The second day conference began with Fr. Jack Walsh giving the opening prayer.   Subsequently, the participants were asked to share significant  lessons learned from  sessions of Day 1.

Recapitulation of Day 1’s session

A presentation of the workshop results was made by the facilitators.    Highlighted was the key role of OF remittances in helping to stabilize and to improve the economic situation of the country.  It was pointed out, however, that there is a need for a supportive political and social infrastructure for reintegration of the migrants and for development of local enterprises to sustain local economies.  The core target groups  that this conference is addressing are the OFs, workers and their families. It is very crucial that their conditions are properly addressed by different stakeholders: the  government agencies to provide the favorable climate for investments;  the MFIs/Banking Institutions  to offer advice on where to channel OF  remittances for productive use; and,  the NGOs, POS and Civil Society to provide auxiliary and other technical services.  The diagram below shows the possible interlinkages between these sectors:

Among the major points, challenges, issues and responses  discussed during the workshop were:

PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

RESPONSES

 The following questions were then put forward to serve as reflection points and to prepare participants for  more in depth discussion in  the subsequent workshops: 

·     What role can the civil society play to improve the situation of OFs?

· Can speedy remittance systems, a favorable investment climate and anti-discriminatory laws lead to a  lasting and sustainable economy?   

The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, one of the major government agencies involved in rural development gave a short speech during the conference.

Hon. Secretary Leonardo Montemayor’s Speech

The Secretary commended the efforts  of ERCOF and MLF to initiate the three-day conference.  In relation  to the conference theme, the Secretary pointed out that the Department of Agriculture assists activities that will help out in identifying possible channels whereby OF savings can be utilized to aid rural agriculture and fisheries modernization and development.  Among the services that the DA can offer are:

·    identify potential areas of investments;

·     identify specific projects such as worthwhile training program, provision of artesian wells and setting up of processing plants in OFs’ specific hometowns.

Secretary Montemayor stated  that  if OFs  take on and consider  the suggestions of DA people to improve the economic situation in rural areas, they will be able to address  the poverty situation and employment gap in their respective communities.  He  stressed that OFs should remember their hometown while they are abroad and carry out concrete actions to help improve the local situation.    He proposed  for a follow-up meeting on  similar  initiatives and informed the OF participants that they could  consult  agricultural attaches abroad to inquire about potential investments. 

Day 2 Presentations

The first cluster of presentors was introduced by the facilitators.   The presentors included Mai Dizon-Añonuevo, the Executive Director of BalikaBayani, an organization of migrants, migrant returnees, and migrant families;  Fr. Jack Walsh, the National Director of the Apostleship of the Sea;  Dennis Yaun, the founder and implementor of Samahan Cooperative, Brussels, Belgium, and;   Antonina A. Binsol, the mover-founder of Tulong Pinoy Movement in Japan (See Annex 6 for details of the speakers’ background)

Presentation 1:

Mag-Atikha Para Maka-BalikaBayani – Planting the Seeds of a Comprehensive Reintegration Program for OFWs:  The Atikha/BalikaBayani Experience

Mai Anonuevo

Executive Director, BalikaBayani

         Mag-Atikha Para Maka-BalikaBayani

 The presentation highlighted the fact that many of the people doing work  that had something to do with migrants and migration do not know what “reintegration” means.   Research findings showed  that there is a substantial number of Overseas Filipinos workers who have come back to the Philippines but have  remained  poor and  without savings even after so many years of working abroad.  The reason for this situation is that OFWs have wasted their hard-earned money on unproductive  expenses and that they have not been prepared to save for their eventual reintegration to the country.    Mechanisms are also lacking locally and internationally to support the need for preparing for the eventual return of migrants.  Ms. Anonuevo defined  planned reintegration as the establishment of various programs and projects at the community level prior to the return  of migrants and OFWs.  The following major points were then presented:  

·         The Bibingka Principle – Atikha and BalikaBayani   adopted a twin-approach of simultaneously organizing and introducing interventions with  the OFWs abroad and their respective families and communities in the Philippines.   Its features include psychosocial intervention, community organizing, savings mobilization, enterprise development and cooperative formation.

