Conclusion
DECADES ago an actor got into trouble after suggesting that, instead of discipline, bicycles are required for the country’s progress: “Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, bisikleta ang kailangan.”
Decades later, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) offers this recipe to address the social costs of migration: counseling.
The aim of this counseling is “to mitigate the social costs of migration by improving the ability of Filipino migrants to integrate in their host country through CFO-conducted multicultural orientation sessions, and also to provide psychosocial services for the migrants and their families they left behind”. Returning Filipinos also have to undergo counseling to facilitate the reintegration by assisting them in identifying opportunities for engagements in livelihood generation, investment, and to provide for a secure and meaningful retirement, thereby transforming the so-called brain-drain to brain gain.
A document by the CFO said, “While predeparture services of all types of Filipino migrants have been developed and improved throughout the years, there is a gap in the program and services that are afforded to these Filipino migrants upon their return to their homeland.”
The CFO has proposed a framework to strengthen the current reintegration program for all types of Filipino migrants. They provide more comprehensive package of services and opportunities to returnees regardless of their status abroad. They could be dual citizen, second-generation or third-generation Filipinos, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families, as well as irregular migrants.
Although the counseling itself is free of charge, the CFO charges P400 ($7.87 at current exchange rates) for a sticker and “other related costs”.
CFO lecturer Janet Ramos said special guidance and counseling last three hours although the regular program is for two hours. Ramos said counseling for an au pair runs for four to five hours because it takes time to teach cultural integration.
‘Culture shock’
THE CFO has a different level of counseling for marriage of a Filipino and a foreigner, which could be by groups or one-on-one encounter.
“Sometimes, following a grueling hours of talking, we discover that many of the candidates need further counseling,” said Ivy D. Miravalles, officer in charge of the CFO Migrant Integration and Education Division.
Miravalles said the CFO employs about a hundred people, most of whom are trained for specific counseling programs. During counseling they discover sometimes the many
problems that a candidate would face abroad, and this could be gleamed from the background of their future spouses.
Miravalles said they require applicant to submit documents and, from these, they could gather information about the profile or background of their future bride or groom.
“Many of the candidates are surprised to learn, when they are already undergoing counseling, that they do not realize how different is the reality of the place they are going to from their expectations,” Miravalles said.
Usually, it is “culture shock”, she said, which is defined as “the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes”.
There are countries that encourage matching, especially Asian countries, although this practice is accompanied by risks.
“Sometimes, brokers and marriage bureaus take advantage of the situation, especially if the subject is a very young bride-to-be,” Miravalles said. “They earn from the transaction, treating the matching game as a business.”
Shady past
RAMOS said when the bride is turned into a slave, a caregiver or is sexually abused, the relationship-matching is categorized as a failed marriage. This happens if the background of the would-be partner is lacking, not knowing they are sexual predators, pedophiles or simply criminals.
“That is why it is very important that brides-to-be have documents of their would-be partners because from this, we would be able to know the grooms’ educational background, how they met, where they met and their friends abroad, among others,” she added.
She said the CFO is also alarmed when the groom has a shady record, is on the watch list of the Bureau of Immigration or has engaged previously in fraudulent transactions.
“Because of the skills of the CFO counselor, sometimes the interviewee opens up and gives away information that reveals a ‘red flag’,” Ramos said, adding these are clues that tell them the candidate is to be dreaded and needed to be further investigated.
She added there were cases when their own parents sell their children, “even the educated ones”, because of the prospect of remittances. “Nakakalungkot man [It’s sad], but this CFO counseling program is very important, especially for the vulnerable sector.”
According to Miravalles, the CFO has access to database provided by sources, such as the Bureau of Immigration, to verify records of grooms.
More counseling
FOR the last five years, the CFO registered an average of 220 emigrants per day.
Filipinos going abroad as spouses and partners of foreign nationals are required to attend the CFO guidance and counseling program. The counseling program is meant to provide adequate information regarding intermarriage and migration, cultural and social realities abroad, as well as available support networks for migrants, especially for women in distress, among others.
Since 2014, attendance in the country-specific guidance and counseling sessions is confirmed via online appointment system. For the last five years, an average of 60 fiancées, spouses or partners of foreign nationals attend counseling sessions per day.
Ramos said long before the United States allowed same-sex marriage, the CFO has already been counseling same-sex couples bound for the US, Australia or Europe.
The CFO conducts nine sessions lasting two hours every working day, with and each session comprising 15 candidates.
The sessions are “country specific”, meaning those bound to the US receives the American version and those for Japan the Japanese version, each of which is three hours of counseling, according to Ramos.
The CFO averages 300 to 400 candidates a day, according to her.
Counseling is also provided to promote entrepreneurship among overseas Filipinos.
“A more aggressive campaign to tap overseas Filipinos as source of capital shall be pursued,” a document by the CFO said. “Government shall utilize the media and various forms, including presidential and official trips, in encouraging entrepreneurship among overseas Filipinos and their dependents.”
Image credits: Nonie Reyes