RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News   -  December 2009 Rhyme and Reason Being the last month of the year and a traditional time of holiday cheer, I wanted this column to be about something positive that could provide an encouraging note as we enter another year.   As we know, our beloved Philippines has just gone through some difficult times brought on by natural calamities and human cruelty.   These include the tremendous destruction caused by the successive typhoons which hit the Philippines just a few months ago, killing hundreds, and destroying  thousands of homes.  Most recently,  a horrible massacre of journalists and civilians in what is believed to be a politically motivated act sadly reminds us how violent Philippine elections can become.  Negative news notwithstanding, the universal response to these events have been quite uplifting.  As we know, donations for those affected by the typhoons poured freely, and cries of condemnation against the perpetrators of the massacre reverberated

Filipiniana News   -  November 2009 Rhyme and Reason Canada’s immigration system is far from being perfect. Aside from stating the obvious, this reality was further confirmed by a couple of news items that were published in recent weeks. The first news item is the Auditor General’s report raising serious problems with Canada’s immigration programs.  In particular, the Auditor General raised concerns “ about the integrity of the program and the protection of temporary foreign workers”.  Below are some excerpts from the report:  “Various studies and reports over the years have recognized that lower-skilled temporary foreign workers entering Canada may be vulnerable to exploitation or poor working conditions, usually because of their economic conditions, linguistic isolation, and limited understanding of their rights.” “There is a risk that live-in caregivers may tolerate abuse, poor working conditions, and poor accommodations so as not to lose the opportunity to become p

Filipiniana News   -  October 2009 Rhyme and Reason     Growing up in the Philippines, I have quite a few memories of having waded on flooded streets and even witnessed our home being invaded by floodwater up to a few inches deep.  Since the rainy season in the Philippines expectedly brings huge amounts of rainfall every year, one would think that the Filipinos have become accustomed to and have learned to adapt to this recurring weather episode. Aside from the brief terror from the occasional loud thunderstorms and flashes of lightning during these seasonal rain showers, my personal memories of Philippine floods consist more of watching children happily wading in pools of water and shrieking in delight while splashing water against each other.  In a country where clean water is a scarce commodity and swimming pools and bathtubs are luxuries reserved for the lucky few, I witnessed how innocent street children found great delight in reveling amidst this temporary natural abun

Filipiniana News   - September 2009 Rhyme and Reason A few recent positive decisions on rather complex live-in caregiver applications somehow raised hopes for caregiver advocates that this government is finally becoming sensitive to the extremely difficult circumstances that many live-in caregivers have to endure.  Upon the individual caregivers’ request, the immigration officers concerned chose to exercise their positive discretion in granting certain exemptions to immigration requirements on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.  Therefore, the Conservative government’s recent negative response to the Standing Committee’s proposals to amend the laws relating to live-in caregivers and other temporary foreign workers came as a huge disappointment.  The response by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney’s office, practically turned down all recommendations by the Standing Committee including the issuance of occupation specific instead of employer sp

Filipiniana News - Rhyme and Reason 14 August 2009 By now, most, if not all of us are aware that our beloved former President Cory Aquino passed away on August 1 st , 2009 after several months of battling colon cancer.   In death, even more than when she was alive, President Aquino has been hailed as a hero, a saint, a symbol of democracy, and a mother of the Filipino nation.   President Cory no doubt deserves these accolades and more.  So much has been written about how she brought back democracy to the Philippines after several years of Marcos dictatorship through the internationally-celebrated bloodless people power revolution.  So much has been written not only about how she survived seven coup attempts during her administration, but also how she missed huge opportunities for implementing genuine and long-lasting societal reforms. She was not perfect, but no human being is. I had a brief personal encounter with President Cory during the 1985 snap election c

Filipiniana News - Rhyme and Reason 14 July 2009     Just a few months after Juana Tejada’s death, another caregiver stricken with cancer while working under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) passed away.   Ms. Celia Mansibang succumbed to cancer on 29 June 2009, leaving behind her husband, William Mallillin, and their two children, Vincent and La Sandra Mallillin, her three sisters Chona, Eloisa and Marichelle Mansibang and their families, as well as their elderly mother. Like Juana, Celia was diagnosed with cancer when she went through the required medical examination as part of her LCP permanent residence application. She then applied for an exemption from medical inadmissibility arising from her terminal illness, and was fortunately granted an exemption on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.  Her husband and two children were also granted temporary resident permits to enable them to travel to Canada and be reunited as a family during this critical time.  Despite