·         The role of Atikha in this partnership is the social preparation of families and the community for an effective reintegration program for the migrant workers.  BalikaBayani ‘s role is focused on organizing and networking with migrant organizations to create a movement of OFWs who are able to utilize their savings for their own economic development but also to serve as engine for development in rural communities. 

 Various projects of the BalikaBayani program were presented,  the most noteworthy of which was the video conferencing project that is part of   an OFW multi-service center using  modern communications technology . Through video conferencing,  family members of OFWs  are able to talk and connect to their relatives who are abroad  thus  helping  bridge the communication gap between the OFW and their families.

 The multi-purpose center also provides delivery of remittances  offered at a cheaper rate.  The order-regalo service is a novel idea wherein BalikaBayani members can order grocery items and have them delivered to their families.  Koop BalikaBayani International, a cooperative composed of migrants, migrant returnees and their families have been formed by both Atikha and BalikaBayani.  It is a cooperative with chapters to be set up in Hong Kong and Italy. (See Annex 9 for handouts)

Presentation II The Globalized Philippine Seafaring Industry
Fr. Jack National Director Apostleship of the Sea

Speaking from  12 years of experience working with seafarers through programs developed by the Apostleship of the Sea,  from his  base in the Port of Sasa, Davao City , Fr. Jack Walsh  narrates the story of  a Filipino seafarer who told him that the maritime industry is the most globalized industry in the world – he worked on a  ship owned by a Greek living in Malta,  their insurance is from Lloyds of London, the crew is  managed by a German company with mostly Croatian officers, with a mix of Filipinos, Burmese and Indonesians.  The ship, he continued, travels to Canada to pick up tons of wheat, which they deliver to Davao.

Seafaring as a truly global industry predates  the current  debate about globalization .  The maritime world fleet employs about 1.2 million seafarers and Filipinos make up one third of the entire complement manning the fleets.  These figures assume importance because   the world’s trade is carried by the maritime industry and is therefore crucial to the global economy.

Filipinos seafarers face common problems encountered by workers emanating from labor sending countries, that include  low wages, breach of contract, longer hours of work at sea beyond the scrutiny of  regulators or law enforcement agencies,  high recruitment fees and the lack of government protection.  An  International Commission on Shipping (ICONS) report described life at sea as “ characterized with  much abuse, especially physical abuse that include beatings and sexual assault, inadequate medical treatment, substandard accommodation, and inadequate food, non-payment of wages, delays in paying entitlement to families, and even abandonment.”  The report concludes by saying that “for thousands of today’s international seafarers, life at sea is a modern form of slavery and their work place is a slave ship. “Fr. Jack asks :  To whom can the seafarers effectively complain?  He  stressed that the shipping industry is so globalized  but there is no effective mechanism, local and international,  that regulates it.

Some other important questions were raised during the presentation.  Who should clean up the shipping industry?  Is the seafaring sector industry part of the government’s priority?  Unfortunately, these problems are borne not only by the seafarers themselves but also by their families. 

Fr. Walsh recommended  various  ways which may serve to  reduce the strain of seafaring life on the seafarer and his/her family, and these   include:   shorter trips preferably no more than four months;  paid leave of a comparable length to sea time; continuous employment, rather than employment by voyage; training time to be added to the home leave period; opportunities for wives and children where possible to sail; improved access to cheaper communication;  increased contact between seafarers’ wives and their employers, and; opportunities for seafarers’ families to make contact with each other while the crew members are at sea.   (See Annex 10 for the speech)
 

The history of Filipino migration in Belgium started  with the entry of Filipino nurses in the early 1970s.   Until 1983, no visa was required to enter Belgium but despite the imposition of visa  requirements, the number of Filipinos migrating still increased.    The following issues were highlighted:

·         Data on Filipino Migrants in Belgium:

o        80 to 90% of Filipinos in Belgium are undocumented; in January 2000, a regularization decree was issued, resulting in  an estimated 20% to 30% of OFs  now documented;

o        Although there were   an estimated  7,000 OFs in Belgium, the figure is not reliable  because  many are not registered with the census;

o        Most OFs are working as domestic helpers or hotel workers; they are unable to find other jobs because of their inability to speak  French, Dutch or German;

