tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501929490897554852024-03-13T20:28:21.669-07:00Philippine DiasporaGoing Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-65917179063202243252010-02-16T04:14:00.000-08:002010-02-16T04:14:27.501-08:00Tapping the Diaspora Productively<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">The countries in diaspora have still to</span> <span style="color: #444444;">evolve a more</span> <span style="color: #444444;">meaningful involvement of their citizens scattered all over the world in the development of their own native country. In the following article, </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong><a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/columnists_landing_page.php?pg=1&username=amitendupalit">Amitendu Palit</a>, </strong></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">explains why the Indian diaspora must be engaged for more productive role in India's development </span><br />
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Following the PM’s assurance at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to grant voting rights to Indians living abroad before the end of the current government’s term, the diaspora’s contribution to the Indian economy is back in focus. At a size of almost 25 million people spread over 110 countries, the diaspora has a sizeable global presence. The bigger group in this club is comprised of PIOs followed by NRIs. The latter include Indian emigrants as well as those who have travelled abroad for shorter durations. <br />
The economic might of the diaspora has been responsible for its growing strategic clout. Migration of skilled Indian professionals to high-income countries has helped the latter make significant productivity gains. The West has benefited the most from such migration with the US, the UK, Canada and Europe drawing large numbers of Indian professionals. In more recent years, high-income Asian economies such as Hong Kong and Singapore have become attractive destinations for Indian professionals. The professionals have contributed handsomely to the growth of these various economies in an era of high demand for skills in knowledge-intensive occupations. In the process, the professionals themselves have climbed rungs at a rapid pace. Success stories such as Lakshmi Mittal, Indra Nooyi, Vikram Pandit, Padmasree Warrior, Arun Sarin et al are well known. There are several less-celebrated stories, all of which have contributed to the diaspora emerging as a powerful economic force in terms of financial resources, managerial expertise and entrepreneurial capacities. <br />
Remittances have been the diaspora’s biggest contributions to the Indian economy. India is one of the major recipients of migrant remittances among developing countries. In the year 2008, India topped the chart with $52 billion of remittances, followed by $49 billion in China and $26 billion in Mexico. Assuming an Indian GDP of $1.2 trillion in 2008, the remittances amount to roughly 4% of GDP. These flows have been functionally related to migration of skilled professionals from India as well as their earning capacities. The rise in both volumes of migration as well as earning capacities of migrants has positively influenced remittances. The latter have been a major source of stability for India’s balance of payments. So have been the non-resident deposits in Indian banks, though many argue that high deposit inflows are merely for taking advantage of high interest rates offered by Indian banks. <br />
Beyond remittances and non-resident deposits, the role of overseas Indians, till now, has been relatively limited.<br />
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For more information, visit <a href="http://www.financialexpress.com/news/column-tapping-the-diaspora-productively/566134/">http://www.financialexpress.com</a>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-71590009486351060462010-01-27T03:36:00.000-08:002010-01-27T04:35:28.575-08:00Limited Compassion for Haiti<h2 style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Justin Podur - January 25th, 2010</span></h2><div class="meta"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Everyone agrees that the Haiti earthquake is a serious situation. Serious enough for the US to send thousands of Marines, to take over the airport, to suspend Haiti's sovereignty and take over the operation. Serious enough to unify the bitter partisan divide and put Bush, Clinton, and Obama together to raise funds. Serious enough for benefit concerts and the invention of new forms of philanthropy, where people can donate through their cell phones. But the Haiti earthquake is apparently not all that serious:</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. It's not serious enough to give undocumented Haitians a full amnesty. Yes, it was serious enough to give them Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which they'd been asking for for years, so that they can send back money legally and so they're not in danger of being deported back to their re-devastated country. But they still have to pay $470 dollars for registering (every dollar of which could have gone to Haiti – which adds up to millions of dollars if more than a few thousand register and pay the fee), and after their 18 month grace period ends they will be in the system and easier to deport than they were before registering.</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. It's not serious enough for public money. 