Filipiniana News - Rhyme and Reason 14 June 2009 In the past month or so, the Canadian media have been speculating on the possibility of a summer election if the opposition party decides to defeat the present minority government.  Long before these recent reports however, many Canadians have felt like elections are always looming in the horizon, as the political bickering and mudslinging seem to be occurring non-stop in the context of the present minority government. Therefore, one cannot help but be suspicious that the political leaders’ every move is calculated towards the main objective of defeating their political opponents and winning the next election.  On the other hand, Filipino-Canadians in Toronto had a recent breakfast gathering (Kapihan) to hear visiting Philippine Senator Francis Pangilinan speak.  Senator Pangilinan not only spoke about the current state of Philippine affairs but also candidly admitted his aspirations for the highest seat in the land.  For no

Filipiniana News - Rhyme and Reason 15 May 2009   In the past few months, I was happy to note that the government seemed to be taking a keen interest on the many problems faced by temporary foreign workers in Canada, including participants of the Live-in Caregiver Program.  This was undoubtedly triggered by the extensive media coverage of the unscrupulous practices of recruiters which highlighted the vulnerability of this sector and gave impetus to the various initiatives and proposals meant to protect the long exploited migrant workers.  These initiatives included proposals to regulate recruitment agencies and employers, the creation of a live-in caregiver hotline meant to clarify existing employment standards legislation as applied to the situation of live-in caregivers, nationwide consultations on LCP reforms,  and a rather comprehensive House of Commons standing committee report on proposed reforms to the foreign worker programs.  Then an allegation of abuse against a

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 15 April 2009 Please pardon me for devoting yet another column on this matter but it is an issue which increasingly resonates within our community, which is known to be the biggest source of live-in caregivers in Canada.  Those who have been following the series of Toronto Star investigative articles in the past few weeks involving abuse and exploitation of live-in caregivers would have also heard about the government’s quick response through a number of actual and proposed legislative reforms which led one article to conclude, “Victory for Nannies”. These are of course welcome developments and enough reason to be hopeful that long overdue changes are finally happening.  However, I also cannot help but be cautiously optimistic as recent developments have emphasized the continuing need for vigilant advocacy. A relevant change that has been recently implemented is the granting of provincial medical (OHIP) coverage to most open work permi

Filipiniana   News - Rhyme or Reason 15 March 2009 It is with deep sadness that we learned about the recent passing away of Juana Tejada, the Filipina caregiver diagnosed with cancer who was initially refused permanent residence in Canada because her illness will cause an excessive demand on the Canadian system.  A few days after Ms. Tejada’s death, the Toronto Star published a series of investigative articles on the unscrupulous practices of immigration consultants who prey on the desperation of mostly Filipina caregivers to enter and eventually obtain permanent residence in Canada.  What struck me most about the article was the fact that government agents, particularly those from the Canada Border Services Agency,  admitted knowing about these illegal activities and the fact that they have a list of known agencies who perpetrate various types of fraud against the caregivers.  Despite this knowledge, the government does not appear to be taking any aggressive steps towards stopp

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 13 February 2009 As of this writing, another Filipina live-in caregiver is quietly suffering from advanced stage cancer and has been told that she has less than six months to live.  She and her accompanying family members in the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) permanent resident application are likely to be declared medically inadmissible for potentially causing an excessive demand on Canadian health and social services.  She is therefore seeking an exemption from this requirement on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.   This is happening only about half a year after the highly-publicized case of Juana Tejada who was similarly diagnosed with advanced stage cancer and who was initially refused permanent residence in Canada under the live-in caregiver class.  She and her husband were later granted permanent resident status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds after extensive media coverage and public pressure.  How many more ca

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 14 January 2009 While thinking of a topic to write about for this month’s column, I cannot help but consider that this is the first month of the year.  Thus, I find it quite appropriate to reflect on the exciting possibilities that the new year can bring.  Please pardon the rather trite theme, but what follows are just some of my personal thoughts for the new year. This month, the United States will inaugurate its first ever black president, Barack Obama.  One cannot help but be electrified by the overwhelming international interest in American politics arising from this and the tremendous hope that this historic event brings to the entire world.  Since the most powerful nation in the world has elected as President someone who embodies “change” in every sense of the word, then there is indeed reason to hope that the rest of the world will follow suit. This month, the Canadian Parliament will reopen with the Conservative government’s pr