·         Economic Problems Encountered and Initiatives Taken

o        Undocumented Filipinos cannot  open a bank account, thus, they keep their money in their homes which is very risky;

o        Remittance charges are very high; they send money in a circuitous way through United EuroPhil Remittance in Italy which charges a fixed rate of U$ 8.00;

o        There is a need for an organization that can  provide health insurance for undocumented workers; although there is one such insurance provider,  OFs in Belgium opt to save their money instead of paying for health insurance;

o        OFs who have been in Belgium for a long time have substantial savings; efforts to  gather information from the  Philippine Embassy  in Belgium for possible investment opportunities did not bear fruit because they found that  information could  not  be readily made available;

o        Migrant workers wish  to invest money in the Philippines but have no immediate desire  to leave Belgium or return to the Philippines;

o        In 1997, discussions  about cooperative formation  and   capital  buildup was started in Belgium;  in 1998, a credit cooperative with 17 members was formed but not duly registered as a legal entity.  (See Annex 11 for  handout)

Tulong Pinoy Movement, Japan

The presentor works with a Japanese Bank and is  helping Filipinos and Filipino communities through  information and communications technology.(ICT) one of the factors that she emphasized was necessary to  a successful reintegration program for migrants.  The presentation delved mainly on the different technologies, which could  be tapped to expand  the linkages between overseas Filipinos and rural communities.  Among  the popular technologies, which can be used, are cyber chat, email and attachment feature, interactive homepage, discussion groups & video conferencing.  It was, however, cited that although these technologies are readily available,  Philippine  communities have to be prepared  to adopt to these technologies.  Questions about the level of computer literacy of rural folks, availability of basic infrastructure e.g. telephone lines and others should first be addressed.  (See Annex 12 for presentation materials)

Prof. Ruri Ito of Ochanomizu University in Japan  who is into  gender studies while working to protect the interests of   Filipino women in Japan  gave  brief   remarks while focusing on two things -  remittances and banking within the context of   the situation of Filipino women and the remittances in a household situation.  She explained that most of these women’s earnings are budgeted not only for their immediate household but also for expenses of extended families and in-laws. She      echoed the importance of educating and training migrants  to consider investments  in anticipation  of their return to the Philippines.

Open Forum

Q-Joe (an Overseas Filipino):        The danger with ICT is the possibility of organized crime entering the picture, involving the trafficking of young children, mail order bride and others.  Who are the international bodies to which we can report these crimes? Is there computer software that can  deter these crimes in the net?

A-A. Binsol:    The internet is a free world.  It is very difficult to prevent people from viewing these sites.  It is possible to deal with the Webmaster.  There was a lady Senator in Japan who proposed a bill for the closure of mail order websites.  A special agency like Lawyers without Cross borders can possibly help.

Q-Prof. Roli Talampas: The OFs of yesteryears are different from the OFs of today. OF families who live in rural areas before have become middle-income urban families now.  The communities have been transformed.  What can you say about this?

A-M. Añonuevo:      Migration has changed the face of communities.  In the communities that we are working with, when a wife goes abroad, the farmer or fisherman husband leaves his present occupation so that he can  take care of the children.  At first, they think it is just a temporary set up; however, the husband stops his  fishing or farming activities and relies permanently on remittances, eventually  the wife ends up as the sole breadwinner and is practically forced to remain abroad.  When this situation is present in a large number of families, there   is a big impact on the community because it alters the family structure.  Here, the importance of value formation comes into play. 

In some instances, the homecoming of an OF becomes a very extravagant occasion.  Money is splurged  to show the community that they have a good life abroad when in fact they are still indebted to their employers.  Usually, they do not reveal the real situation to their families  and an impression is made on  the community  that it is very easy to earn money abroad.  Because of this, the family becomes over dependent on the family member working abroad. Some children stop going to school because they would rather go abroad and earn dollars than getting a n education  that could be used to  manage a good enterprise at home. 

A-A. Binsol:    There are many “japayukis” in Japan.  Why are they encouraged to go to Japan? Because we  have many agencies in the Philippines that promote and extol on the good life of Japayukis for which reason many  Filipinas  are motivated to go  there.  What they don’t know is that the life of women are shattered especially if they do not know the real attitude of Japanese men.  We need to give proper orientation to  these women before going to Japan.

