, following Guatemala's ratification of the treaty last Friday. The Convention seeks to play a role in preventing and eliminating the exploitation of migrant workers throughout the entire migration process. In particular, it seeks to put an end to the illegal or clandestine recruitment and trafficking of migrant workers and to discourage the employment of migrant workers in an irregular or undocumented situation. It provides a set of binding international standards to address the treatment, welfare and human rights of both documented and undocumented migrants, as well as the obligations and responsibilities on the part of sending and receiving States. More than 150 million migrants, including migrant workers, refugees, asylum seekers, permanent immigrants and others, live and work in a country other than that of their birth or citizenship. They represent 2 percent of the world's population. Persons who qualify as migrant workers under the provisions of the Convention are entitled to enjoy their human rights regardless of their legal status. The Convention reflects an up-to-date understanding of migratory trends as seen from the point of view of both States of origin and host States of migrant workers and their family. The Convention breaks new ground in defining those rights which apply to certain categories of migrant workers and their families, including: 'frontier workers', who reside in a neighbouring State to which they return daily or at least once a week; seasonal workers; seafarers employed on vessels registered in a State other than their own; workers on offshore installations which are under the jurisdiction of a State other than their own; itinerant workers; migrants employed for a specific project; self-employed workers. The Convention also imposes a series of obligations on States parties in the interest of promoting "sound, equitable, humane and lawful conditions" for the international migration of workers and members of their families. These requirements include the establishment of policies on migration; the exchange of information with other States parties; the provision of information to employers, workers and their organizations on policies, laws and regulations; and assistance to migrant workers and their families. The Convention was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the General Assembly in December 1990. To date, it has been ratified or acceded to by the following twenty-one States: Azerbaijan, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda and Uruguay.
How States abide by their obligations under the Convention will be monitored by a panel, to be known as the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, consisting of 10 experts serving in their personal capacity. The election of Committee members by the States parties is set to take place before the end of the year. The membership of the Committee will rise from 10 to 14 experts when 41 ratifications have been registered. States parties accept the obligation to report on the steps they have taken to implement the Convention within a year of its entry into force for the State concerned, and thereafter every five years. Under the treaty, a State party may recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals within that State's jurisdiction who claim that their rights under the Convention have been violated. If the Committee is satisfied that the matter has not been, and is not being, examined in another international context, and that all domestic remedies have been exhausted, it may call for explanations, and express its views.
The entry into force of the Convention will reinforce and complete a series of other measures already taken by the United Nations to ensure adequate protection of all migrant workers and their families. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has been in the forefront of efforts to secure and maintain a fair deal for migrant workers and their families since the 1920s. Also, a Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights has been looking since 1999 at ways and means to overcome obstacles to the full and effective protection of the human rights of migrants, including difficulties for the return of those who are "undocumented". |