200,000 people dead and millions homeless is a tragedy, but one approximately 30,000 times less serious than the Iraq war ($100 million for earthquake relief, $3 trillion for the Iraq war) and 40,000 less serious than the $4 trillion bank bailout. For those crises, the treasury magically opens, the money magically appears in the accounts, the public debt grows, and the taxpayers can pay later. For an earthquake or a tsunami, we rely on people's generosity, and put together star teams to beg for money on behalf of the victims.</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. It's not serious enough to let Aristide return. In times like these, playing politics is frowned upon, right? But playing politics to prevent a popular leader from returning to his own country after being forced into exile isn't. Aristide's kidnapping and the 2004 coup was a special humiliation inflicted on Haiti, his continuing exile a continued insult. This earthquake is not serious enough to stop that insult.</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. It's not serious enough to pay Haiti back the $22 billion it's been owed by France since the money was extorted by a blockade. The story is old and much repeated but deserves to be repeated again. When Haiti became independent in 1804 through a revolt of the slaves, France used a naval blockade to force the new country to pay its colonial master compensation for the property the Haitians "stole" - the property being the value of the slaves themselves. The indemnity, 150 million francs at the time, stopped the country from being able to rebuild after the devastation of the war of independence. When the international community was starving Haiti to death from 2001-2003, Aristide began a campaign to say – okay, if aid is blocked and loans are blocked, forget those, just give us our money back. 150 million francs in 1804 makes about $22 billion today. At that point, the machinations to overthrow Aristide began in earnest.</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before too long, as the security and looting stories rise in prominence, opinion pieces will appear about the ingratitude of Haitians. As donations level off, analyses will discuss compassion fatigue. These would be better informed by being a little less oblivious to the limits of governmental compassion for Haiti.</span><br />
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<i>Justin Podur is a Toronto-based writer. He visited Haiti in 2005. This essay was first published on his blog</i> <a href="http://www.killingtrain.com/node/723">www.killingtrain.com</a><br />
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<a href="https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source=earthquake&subsource=standwithhaitiembed"><img alt="Stand With Haiti" src="http://act.pih.org/page/-/img/stand-with-haiti.png" /></a><div id="rightColumn"><br />
</div>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-38423385572697047122010-01-23T04:00:00.000-08:002010-01-23T04:02:06.411-08:00Haiti Smashed, Diaspora Shaken, Deportations Frozen<div class="meta">By Michelle Chen - January 13th, 2010 <br />
</div><div class="content">The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14haiti.html" target="_blank">devastation in Haiti</a> is unrelenting, an avalanche of natural catastrophe exacerbated by man-made injustice. Perhaps 100,000 feared dead, homes shattered, people digging neighbors out of rubble without safe food, water or electricity. It’s hard to fathom just how much tragedy one tiny island country can bear, and Haiti seems to be testing the limits of a people’s resilience in the face of crisis.<br />
Today, as the Obama administration mobilized aid resources, it also backed away from earlier plans to deport about 30,000 Haitian immigrants living in the United States, announcing that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14deport.html" target="_blank">deportations would be suspended</a> indefinitely. Anything less would be unconscionable, yet there has been no decisive action, on granting lasting immigration relief through <a href="http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/01/bipartisan_congressional_call.html" target="_blank">Temporary Protected Status</a>.<br />
Meanwhile, anxiety and action are percolating in the <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/01/13/diaspora-mobilize-to-help-haiti-in-earthquake-aftermath/" target="_blank">Haitian diaspora</a>. Haitian immigrants and others in the Bronx and Brooklyn are rallying to <a href="http://coopcitynews.blogspot.com/2010/01/we-need-to-do-something-to-help-haiti.html" target="_blank">deliver relief and offer mutual support</a> as they try to reach loved ones. The communications breakdown has sundered the ties that have served as a lifeline, economically and culturally, for a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/nyregion/14reax.html" target="_blank">vast, vibrant Haitian transnational community</a>. Remittances, according to <a href="http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/remittances/Haiti.pdf" target="_blank">World Bank data</a>, amount to roughly one fifth of the country’s GDP—and a far greater value than <a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47935" target="_blank">paltry official</a> <a href="http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/59877/2009/08/28-173441-1.htmt" target="_blank">development assistance</a> or foreign direct investment, despite a legacy of <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/scott03122004.html" target="_blank">U.S. intervention</a> and a <a href="http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee-act/haiti-debt-cancellation-resolution/resources-on-haitis-debt.html" target="_blank">neoliberal assault</a> via global financial institutions. <br />