Presentation V

Current Government Initiatives for the Mobilization of Migrant Savings and Investments and the DFA Economic Empowerment Program for OFWs.

Hon. Merlin Magallona

Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs

Department of Foreign Affairs

Undersecretary Magallona commended the organizers of the conference for  the timeliness of the conference given  the increase in the number of Filipino migrants  over the last decade.  He noted that there are now more  than seven (7) million Filipinos who have gone  abroad mainly for  economic reasons.   He cited the high social costs of labor migration, and especially that  sixty(60) percent of Filipino  migrant workers are women. 

Philippine  foreign policy has put into focus the protection and welfare of  OFWs but there is still a need to further improve the delivery of protective measures. There is a need to expand  understanding of the whole gamut surrounding migration so that  its role in Philippine development could be fully appreciated.

Undersecretary Magallona advocated for the need of a larger policy framework  to effectively respond to the issues of migration. On the other hand,  he pointed out that  existing policy responses may not measure up to the situation due to   the immensity of the issues on migration.

He pointed out that while the  Department of Foreign Affairs continues to pursue an assistance program for migrant workers, he  stressed that  it is essential to look into how the large number of Filipino migrants could  be consolidated into communities equipped with a significant measure of empowerment and self-reliance. 

He was confident on the  prospect for an international consultative conference that will  serve as a forum for  policy proposals, which could  be organized by Filipino migrant communities.  (See Annex 13 for copy of speech)

Presentation VI

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration

Wilhelm Soriano

Administrator

Mr. Soriano’s presentation focused mainly on the mandate of OWWA as an agency tasked to look after the welfare of Filipinos working overseas.  The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration or OWWA is unique because it is only in the Philippines that there is such an agency.    The presentation also gave background information on why OWWA was established.  The organization is under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and has a twin agency, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) that  regulates recruitment agencies and enforces  laws and regulations concerning overseas employment.   OWWA was formed  in 1977 and has its own set of  Board of Trustees.  He  discussed the four (4) main objectives of the organization as well as its major programs and services on social and welfare protection. 

Presentation VII

Community & Partnership: The Linkapil Experience on Building Partnerships Between OFWs & Philippine Communities

Ma. Corazon C.  Rodolfo

Director, Commission on Filipinos Overseas

Ms. Rodolfo expressed the view that the conference theme is fitting and timely in view of the continuing developments on Filipino migration.   From the perspective of the CFO, Filipino migration refers to permanent settlers, temporary migrants and irregular migrants found in 150 countries.  The more than seven (7) million Filipinos working overseas grow at an average of 3.3 million annually. 

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) was created in 1980 as a mechanism to facilitate the involvement of Overseas Filipinos  in the national development agenda.  One of its major programs is LINKAPIL, an acronym for “Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino.” 

As a structure to enhance participation of overseas Filipinos in making contributions to national development, LINKAPIL’s beneficiaries include the less developed communities, socio-economic organizations, research institutions and disadvantaged but deserving individuals.  The program addresses the following needs:

1.      livelihood through “Tulong Pangkabuhayan”

2.      education through “Adopt a Scholar or Sulong Talino”

3.      health and welfare through “Tulong Pangkalusugan”

4.      infrastructure through “Probinsiya ko, Sagot Ko”

5.      technology and skills through “Bahagiang Kaalaman”

CFO is also involved in sourcing contributions in cash and in kind from overseas to support projects such as  the distribution of personal computers to public schools,  an inter-agency project that  aims to  improve  computer literacy  in  public schools in  16 regions of  the  Philippines.

Over the last decade, CFO received Php 1.014 billion in donations that were distributed to 70 different provinces in the country, with Luzon receiving 80% of the total donations.  Mindanao received 7% of the total donation.

According to Ms. Rodolfo, these material donations  are evidence   that   there is no lack of desire on the part of the OFs to  help in the development of  their home country.  (See Annex 14 for handout and presentation materials)

Mobilizing Overseas Filipino Resources for Micro finance & Countryside Development

            Dr. Mario Lamberte, Ph.D.

