RIYADH, 16 August 2004 — Taking action to facilitate assistance to distressed migrant workers, overseas Filipinos are volunteering to shell out SR23 a week for text or voice communication between Saudi Arabia and crisis intervention groups in Manila.
Called “Share-a-load,” the initiative involves donors send free cell phone load every Saturday to the Central for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) in Manila.
“The program aims to support the inter-communication needs between community leaders in the Kingdom and Manila-based CMA especially in the exchange of inputs regarding distressed OFW cases, which need day-to-day update, status and follow-ups with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and their attached agencies on site,” explained Rashid Fabricante of Pusong Mamon Task Force.
“On several occasions, I had witnessed how these wonderful people perform their job in Manila advancing migrant advocacies,” said Vic Barrazona, co-proponent of the program, who was in Manila weeks ago.
Barrazona was referring to Ellene Sana, CMA executive director, and her staff whom he called the “foot soldiers” assisting migrant workers in their problems and promoting other migrant advocacies in the Philippines.
CMA is a non-stock, non-profit, non-government organization and employs volunteers to support its staff work. The group was in the forefront of migrant advocacy particularly in lobbying for Republic Act 9189, or the Absentee Voting Act of 2003, from the committee to bicameral hearings, until it was signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in early 2003.
Barrazona had already sent his “free load” share last week and promised to queue again for his next turn. So far, Fabricante has received 16 pledges, who have voluntarily promised to send a 300-peso Globe prepaid card. The donor will send the load to CMA via cell phone number 00639174481464 on a rotational basis.
“We are just being sensitive to the needs of our friends and colleagues in the advocacy wherever they are, who, like us live and operate day-to-day in a community work whose only foundation is commitment to serve and be of service to our country and people,” Fabricante said.
He added that the initiative is voluntary in nature and does not affect in anyway the productive alliance and working relationship community leaders in the Kingdom have with Ellene Sana.
“The effort is not being asked, demanded, warranted, or a pre-requisite of CMA,” he said.
“Networking jobs have inherent cost and it has never been free as manifested by our own 24-hour effort in the kingdom especially the current security situation exchanges where some of us have been with the crisis committee since 1991 up to the last Gulf War, and the series of shootings and bombings that followed through culminating to the Angelo dela Cruz case and the fate of 10 truck trailer drivers in Iraq,” Fabricante said in his earlier call for groups and individuals to participate and share in the program.
OFWs who wish to “share” a free load are encouraged to e-mail Fabricante at [email protected] and have a Saturday slot assigned in their names.