<div id="a007565more"><div id="more">Edwidge Danticat, an acclaimed author who came to New York as a child (and whose uncle died in immigration detention--a sad story in itself), <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/13/haiti_devastated_by_largest_earthquake_in" target="_blank">reflected on Democracy Now!</a> on the historical trajectory of Haiti's suffering:<br />
<blockquote><i>Indeed, the first black republic in this hemisphere, one of the first two republics in this hemisphere. But soon after independence, was not recognized by its neighbors, which it nevertheless helped gain, in some cases, their independence in Latin America and helped the US fight here in Savannah, Georgia. And then a series of debt, because it had to pay to France a large amount of money for its independence. And then two US invasion occupations and a series of dictatorships. It’s been—you know, before and in the midst of this, you know, deforestation sponsored by outside interests, and just a series of a very painful history. </i><i>But—and add to that all the other natural disasters—four storms last year, the tropical storm Jeanne a couple of years ago, which covered the town of Gonaives. But nothing, I think, like today. ... You know, I can see parts of my old neighborhood, you know, through this very large veil of fire. So it’s really—it’s totally unimaginable. It seems like the abyss of a very long and painful history of natural and political disasters. </i><br />
</blockquote>The promises of the Obama administration so far sound like an earnest attempt to aid Haiti. But the information blackout surrounding the country, the rush to deliver assistance though <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/444/story/1681596.html" target="_blank">massive military-based institutions</a>, and the history of Haiti's <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20040322/wilentz" target="_blank">political power struggles under foreign intervention</a>--should give activists pause (especially with a <a href="http://www.racewire.org/archives/2009/05/bill_clinton_named_new_un_envo.html" target="_blank">certain maligned former president</a> emerging <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/bill_clinton_on_haiti_we_need.html" target="_blank">at the helm</a> of the humanitarian effort). It's crucial to remember that in the wake of disasters, there is a <a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/resources/disaster-capitalism-in-action" target="_blank">razor-thin line between rescue and invasion</a>. <br />
Also on Democracy Now!, activist Kim Ives <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/13/haiti_devastated_by_largest_earthquake_in" target="_blank">warned</a> that the international aid complex could be co-opted as a vehicle for even deeper, more disruptive <a href="http://www.haitisolidarity.net/article.php?id=263" target="_blank">intervention in Haiti's fragile political and economic infrastructure</a>. He noted that due to neoliberal debt policies, "foreign aid has essentially destroyed Haitian food self-sufficiency" in recent years by ruining rice agriculture. Haiti's extreme vulnerability today could inaugurate a new era of U.S. military domination, Ives said:<br />
<blockquote><i>[A]id has historically in Haiti been extremely pernicious. It has destroyed Haitian agriculture. It’s been a real counter to development in the country, development aid. And even humanitarian aid has been often wasted. For instance, during—after the storms of 2008, $197 million was freed from the Petrocaribe accounts, which Venezuela provided Haiti. A lot of questions remain about how that money, that $197 million, was spent. A lot of it seems to have been frittered away into corruption and various other types of embezzlement. </i><i>So, yes, there’s going to be a tremendous amount of corruption and charlatans flocking to Haiti like flies. And it’s important to find good relief agencies. One is the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, HERF, that people can go to the site of haitiaction.net and find out more about that. And that is a place people can donate. But, yes, we can expect terrible things to be happening in the aid front in the coming weeks. </i><br />
</blockquote>This is the untenable choice Haiti may be faced with now: death or subjugation to a foreign power hostile to democracy on the island. Outside of the country, the Haitian community and their supporters do have choices. As the floodgates open to geopolitical opportunism, activists can step up their vigilance to ensure that politicians' supposedly good intentions aren't exploited to further dispossess the Global South. <br />
The phenomenon of Haitian immigration itself encapsulates the crisis that the earthquake exploded: they're refugees of economic, social and environmental upheaval. Buried under the weight of neocolonialism, the Haitian people may survive the earthquake, but they will still need a <a href="http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news/press-releases/grassroots-international-establishes-earthquake-emergency-relief-fund-haiti" target="_blank">global movement</a> to rebuild their future.<br />
<i>This essay was originally published on <a href="http://www.racewire.org/archives/2010/01/haiti_smashed_diaspora_shaken_deportations_frozen.html">RaceWire</a>.</i> <br />
</div></div></div>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-10039449942957249292009-12-29T15:13:00.000-08:002009-12-30T15:57:10.601-08:00Strong rise in Gulf remittances to Philippines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__7h5hFNxIT4/Szvlm0o2PMI/AAAAAAAAAAs/1IPNK7JUkgY/s1600-h/bilde.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__7h5hFNxIT4/Szvlm0o2PMI/AAAAAAAAAAs/1IPNK7JUkgY/s400/bilde.htm" /></a><br />