            President

            Philippine Institute for Development Studies

Dr. Lamberte began his presentation with a recognition of the fact that the OFWs contribute not only to the economies of their host countries but also, and most importantly, to the economy  of their home  country.   The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded the  total remittances of OFWs in 1998 at  US$ 7.4 billion.  He noted  that the figure presented refers only to the amount remitted through the banking system.  A large amount, which are sent though other informal means, could have made the BSP figure much higher.  In an earlier study conducted by the presentor,  he  found that although there is a great impact of OFWs remittances on consumption at the household level, there is no strong evidence that will reflect on  the  impact of remittances to the country’s productive capacity.  In view of this, Dr. Lamberte  made a concrete proposal for OFWs to put their surplus earnings  into long-term investments and business opportunities.

Concretely, he proposes that  OFWs  establish or acquire a bank that will provide services specifically to OFWs and even non-OFWs.  The interest in organizing such bank should come from the OFWs themselves.  It is important to furnish the OFWs the necessary information that they would need to make the decision.  This could be done through a  series of seminars and conferences that could be organized by  NGOs, the banking sector and concerned government agencies.    Although about 300 rural banks have closed due to mismanagement, the OFW rural bank should be able to provide some of the services commercial banks are offering and should cater not only to OFW remittances but  to other clients as well.  More importantly, he stressed that an OFW rural bank should be organized in a way that OFWs will only serve as investors or stockholders.   He emphasized the importance for such a bank to  adhere to good corporate governance practices, such as appointing independent directors and hiring professional managers and staff to manage the day-to-day affairs of the bank.   (See Annex 15 for handout and presentation materials)

Lunch: During the lunch hour,  the ERCOF website was officially launched by Ildefonso Bagasao and Sabrina Cruz-Yu.

Sabrina Cruz-Yu, ERCOF IT consultant based in Rome, Italy, provided a brief overview of the ERCOF website  which she helped to set up with Phil Online, an internet server company based in the Philippines. Phil Online provided its initial services in designing the website as its contribution to ERCOF. Sabrina emphasized that the website can be used as the main tool for communication links in ERCOF given its pervasive effect and potential outreach.  She also stated that there need not be any feeling of competition among groups doing similar work, but rather complementation of efforts towards countryside development.

The ERCOF website’s design features presently caters to a broad  market with the following sections:

· Products & Services: Resource Section

· Legal, Business, & Personal Finance and Investment Consulting via online query forms

· Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs )

· “Today I Would Like To” Section

A possible vision for future site and improvements on the current site include:

· Enhancements of  Products/Services to OFs which can provide more information for OFs online;

· Create database of services wherein OFs can send in their queries;

· Feature more services available to OFs, NGO and communities served, e.g.

TESDA, TLRC, NRSBL, NEDA, DBP, Land Bank existing Small

Business Advisories (SBAs) of schools, private groups, etc.

· “Today I Would Like To” portion can add:

·  Remittance of money

·  Applying for a loan

· Database section for Working Papers, Books resources

· Personal , Business Online Consultations , Chats

Web statistics are also included in the site, e.g., number of hits are broken down for example, by geographic location, by time, by browser type etc which give an indication of the number of people who have shown interest in the website.

Sabrina stressed that much more can be done with the utilization of the Internet in this Information Age, so that ERCOF can better serve and link the local rural counterparts of Overseas Filipinos.  

 Open Forum

            April 11, p.m.

Q-J. Concepcion (NEDA):  I’m an international student who came back after my postgraduate studies in Seoul, Korea.  I  learned of the plight of overseas workers in Seoul.  They work 6 days a week and their employers are strict when they take time for day off.  Their Sundays are spent to go to church or send money home.  Is there a possibility for the Philippine Embassy opening on a Sunday to facilitate renewal of passports and other visa requirements? 

A-M. Magallona:     In our consultation in Europe, Middle East and other countries, this request was already put forward.  Some adjustments were made in Tokyo and Hong Kong.  Some hours on Saturdays were open.  But on Sundays, we were compelled not to open the office because this decision will affect most diplomatic posts.  Thus, any view of this matter will be discussed in the home office and any decision will have to be implemented in host countries. 

A-W. Soriano:                        In Seoul, the office of OWWA is only a satellite station.     Consultation on that matter will be done between the diplomatic posts and the community so that we can effectively address the issue.

