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For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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Filipino priests leave RP to work overseas
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MANILA --- Filipino professsionals such as doctors, nurses and engineers are not the only ones leaving for abroad to seek better opportunities. Nowadays, the “brain drain” exodus includes Filipino Catholic priests.
Teodoro Bacani, Bishop Emeritus of Novaliches, expressed alarm last week over the phenomenon of Filipino priests going abroad and working overseas, many of them in the United States.
The Manila Standard Today quoted the bishop as saying that priests are leaving the country at an alarming rate, which he said and aggravating the current shortage in Philippine Catholic churches.
Bishop Bacani said one diocese alone in California has more than 40 Filipino priests serving as parish priests and doing other ecclesiastical work.
The retired bishop said that the 40 Filipino priests in that California diocese are enough to serve one Philippine diocese. He said that there must be hundreds of Filipino priests now working in the whole United States.
In a radio interview, Bishop Bacani said that the recruitment by American dioceses of Filipinos is not limited to priests.
He revealed that US Catholic churches are also recruiting seminarians who are offered scholarships to study in American seminaries with the commitment to serve in the diocese which shouldered his studies after he finished his theology course.
Bishop Bacani said Filipino priests finds it difficult to refuse offers from US-based Catholic dioceses. The “recruiters” offer to work on the immigration papers as well as free airfare.
American Catholic churches, which are the richest in the world, also provide for all the needs of their priests including comfortable accommodation, generous allowances, a car and other needs.
Bacani said particularly vulnerable are priests who are assigned to poor parishes and who must get other jobs for their needs.
He cited the example of one assigned in Laguna who had to work as a jeepney driver on the side to augment whatever contributions he gets from his parishioners. Bacani said this story is repeated in poor communities all over the Philippines.
Seminarians are even more vulnerable, the bishop said. “Just the prospect of a scholarship would make many of them jump at the offer. They do not have to go around, as many of them do, to ask for contributions to finance their studies,” he said.
Many of the Filipino priests are serving in communities where there are large numbers of Filipino parishioners, Bacani said In fact, in many American Catholic churches, it is the Filipino churchgoers who are keeping them open.
Imus, Cavite Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on the Doctrine of Faith, during the National Congress of the Clergy at the World Trade Center said the exodus of priests is ironic because before, it was Europe and America who were sending missionaries to the Philippines. “But now we are the ones sending priests to them,” he said.
He said many churches in the US would have closed down but for the Filipinos who are keeping many of them open. He said these churches remain open not only because of the growing Filipino attendance but also because of the recruitment of Filipino priests.
The sheer number of Filipino-Americans has forced parishes to recognize their presence. For example, in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Filipinos comprise approximately 18 percent of the church-going population. Many dioceses in the US have offices that focus on Filipino ministries.
A survey conducted in 1995 showed that there were approximately 300 Filipino priests, brothers, and deacons, and 200 sisters in the US. Many of these priests were appointed parish priests and many religious were appointed Catholic school principals and many Filipinos hold responsible positions in diocesan chanceries.
The exodus of Filipino priests, however, would exacerbate the shortage of priests in the Philippines. The CBCP estimates a shortfall of 25,000 priests. The current ratio is one priest per 15,000 parishioners. This is far from ideal since the ideal ratio is one priest for every 2,000 commissioners.
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Jersey City, NEW JERSEY --- Concerned about discrimination on immigrants, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has stepped up campaigns to oppose a tight immigration control in Congress, saying it could jeopardize life-saving help being given by many church groups.
At the same time, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce expressed disappointment over the bill, requiring employers to verify the status of workers before hiring because this could lead to more job shortage, a blow to many employers.
Congress passed a harsh bill for immigrants last month (HR 4437), calling for construction of 700 miles of fence along the border and stringent measures to stop employers from hiring undocumented workers, at the same time making church or lawyer or any groups criminally liable for aiding illegal immigrants.
“While the USCCB has great respect for the authors of H.R. 4437 and knows they are well intentioned, we believe that enactment of H.R. 4437 would bring about serious and severe consequences for immigrants and the nation,” the USCCB said in a statement.
“It is an extremely punitive bill which is far broader than illegal immigration and, if enacted, would unduly harm immigrants and their families, even those who are currently lawful residents,” the USCCB added.
The USCCB said the the bishops are deeply disappointed by the bill’s enforcement-only focus and absence of reforms in the U.S. legal immigration system “that would address our current immigration problems more comprehensively.”
Under House Resolution 4437, groups such as church organizations and advocacy groups providing help to illegal immigrants are criminally liable for “human smuggling”.
Immigration lawyer Modesto Balajadia said HR 4437 is not the solution.
“Nobody wants this bill except the Republicans. How can they arrest and imprison eleven million people? That would cost billions of dollars to the government,” the Staten Island-based lawyer said.
He said that giving legal status to undocumented immigrants would actually benefit the US, “Since the Social Security is getting bankrupt, the US government can legalize the undocumented immigrants so they can contribute,” Balajadia said.
To rally support from immigrants, the USCCB has declared January 8-14 as National Migration Week, to focus on solidarity with immigrants and refugees.
In announcing the upcoming 25th annual weeklong observation with its theme “Journey to Justice,” Bishop Gerald B. Barnes of San Bernardino, Calif., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, said all people are called to make a journey “in solidarity with migrants, immigrants, refugees, human trafficking victims and other people on the move seeking justice and peace.”
“Never has this call to solidarity been needed more than today,” he added. “Too often those who have come to our land seeking a better life for themselves and their families face discrimination and exploitation,” Bishop Barnes said.
Debates on immigration are expected to heat up in Congress as the issue has divided both parties. A bipartisan solution is greatly needed to enact a law that would reform the immigration system rocked with loopholes and inequality.