</div>Remittances from the millions of Filipinos working abroad rose strongly in September from August, data from the country’s central bank showed, contributing to upbeat forecasts for the economy. <br />
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But with the Gulf accounting for more than half the number of Filipino workers hired abroad last year, they are unlikely to escape the slowdown unscathed. At the same time, buoyancy in other markets is expected to boost remittances growth and keep the overall economy on track for expansion this year. <br />
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People are the Philippines’ biggest export, with 10 million of the country’s population of 92 million living outside the country. They send home, on average, at least $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) a month in remittances. Filipino workers sent home $1.44bn in September, up 8.6 per cent from a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said. <br />
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The September figure brought total remittances for the first nine months to $12.79bn, up 4.2 per cent from the same period last year, Amando Tetangco, the governor of the central bank, said. While the Philippines and its banks have had little exposure to the recent call for a six-month debt delay by Dubai World, it has many commentators and labour group activists concerned. <br />
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There are up to 350,000 Filipino workers in the UAE, of which about 250,000 are in Dubai. Last year, more than half of newly hired or rehired Filipinos were based in the Middle East, government data shows, and 193,810 of those were in the UAE. <br />
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This compares with 44,631 in 2001 and means the country accounted for nearly one in five of the total number of new hires and rehires last year. Remittances help to drive consumer spending in the Philippines, which accounts for more than two thirds of the country’s GDP. <br />
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They have grown with demand for Filipino labour and improved, wider access to remittance products and services. “These factors support the optimistic outlook for the sustained growth in remittances through the rest of 2009,” said Mr Tetangco. He forecast that remittances from Filipinos would grow by 4.2 per cent this year from last year’s record figure of $16.4bn. <br />
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Overseas nationals were also sending more money back than usual to help with reconstruction efforts after typhoons hit the archipelago in recent months, Mr Tetangco said. The importance of overseas workers to the Philippines can be seen in the special queues for them at the country’s airports, and special deals at local hotels and restaurants for their trips home. <br />
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There are also a number of state agencies aimed at protecting the rights of Filipino expatriates, such as the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which has offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai . Many Filipino workers are employed in the services sector. <br />
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Filipino nurses are also in great demand worldwide. The ministry of health estimated last year that 85 per cent of the country’s trained nurses, or 21,500 of them, have left the country, and many doctors retrain as nurses to take advantage of the demand. Much of the world’s shipping is crewed by Filipinos. <br />
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The rise in remittances means the Philippines is on track to meet its growth target of between 0.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent this year, although Mr Tetangco said it could be at the lower end of this range after weaker growth than expected in the third quarter. In the nine months from January to September, the main sources of remittances were the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Japan, Singapore, the UAE, Italy, and Germany. <br />
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“The deployment of Filipino workers abroad is anticipated to increase given the continuing hiring arrangements between the Philippines with existing and non-traditional labour markets, as well as the forthcoming relocation of US military facilities from Japan to Guam over the course of the next five years,” Mr Tetangco said. The IMF raised its forecast for remittances to 4 per cent growth from an earlier estimate of a 4 per cent contraction. <br />
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<a href="http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091206/BUSINESS/712069974/1015">Source</a>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-7202404263805249822009-12-23T15:24:00.000-08:002009-12-30T15:48:29.359-08:00GLOBAL PINOYS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ON TFC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__7h5hFNxIT4/SzvhFqNfQJI/AAAAAAAAAAk/LmVQeYXBAiI/s1600-h/williesid-familytable+edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__7h5hFNxIT4/SzvhFqNfQJI/AAAAAAAAAAk/LmVQeYXBAiI/s640/williesid-familytable+edit.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> To make Global Pinoys feel the Christmas spirit in the air and “on the air”, The Filipino Channel (TFC) of ABS-CBN Global recently unveiled its Christmas station ID featuring Willie Revillame, one of the top believers of the channel and the host of the most watched noontime show, Wowowee. Willie is very apt for the station’s <i>Pasko</i> ID as Wowowee also happens to be a must-see live show for <i>balikbayans</i> especially during the holiday season.