Q-Gerry:        We already have e-commerce.  Can business registration be applied on line with DTI or passports be applied by OFs in various embassies on line?  If there are complaints, will emails be considered as a formal letter?  How can we maximize e-commerce for the OFs?

A-M. Magallona:     There are still no rules for  implementation.  Our office will go into machine-readable passports.  It is an embarrassing experience to see so many people line-up as early as 1:00 am because we can only process 3,000 passports a day.

A-W. Soriano:                        In terms of overseas employment, DOLE has created a Technical Working Group that will look into the possibility of issuing OFW ID cards.  It will be  electronic that can be used in cash machines, accepted at duty free shops and,  in the future,  an electronic airline tickets where OFWs can be exempted in travel taxes.  DOLE is working on e-commerce too.

Q-B. Fernandez:       There is a union of seafarers and their wives in the conference.  Can they be  part of the organizing committee for the National Seafarers’ Congress?

A-M. Magallona:     The Seafarers’ Wives Association is part of the national organizing committee.  We already have a Technical Working Group and with defined tasks and assignments.  The Congress is sponsored by DFA, Office of the Vice-President, OWWA, CFO, and Apostleship of the Sea. 

Q-T. Liamzon:             There are several ongoing discussions regarding the setting up of a migrants’ bank.  In ERCOF, we have been discussing such possibility to attract migrants’ savings.   It is relatively easy to start a bank but in the long run it is difficult to sustain.  Are there existing  policies to encourage rural banks and other banks to assist OFs more systematically?  Can we draw up policies that can push these banks or other financial institutions to provide more services to OFs? 

A-M. Lamberte:        We should encourage OFs to set up  community-based rural banks that can provide services to the community.  These banks should be managed by professional bankers.  Borrowers and savers should be monitored.  As to the policy, foreign transactions in rural banks are not allowed by law. The  Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas should rethink this  policy.    Aside from the provision of basic services, it can also provide access to credit facilities.  It should be a bank that understands  the needs of OFs.

Presentation IX

            Federation of People’s Sustainable Development Cooperative

           (FPSDC)

            Emma Lim- Sandrino

               Executive Director, FPSDC

FPSDC has  supported a total of 113 projects in micro finance, agricultural marketing, and manufacturing and socialized housing  and has provided total loans amounting to P 180 M.  An FPSDC study indicated that OF remittances  have not been tapped to the fullest, thus,  a social investment program (SIP)has been  recommended.  The program will entail amalgamating small monies from OFWs, and these collective savings will be used to extend loans to small and medium enterprises. The possible mechanisms illustrated included the individual investor model, single intermediary model, multiple intermediary model, and free trade model.  These models provided varying set-ups of handling savings and investments for productive use.  However, each model has its own advantages, disadvantages and risks.  A proposed Entre-Workers Cooperative (EWC) model  was presented wherein migrant workers pool their resources, engage in entrepreneurial projects   and serve as the workforce for their own business enterprise.  One example using this model is a cooperative formed by OFs from Qatar to set up an  automotive workshop in Manila, which is still operational up to this time.  (See Annex 16 for handout and presentation materials)

Presentation X

            Overseas Filipinos-Cooperatives Linkages

            Fr. Emeterio J. Barcelon, S.J.

            Executive Director

            Milamdec Foundation, Cagayan de Oro City

MILAMDEC  is an organization engaged in  micro-finance, which has a clientele of  about  9,000 including women market vendors who have shown their incredible ability to pay their debts.  Milamdec established the Tibod project in 1992 ,  a replication of the Grameen bank scheme that provides loans to very small  borrowers  for livelihood projects, essentially for creating their own jobs. During the first year ,  repayment rate was close to 100% but on the second and third years it dropped to about 60%, a non-viable level, similar to  the experience of many small loans schemes of NGOs and cooperatives in the Philippines. In Bangladesh, threat of reporting to the village headman was enough for the borrowers to pay, a factor that   did not  and does not work in the Philippines.  Looking closer into the problem, Tibod found that what works for the Filipino is appealing to “utang na loob”and “pakikisama”(gratitude and maintaining good relations) rather than threats. Once this was implemented, the repayment rate on loans without collateral has stayed at over 95%. Tibod has few studies on the investments and/or loans to small or cottage level projects, but found that  prevalent loans and a collateral based  approach has not worked, obviously because at these levels there are none or very little in assets that small entrepreneur-borrowers  could  put up as collateral.

