(Exclusive to The SUN)
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| The preferred unit occupies an entire floor in United Centre, and is as big as the Consulate |
Administrator
Arnell Ignacio of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has unveiled
plans to set up an OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) Center in Hong Kong soon, at
one of the priciest districts in the city. If it pushes through, it will be the
first OFW Center to be set up by the country abroad.
Administrator
Ignacio, along with his top officials in Hong Kong, took The SUN along on
Monday, Jun 3, to view a 20,000-square-foot unit occupying an entire floor in
United Centre in Admiralty which appears likely to be the site of the planned
OFW center.
“It can function
(to serve) so many needs of our OFWs and at least, disenteng disente, at pwede nilang tambayan…and they can call it
their own,” said Ignacio. (At least it’s very decent and they can hang out
there and call it their own)
The asking price
for the entire floor, is $8 million for one year (or more than P5 million a
month), which, even if lower per sq ft than the rent for the Migrant Workers
Office which occupies half the space in the same building, is still hefty. But
this does not seem to faze Ignacio.
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| Ignacio in a huddle with the property agent and contractor of the $8 million-a-year property |
“Ang bagong head ng OFW Committee, si
Congressman (Jude) Acidre at si Congresswoman Yedda (Romualdez), kasama natin
sa pagbubuo nitong OFW Center in Hong Kong because recently they were here, and
medyo nabagabag ang loob nila (dahil) nakita nila ang ating mga kababayan kung
saan-saan,” said Ignacio.
(The new head of
the OFW Committee in Congress, Rep. Jude Acidre and Rep. Yedda Romualdez (both
from Tingog Party List), are working with us in setting up the OFW Center in
Hong Kong because recently they were here, and they were bothered seeing our
migrant workers spending their day-off all over the place).
He said he was
confident that Senator Raffy Tulfo who heads the Migrant Workers Committee in
the Senate will also approve the plan, as it is also being supported by the
House Speaker, Martin Romualdez and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos.
“Kasi gusto niya (President Marcos), alagaan
ang mga OFWs,” said Ignacio. (It’s because the President wants us to take
good care of our OFWs).
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| OWWA officers talk about the planned activities for the OFW Center |
The OWWA chief
plans to provide various services at the Center, including free medical
consultation with a Philippine doctor, trainings and seminars on various topics
essential or useful to OFWs, a lit stage where beauty contests and other
community-driven activities could he held, a room with fake grass that can
simulate the outdoors, and another where they can de-stress.
He acknowledged
that stress levels in Hong Kong are high, so he wants OWWA to be “the immediate
part of the solution.”
“Kailangan masasalo natin agad ang kanilang
problema,” he said (We should be able to immediately respond to their problems).
But it is
precisely because of this high stress level that he thinks it is equally important
to hold events that make the OFWs smile, like the Philippine Migrant Workers
Day celebration organized by OWWA last Sunday on Chater Road in Central.
According to
him, the happiness that the whole-day festivity brought to the thousands of OFWs
who were there would be remembered for many weeks to come.
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| Ignacio having fun with Consul General Germie Usudan at OFW Day on Chater Road |
“
Hindi mababaw ang epekto ng entertainment,”
said Ignacio, a former TV entertainer and host who revealed that he used to be
part of OWWA’s “Balik Saya” program that brought entertainers to various parts
of the world to entertain OFWs.
But he said OWWA
does not intend to merely entertain OFWs, but to also provide fast and
responsive action to address their concerns, like the excessive borrowing many
of them fall prey to, leading to more serious problems like the recent string
of suicides among HK OFWs.
“It’s always a
comprehensive approach,” he said in describing how OWWA responds to problems
confronting migrant workers in distress. But the operative word, according to
him, is “fast” – or “mabilisan lahat.”
Currently, the
Bayanihan Centre Foundation is running an activity center for foreign domestic
workers occupying an entire disused school in Kennedy Town, which the Hong Kong
government is providing rent-free.
But Ignacio said
the common feedback that he gets from OFWs is that it is “too far”, so that
they prefer to hang out on the streets and pavements of Central on their days
off instead.
He is confident the proposed site for the new OFW Center would entice
most of them to get off the streets, and into OWWA’s caring space.