</span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span> <br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Throughout the month and beyond, TFC viewers will see images of Filipinos from different countries longing to spend Paskong Pinoy with their loved ones in the Philippines. To respond to their yearning, the Integrated Creative Communications team of ABS-CBN Global headed by Elizabeth Siojo pulled together the directorial expertise of Randy Santiago and the natural candor of Willie to come up with a touching network ID to convey the message that “although our kababayans may be far away from home, they have a true Kapamilya in TFC who will be with them during the season, bringing warmth and joy and the sense of family when it matters most.”</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Completing the poignant channel ID, several testimonials of top ABS-CBN talents expressing their candid thoughts and personal Pasko wishes to loyal viewers were also aired during its launch. Those who have not seen Sharon Cuneta and KC Concepcion, Edu and Luis Manzano, Aga Muhlach, Maricel Sorianno, John Lloyd Cruz, Kris Aquino and other Kapamilyas talk about Paskong Pinoy can still catch their favorite celebrities on air until January.</span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>A Buffet of Options to Savor TFC</b></span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span> <br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> TFC has been entertaining and informing overseas Filipinos since 1994. For almost fifteen years, it has endeavored to reach out to its viewers all over the world in more ways than one.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> TFC is available via cable, direct-to-home satellite, the worldwide web and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The cable signals are programmed to specifically suit the various time zones and viewing habits of customers in the different regions that ABS-CBN Global serves. Via direct-to-home satellite, other 24-hour TV and radio channels aside from TFC are aired: ANC, Cinema One, Kapamilya Channel, DZMM and WRR 101.9 For Life.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Committed to serve more and more Filipinos in the country, ABS-CBN utilized the worldwide web to offer homegrown shows and movies online through TFCNow. An audio and video streaming internet subscription service, TFCNow allows one to access his or her favorite shows with just one click of the mouse.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Moving further, it took advantage of the latest technology to offer more channels and unique features when it launched its video-on-demand service known as TFCko. This IPTV service gives the viewer control over what he wants to watch with its capacity to fast-forward, pause or rewind any program. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Knowing how TFC has become an integral part in the lives of Filipinos abroad, the global Filipino company has been flying in Kapamilya stars from the Philippines to visit Pinoys abroad for the on-air experience to become a more intimate encounter. </span><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Christmas in the Philippines can be described as incomparable not only because of the endless festivities and sumptuous food but more because of the fond memories shared with family and friends that a person who has chosen to live abroad hardly ever gets the chance to relive. With TFC creating an imagined community, Filipinos worldwide are able to celebrate happy occasions together no matter how miles apart they are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://abs-cbn.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=1">Source </a><br />
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</div>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-25394691344720903932009-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:002009-12-30T14:44:53.754-08:00No Luck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__7h5hFNxIT4/SzvVmNdT_vI/AAAAAAAAAAc/nBmOn_Lic0M/s1600-h/610x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__7h5hFNxIT4/SzvVmNdT_vI/AAAAAAAAAAc/nBmOn_Lic0M/s400/610x.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Repatriated Filipino workers in the Middle East who lost their jobs arrive at Manila international airport September 24, 2009.<br />
<br />
<cite class="DL-source"><a class="DL-name DL-external" href="http://www.pictures.reuters.com/" target="_blank">Reuters Pictures</a></cite>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-34498107193962482182009-12-20T06:28:00.000-08:002009-12-29T06:29:40.465-08:00Why More and More Women Are Migrating for Work<div align="justify">UNIFEM, a UN agency that specializes on women’s issues, identified the following factors that influence women migration abroad:<br />
</div><ol><li>increasing poverty and insecurity of livelihoods; </li>
<li>increasing work pressures under globalization’s unregulated market model of development;</li>
<li> family pressures on women especially in those contexts where women have a greater degree of mobility to work abroad, to complement the family income;</li>
<li>desire for better living standards, material gratification, more competitive lifestyles, desire for adventure and broader horizons – mostly induced by the media and new information and communications technologies;</li>
<li>emergence of “women-specific” skilled and unskilled jobs in the formal and informal manufacturing sector; </li>
