OTHER WORKSHOP RELATED ACTIVITIES.

1.   Ildefonso Bagasao and Atty. Manny Goyena, Chair and Director for Legal Services, respectively, of ERCOF, participated in the First Luzon Rural Bankers Conference on Standards, Micro finance and Local Economies (SMILES) that was held in Baguio City on February 18 to 20, 2002 and convened by Mr. Andres G. Panganiban, later to be the ERCOF workshop keynote speaker.   Mr. Bagasao delivered a few remarks explaining ERCOF’s work to some 200 rural bankers, government officials and micro finance practitioners, of the forthcoming workshop in Davao. Both gentlemen also signed the conference communiqué, which highlighted the role of Overseas Filipinos in the development of the local economies through savings and investments.

2.  On March    2002, ERCOF, together with focal and resource persons in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium, held a preconsultation meeting in Brussels, Belgium. The aim of the pre-consultation was an environmental scanning of the OF groups in these countries through the discussion of problems, gaps and issues associated with their economic needs. The meeting was held at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels, which started with a welcome address from the Philippine Ambassador, and was attended by embassy staff.  Highlights of the meeting were the country presentations from Belgium, Holland and Switzerland which included a discussion on the results of the mini-surveys on OF economic matters and the very lively forum that ensued after the discussions with the Ambassador, Commercial Attaché, Agricultural Attaché, Consuls and other key embassy staff participating. (See Annexes 25-26 for the Minutes of the Pre-consultation and the Survey Form)

3.      On April 16, ERCOF conducted a half-day orientation on economic and livelihood opportunities for some 20 wives of seafarers, at the office of the Apostleship of the Sea in the Port of Sasa, Davao City.  This orientation was prearranged in December 2001, between Fr. Jack Walsh, National Director of AOS and ERCOF, for the benefit of the wives who were planning to put up a self-help organization.  ERCOF Chair Ildefonso Bagasao and Basco Fernandez of Casco facilitated the discussions that centered on self-introductions from the wives and responses to specific matters such as problems encountered as seafarers’ wives, present and alternative sources of livelihood, aspirations and intentions to go into entrepreneurship.  It was found that despite the relatively high income of seafarers compared to many OFs, there were only a handful among those present who had allocated part of their husbands’ earnings and invited in an enterprise. Major basic concerns were lack of housing and basic information on putting up an enterprise or access to loans, and not surprisingly, domestic family problems.  The facilitators also discussed the AOS inadequacy in obtaining legal assistance for seafarer-related problems.  Addressing the problems of housing and legal assistance, the ERCOF facilitators immediately linked AOS with the Mindanao Land Foundation, and also promised to take up legal assistance with the Ateneo Law School in Davao.