Conservatives want to stop the flow of illegal immigrants that strain the education system.
Hardline conservatives want to make illegal immigrants criminally liable while liberals want to give illegal immigrants a chance to earn legal status that could allow them to have green cards and be U.S. citizens.
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) And Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) sponsored bills that would create such a program, allowing law-abiding immigrants who pay taxes to earn their greencards.
Although conservatives oppose this bill, saying it will grant amnesty, the McCain-Kenney bill has a broader support of many Hispanic groups, advocacy and activist groups , labor, church , and lawyers immigration groups.
Marketwatch reported that the Chamber of Commerce is backing the guest worker program of President Bush, which it said it believes gives hope to undocumented immigrants already working in the U.S.
Many of these hardworking undocumented immigrants are toiling in jobs Americans don’t want to take. In reality, these highly motivated workers energize the economy.
Marketwatch said American employers were facing an overall labor shortage, which would be exacerbated as the Baby Boom generation nears retirement.
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JEDDAH --- The ordeal of a 64-year-old Filippino woman forced to work for no pay by her Saudi employer for 18 years has ended, thanks to the help of a friend and a Philippines diplomat.
Upon learning of Leonora Somera’s plight, Philippines Embassy labor attache, Bulyok Nilong, dispatched a welfare officer to the town of Al-Baha, 275 kilometers south of Jeddah to rescue her. But because the official was not authorized to enter the house of Somera’s employer, she had to make her own escape. She was later taken to a Filipino workers’ resource center, the Saudi Daily Arab News reported.
“When Leonora came to the centre on 1 Dec., she was literally skin and bones. She was crying all the time, especially when she recalled what had happened to her. She was also shaking,” said Phiippines embassy official Pearl Panganiban.
“I conducted a series of crisis interventions, stress debriefing and counselling. We also provided her some basic necessities she needed because she didn’t bring any when she came,” Panganiban, said adding that Leonora also underwent a health check-up at a hospital.
Somera’s nightmare began 18 years ago when she left the Philippines for Saudi Arabia to find a job and earn some money to give her then 6-year-old daughter Marivic a brighter future.
After working diligently for her employer for two years, he died and his son moved to Al-Bahah. He brought Somera along and that is when her suffering began.
“There, my work became harder. I washed clothes, ironed them, and then I shepherded a flock of more than 45 sheep and goats. This is on top of taking care of the sick uncle of my employer,” she told Arab News in her native language, Tagalog.
“Every day, I tended the flock, took them to the mountains and herded them. I also fed them with vegetables that I begged from my friends in the market. I didn’t have money to buy food because my employer din’t give me any and neither did he pay me my salary.”
Without money, Somera had to scavenge for food. She told how she rummaged among the vegetables and fruits and picked those that were still edible.
“I made a makeshift pushcart that I used to bring the vegetables from the market to our house. I would go back and forth at least five times a day. Then I would look for vegetables and fruits that I could eat. Sometimes when I had more than I could eat, I would give them to our neighbors,” she said.
Somera described how her employer deprived her of money.
“Once I told my employer that I needed money for my daughter’s examinations in school, but he didn’t give me any. I cried and I cried, but he never gave the money that I requested.”
Through these years, Somera could only write to her daughter back home occasionally, telling her she was alive. She said she wanted to write her regularly but she didn’t have money for stamps.
When Leonora finally found the courage to demand that she be allowed to return home, in 2003, her employer told her bluntly that he couldn’t because all her documents including her passport had been “lost.” With the help of a woman friend called Vilma, Somera managed to contact the Philippines Embassy, and began the process which has led to her freedom.
She is now anxious to return home to the Philippines to be reunited with her daughter who is now 24 years old.
Hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Kenya migrate voluntarily to Saudi Arabia. Some fall into conditions of involuntary servitude, suffering from physical and sexual abuse, non-payment or delayed payment of wages, the withholding of travel documents, restrictions on their freedom of movement and non-consensual contract alterations.
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Houston, TEXAS --- Moved by the devastation and suffering wrought by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a Filipino business and civic leader in Dallas mobilized a contingent of Filipino wireless engineers to New Orleans and surrounding cities to help rebuild communication facilities destroyed by the deadly hurricanes. Gus Mercado, chairman and CEO of Datalogix Texas, was one of the first telecom subcontractors to volunteer to help in the reconstruction of the flood-ravaged communities of southern Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.
“We are blessed that the spirit of volunteerism is very strong among our employees, many of whom have experience rebuilding cell sites destroyed by strong typhoons and tsunamis that frequently visit the Philippine islands,” Mercado said.
“This is our small way of repaying this nation that has been good to Filipino immigrants like us and our Filipino engineers.”
Datalogix is a thriving 12-year-old IT and telecom consulting company owned by Mercado and his wife, Ethel, who serves as president and CFO.
According to Mercado, working in and around New Orleans, even after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have subsided, remains an extremely difficult job. It requires not only very high-level technical troubleshooting skills, but also mental toughness and a strong resolve to help people in need.
There was looting everywhere, and for a long time, food, potable water, gasoline and other supplies were very scarce.
The companies that Datalogix employees work for (T-Mobile and Cingular Wireless) could not provide housing for them. There were no hotel rooms for hundreds of miles, especially with the government’s recent decision to extend free hotel rent for 127,000 evacuees.
“Our engineers had to sleep in trailers or in their SUVs, or rent very expensive hotel rooms many miles away, but our guys are tough and devoted to their mission,” Mercado added.
The Mercados also actively supported the Houston-based Filipino Disaster Relief-Texas and housed six families in their new home in Lantana, Texas, during the hurricane Rita stampede. (Fil-Am Press)
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