<li>the perceived suitability of women in certain sectors because of stereotyped images (domestic service is an extension of women’s traditional role in the home and is not work), submissiveness, suited to simple repetitive tasks, are sources of cheap and flexible type of labor; and</li>
<li>influence of informal social networks that facilitate, sustain and perpetuate the demand abroad. </li>
</ol><div align="justify">Most women move abroad voluntarily but a significant number are forced migrants who have fled conflicts, persecution, environmental degradation, natural disasters and other situations that affect their habitats and livelihoods. Others have been trafficked into sexual exploitation and forced labor.<br />
</div>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-11985719201179197222009-12-16T22:06:00.000-08:002009-12-29T04:51:09.567-08:00Population and migration<h1 style="color: black; font-weight: bold; margin: 0pt 0pt 2px;"><br />
</h1><div style="color: black; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=%27+encodeURIComponent%28%27http://www.gmanews.tv/story/69896/Population-and-migration%27%29+%27&title=%27+encodeURIComponent%28%27Population%20and%20migration%27%29+%27&bodytext=%27%20+%20encodeURIComponent%28%27Every%20hour%20about%20121%20Filipinos%20leave%20the%20country%20to%20work%20abroad%20due%20to%20lack%20of%20available%20jobs%20Every%20year%20the%20Philippines%20needs%20to%20create%2015%20million%20new%20jobs%20to%20absorb%20new%20graduates%20entering%20the%20labor%20force%27%29" target="_blank" title="Add to del.icio.us"></a>Every hour, about 121 Filipinos leave the country to work abroad due to lack of jobs available in the country.<br />
</div><div id="story" style="color: black; font-weight: bold; margin: 0pt 0pt 20px;"><br />
<div>Every year 1.5 million new jobs have to be created to absorb the large number of Filipinos entering the labor force.<br />
</div><br />
<div>The number of Filipinos overseas has soared over the past decade - from 2.9 million in 1997 to 3.8 million in 2006. <br />
</div><br />
<div>But some estimates pegged their number at eight million, including undocumented ones.<br />
</div><br />
<div>Jay Bautista, executive director of Nielsen Media Research - Philippines, has cited estimates placing overseas Filipino population at around 12 million. <br />
</div><br />
<div>Remittances constitute 36 percent of Philippine dollar reserves in 1989 and 67 percent in 2005. <br />
</div><br />
<div>OFWs tend to come from bigger families. A study using data from 2000 Census of Population and Housing found that households with overseas workers were larger by one child than households without migrant worker members.<br />
</div><br />
<div>Growing population<br />
</div><br />
<div>The Philippine population increased fourfold in the last 50 years, from 20 million in 1950 to 86.4 million at present, the 12th largest in the world. <br />
</div><br />
<div>The National Statistics Office (NSO) projects that by 2010, there will be 94 million Filipinos, 103 million in 2015, and 142 million in 2040.<br />
</div><br />
<div>The main cause of rapid population growth is sustained high fertility. <br />
</div><br />
<div>Although the average number of children born to a mother has gone down to 3.5 (from 6 in 1973), a large number of women born in the 1970s and 1980s, who are now of childbearing age, keeps the population growing. <br />
</div><br />
<div>Every year, about two million new born babies are added to the population.<br />
</div><br />
<div>A big segment of the Philippine population belongs to the 0-14 age group. Half of the population is below age 21, meaning a high dependency burden. The high unemployment rate worsens the situation, since many of those of working age are jobless. And in reality continue to be dependents.<br />
</div><br />
<div>Each employed Filipino supports an average of 2 dependents.<br />
</div><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i></i></span><br />
<div><span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i>Source: Population Commission’s fourth State of the Philippine Population Report (SPPR 4).</i></span><br />
</div><span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><br />
The SPPR is a periodic publication of the Popcom funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This year’s report focused on the issues surrounding Filipino international labor migration.</i></span> <br />
</div>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-550192949089755485.post-13485598325597858492009-12-15T04:38:00.000-08:002009-12-29T04:49:47.428-08:00Country profile: The Philippines<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>More than 7,000 islands make up the Philippines, but the bulk of its fast-growing population lives on just 11 of them.</b><br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left; width: 226px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div></div><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="guidecontainer" id="quickguide" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="guidemain"><div class="content" id="content">Much of the country is mountainous and prone to earthquakes and eruptions from around 20 active volcanoes. It is often buffeted by typhoons and other storms.<br />
<br />
Two presidents of the Philippines were forced from office by "people power" in the space of 15 years. <br />
</div></div></div><h2 class="country_profile">Overview</h2><ul class="country_profile"><li>Overview</li>
<li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#facts">Facts</a></li>
<li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#leaders">Leaders</a></li>
