FPOP Holds RH/HR Conference for Migrant Workers and Their Families

The last 3 decades bore witness to an unprecedented exodus of Filipino workers to other countries.  They carried with them the hope of a better life and the promise that land is greener on the other side.  These perceived opportunities, however, come at a price.  Families are separated; husbands are left without wives, wives without husbands, and children without parents.  The tide has shifted and Philippine society as we know it 30 years ago ceased to be.  Every single member of the family is thrust into unfamiliar situations.  

There were issues, unwittingly or unknowingly taken for granted, that have found its way to our consciousness.  Among these issues is the need for reproductive health (RH) and human rights (HR) services.  To address the need for RH and HR advocacy and services would require collective action among government agencies and the civil society both at the home front and the receiving countries.  This is precisely what the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP) sought to jumpstart when it hosted a conference under the project entitled “Reproductive Health and Human Rights Advocacy, Protection and Services for Overseas Domestic Workers” or RHAPSODY.

The conference carried the theme “Towards More Responsive Sexuality and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) Policies and Programs for Migrant Workers and Their Families”.  The event, which was held at the FPOP Conference Hall in Quezon City last 14 December 2009, was attended by representatives from NGOs working on women’s health, human rights, and migration, the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration, left-behind families (husbands and children), and staff of FPOP chapters in Baguio-Benguet, Pampanga, and Pangasinan.
Through the conference, FPOP sought to develop a policy and program framework addressing the SRHR situation of migrant workers and left behind families.  Specifically, the conference was organized to:

1. identify important issues and challenges affecting SRHR of migrant workers and left behind families based on studies conducted by FPOP and other organizations and individuals;
2. formulate a policy and program framework addressing SRHR problems and needs of migrant workers and left behind families;
3. come up with an initial advocacy agenda and communication plan on promoting SRHR of migrant workers and left behind families; and
4. set up a mechanism that will follow up and see through the implementation of the advocacy agenda/communication plan.

At the onset, participants were provided a background on the migration situation in the Philippines through the following presentations:

1. Labor Migration Aspects of Domestic Work by Mr. Ricardo Casco, Labor Migration Specialist of IOM;
2. Feminization of Migration by Prof. Malou Alcid of the University of the Philippines-College of Social Work and Development; and
3. Adolescent Sexuality and Reproductive Health Rights by Atty. Claire Luczon of Women’s Legal Education and Defense Foundation, Inc. (WomenLEAD).

This was followed by testimonies from a left behind husband and a child from RHAPSODY pilot areas and presentations on research results from partner NGOs and FPOP’s own research on left behind families.  The Overseas Workers’s Welfare Administrationshared government’s existing migration policies and responses, followed by a presentation on NGOs responses to migration issues.

Towards the end of the conference, the participants agreed that indeed a one-day conference to discuss a three-decade situation is not enough.  Those present called for a second round of discussion to tackle and review more closely and exhaustively the recommendations forwarded during the conference.   The RHAPSODY conference ended with individuals coming from different sectors singing the same tune on the SRHR of migrant workers and their left behind families.