The high repayment rate was also attributed to the uniform and strict implementation of controls and weekly mandatory amortization payments.  Fr. Barcelon observed  that the Filipino poor who borrow at least P 5,000 for livelihood, are very good payers.  To emphasize a non traditional approach, he stressed that the key is not to threaten them with sanctions  in case of delinquency but to adopt the  TDK approach  or “Tutok, Dikit, Kulit” system, roughly translated as” Close in- Stick to them and Nag“.

Milamdec has some investment risk money but it is too small to give this scheme a chance to succeed.  It needs to leverage its funds.  Here is where investment money from overseas workers could be of great help.   They will not only help establish individual projects and create jobs for those who are not capable of being entrepreneurs, but also participate in a scheme that has a chance of changing the face of the country’s economy.

The proposal is to try out a scheme to invest in cottage and small industry level entrepreneurs, i.e. $100 to $10,000 projects that promise  a return of 100% a year after the first year. Since these are high-risk investments, in spite of a lot of hand holding and monitoring, a third of these projects should be assumed to fail. The other two thirds must make enough to make up for the losses. Should this scheme be successful, it will harness a sector of the Philippine economy that could lift the nation out of poverty.  But this needs to be tried on a large enough scale, of at least 30 to 100 projects over a two- year period.  

Small contributions if gathered together can be big enough to try this scheme., creating jobs and at the same time,  prove profitable for the investors.

Open Forum

Q-D. Vertido: The alternatives and options are clear.  Social capital formation is tremendous.  The idea of investment papers for rural development is good.  Is there a paper that migrant workers can buy immediately?

A-Fr. Barcelon:That paper exists.  There are 10-year government bonds.  Recently, they have offered 7-year bonds that gives you interest above inflation with less risk.  There are also specialized mutual funds from companies who sell blue chips and other shares.  We have to create new papers or financial instruments. 

A-E. Lim-Sandrino:With regards government bonds, there are many groups working with the poor that have no information on this.

Q-Ramon: Why did Mindanao receive only 7% of CFO donations? 

A-Fr. Barcelon: In the agriculture budget, 34% should ideally go to Mindanao but we were given only 27%.   With regards budget, I suggest that we lobby directly with the  department Secretaries because they make the budget and it is too late to approach Senators and Congressmen.

A-C. Rodolfo: Only 7% was given to Mindanao because most donations were attributed to the Mt. Pinatubo Calamity.  Linkapil assistance went first to these affected areas.  Starting 1997, donors were aware of  the Mindanao situation.  We now have livelihood assistance in Surigao and we are targeting for an increase in assistance to Mindanao.

A-E. Lim-Sandrino: More than 50% of FPSDC assistance goes to Mindanao on agriculture projects.

R-Engr. Ramirez:We  invested money in Petron and GSIS mutual funds.  However, Erap spent most of the money.  We do not know about government bonds for OFWs to buy.  Kindly give us information.

R-E. Lim-Sandrino: I affirm the need for information.  When we make investments, we need to get good information first.

R-Engr. Ramirez: We need a massive information drive.  We only know about ships but do not know about stocks.  We just get them(information) from the newspapers.

R-B. Maata(Phil-German fund):     Given all presentations, analysis should be based on the theme – on the concept of linking with rural communities.  We should prepare our local communities for the possible entry of investments.   Our problem at present is that communities are not yet prepared for investment projects.

A-Fr. Barcelon:          Buy government bonds.  The effect of that will be that,  interest rate or inflation will go down, this way we are helping the countryside and rural communities.

A-E. Lim-Sandrino:    There is a problem of absorptive capacities of rural communities .  A lot of efforts by various organization and development NGOs to help prepare rural communities have already been done but the potential of  these areas can only be maximized up to a certain level.

R-T. Barro:       We need to spend more time for pre-departure orientation and reintegration.  OFW funds are the biggest.  OFWs can maximize their investments if they are channeled properly.  Rather than looking for foreign investors, we should look at our own backyard, our OFWs.

R-Fr. Barcelon:          This country or our economy will not be saved by big industries but by cottage and small and medium enterprises.

Workshop 2