<li class="country_profile_last"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#media">Media</a></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">The Philippines - a Spanish colony for more than three centuries and named after a 16th century Spanish king - was taken over by the US in the early 20th century after a protracted rebellion against rule from Madrid. Spanish and US influences remain strong, especially in terms of language, religion and government. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Self-rule in 1935 was followed by full independence in 1946 under a US-style constitution. President Ferdinand Marcos, a close ally of the US, imposed martial law in the early 1970s but was forced to step down in 1986 after mass demonstrations cost him the support of the armed forces. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the country has remained a democracy it has enjoyed little stability. President Joseph Estrada was forced out of office in 2001 after months of protests at his corrupt rule, and there have been a number of coup attempts against his successor, Gloria Arroyo.<br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left; width: 203px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div><img alt="Churchgoers in Manila" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41130000/jpg/_41130062_manila_church_afp.jpg" vspace="0" width="203" /> <br />
<div class="cap"><span style="font-size: small;">The church's influence is strong in Asia's largest Catholic nation</span><br />
</div></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
On the southern island of Mindanao, rebels have been fighting for a separate Islamic state within the mainly-Catholic country. The decades-long conflict has claimed more than 120,000 lives. Sporadic violence has continued despite a 2003 ceasefire and peace talks. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Abu Sayyaf group on the island of Jolo has a history of violence towards hostages, and the government has declared all-out war on it over its alliance with al-Qaeda. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although it once boasted one of the region's best-performing economies, the Philippines is saddled with a large national debt and tens of millions of people live in poverty. The economy is heavily dependent on the billions of dollars sent home each year by the huge Filipino overseas workforce. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Philippines has the highest birth rate in Asia, and forecasters say the population could double within three decades. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Governments generally avoid taking strong measures to curb the birth rate for fear of antagonising the Catholic Church, which opposes artificial methods of contraception. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=550192949089755485&postID=1348559832559785849" name="facts"></a> <br />
</div><h2 class="country_profile" style="text-align: justify;">Facts</h2><ul class="country_profile" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#overview">Overview</a></li>
<li>Facts</li>
<li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#leaders">Leaders</a></li>
<li class="country_profile_last"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#media">Media</a></li>
</ul><div class="guidecontainer" id="quickguide" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="guidemain"><div class="content" id="content"><ul class="bulletList"><li><b>Full name: </b>Republic of the Philippines </li>
<li><b>Population: </b>92 million (UN, 2009) </li>
<li><b><b>Capital: </b></b>Manila </li>
<li><b>Area:</b> 300,000 sq km (115,831 sq miles) </li>
<li><b>Major languages: </b>Filipino, English (both official) </li>
<li><b>Major religion: </b>Christianity </li>
<li><b>Life expectancy: </b> 70 years (men), 74 years (women) (UN) </li>
<li><b>Monetary unit: </b>1 Philippine peso = 100 centavos </li>
<li><b>Main exports: </b> Electrical machinery, clothing, food and live animals, chemicals, timber products </li>
<li><b>GNI per capita:</b> US $1,890 (World Bank, 2008) </li>
<li><b>Internet domain: </b> .ph </li>
<li><b>International dialling code: </b>+63</li>
</ul></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=550192949089755485&postID=1348559832559785849" name="leaders"></a> <br />
</div><h2 class="country_profile" style="text-align: justify;">Leaders</h2><ul class="country_profile" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#overview">Overview</a></li>
<li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#facts">Facts</a></li>
<li>Leaders</li>
<li class="country_profile_last"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#media">Media</a></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>President: </b>Gloria Macapagal Arroyo <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gloria Arroyo's efforts to tackle corruption and to focus on economic reform have been undermined by a string of scandals. <br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left; width: 203px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div><img alt="Philippines president" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39556000/jpg/_39556805_arroyo_ap.jpg" vspace="0" width="203" /> <br />
<div class="cap">President Arroyo: Her first term brought mixed results <br />
