MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 8, 2013) – The United Filipinos in Hong Kong-Migrante said it is supporting calls by overseas Filipino workers to halt all remittances to the Philippines as a show of protest against corruption in government and the pork barrel scandal involving legislators.
“We do not labor overseas and endure separation from our loved ones just so government officials can plunder public funds or so Aquino can uphold the corrupt pork barrel system,” Eman Villanueva, the group’s Secretary General, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
Filipinos around the world have called for a “Zero Remittance Day” on September 19.
“Our money is not meant to feed the greed of the corrupt and the plunderers. The billions of dollars of remittance that we send and the billions of pesos more generated from the long list of fees that the government charges to OFWs that help keep the economy afloat are not meant to keep a thriving corrupt system of governance,” Villanueva said.
Manila has downplayed the threats of OFWs and various migrants groups.
“OFW money may go directly to our family but remittance records are also used by this government to bloat up its earnings that in turn improves its credit standing. We supply the dollars that prevent the peso from total collapse. Aquino and his mouthpiece, (Presidential Spokesman Edwin) Lacierda, are not fooling us with their uncaring projection for the truth is they are scared out of their wits by the zero remittance day action,” Villanueva said.
According to Villanueva, OFWs are angered by the continuing corruption, slow prosecution of culprits, and Aquino’s special treatment of Janet Napoles, who is being accused as behind bogus nongovernmental organizations where lawmakers channeled their development funds for spurious projects.
He said Filipino migrants are deprived of basic support and services to protect their well-being and human rights, lives of OFWs are endangered due to lack of funds for repatriation, and families of OFWs struggle to make ends meet with skyrocketing of goods, utilities and services, “while billions of pesos are in the coffers of government officials with Aquino leading the pack for the advancement of their own agenda.”
“Aquino’s unwillingness to totally abolish the pork barrel system comes from the fact that his own pork barrel is the biggest and he uses it to maintain and strengthen patronage politics to ultimately serve the comprador and landlord elites benefiting from a system that remains backward and foreign-dominated,” Villanueva said.
He also called on OFWs to join the protest and other actions in pursuit of the abolition of the pork barrel system, prosecution of the corrupt government officials and the re-channeling of funds to direct services to the people including overseas Filipinos.
“Let us continue our fight against the massive corruption and against government officials who capitalize on their position to plunder the economy and steal the Filipino people’s money. Together with our families in the Philippines let us express our collective indignation against this ‘pork barrel system’ that aggravates our vulnerable situation and our long separation from our families,” Villanueva said.
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