</div></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The president won a second six-year term in June 2004, defeating her main rival, the film star Fernando Poe Junior. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But a year later her popularity rating had fallen to a record low amid opposition claims that she cheated in the 2004 elections. Opponents also levelled corruption allegations against her husband and other family members. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She apologised to the nation for talking to an election official about her hopes for victory in the run-up to the 2004 poll, but denied any wrongdoing. Two subsequent attempts to impeach her have failed. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mrs Arroyo faces the challenge of delivering on her promises to create jobs and to improve living standards. Social and economic reforms introduced during her first term did little to ease poverty and the country's debt burden. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She advocates constitutional reform, proposing to swap the country's US-style presidential system for a parliamentary government. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She has taken a strong line on law and order and allied herself closely to US President George W Bush's "war on terror". <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gloria Arroyo comes from the political elite in the Philippines. She is an economist whose father was president in the early 1960s. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She was elevated from vice president to president in 2001 after protests led to the ousting of her predecessor, Joseph Estrada. In 2003 she survived an attempt by military mutineers to unseat her. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">She is keen to emphasise her Christian faith. Observers contrasted her approach with the hard-drinking lifestyle favoured by President Estrada. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Philippines has a two-house legislature - the Congress - which comprises a House of Representatives, with up to 250 members, and a 24-member Senate. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=550192949089755485&postID=1348559832559785849" name="media"></a> <br />
</div><h2 class="country_profile" style="text-align: justify;">Media</h2><ul class="country_profile" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#overview">Overview</a></li>
<li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#facts">Facts</a></li>
<li><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm#leaders">Leaders</a></li>
<li class="country_profile_last">Media</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Powerful commercial interests control or influence much of the media. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The lively TV scene is dominated by the free-to-air networks ABS-CBN and GMA, which attract the lion's share of viewing. Some Manila-based networks broadcast in local languages. The country has a well-developed cable TV system. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Films, comedies and entertainment programmes attract the largest audiences. Many TV broadcasters also operate radio networks. There are more than 700 FM and mediumwave (AM) radio stations, most of them commercial. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Press freedom is guaranteed under the 1987 constitution. The private press is vigorous, with tabloid newspapers being prone to sensationalism. <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, violence against media workers is a problem. Reporters Without Borders noted in 2008 that "constant threats and physical attacks make some regions, particularly Mindanao island, dangerous areas". <br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">By 2007 there were 14 million internet users (ITU).<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The press</b><br />
</div><ul class="bulletList" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.philstar.com/">Philippine Star</a> - private daily </li>
<li>The Daily Tribune - private daily </li>
<li><a href="http://www.inquirer.net/">Philippine Daily Inquirer</a> - private daily </li>
<li><a href="http://www.malaya.com.ph/">Malaya</a> - private daily </li>
<li><a href="http://www.mb.com.ph/">Manila Bulletin</a> - mass-circulation daily </li>
<li><a href="http://www.manilatimes.net/">Manila Times</a> - private daily </li>
<li><a href="http://www.bworldonline.com/">Business World</a> - private daily </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Television</b><br />
</div><ul class="bulletList" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/">ABS-CBN</a> - commercial </li>
<li><a href="http://www.gmanews.tv/">GMA Network</a> - commercial </li>
<li>IBC (Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp) - government-owned </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Radio</b><br />
</div><ul class="bulletList" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/">ABS-CBN</a> - operates stations nationally </li>
<li><a href="http://www.gmanews.tv/">GMA Network</a> - operates stations nationally </li>
<li>Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) - operates stations nationally </li>
<li><a href="http://www.rmn.com.ph/">Radio Mindanao Network</a> - operates more than 50 stations nationwide </li>
<li><a href="http://www.pbs.gov.ph/">Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS)</a> - government-run, operates 31 stations nationwide with emphasis on news, public affairs </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>News agency</b><br />
</div><ul class="bulletList" style="text-align: justify;"><li><a href="http://www.pna.gov.ph/">Philippines News Agency</a> - government-run </li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;">Source: <a href="http://http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1262783.stm">BBC</a><br />
</div>Going Homehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13610430394161700357noreply@blogger.com0