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Nora Aunor, group mark Flor Contemplacion’s 20th death anniversary with protest march
By RIE TAKUMI, GMA News
(Updated 5:32 p.m.) Joined by noted veteran actress Nora Aunor, a migrant workers' advocacy group on Tuesday commemorated the 20th death anniversary of overseas Filipino worker Flor Contemplacion with a protest march and a call for President Benigno Aquino III's resignation.
In a statement prepared for the occasion, Migrante International accused Aquino of espousing "forced migration and modern-day slavery" through "aggressive labor export" policies.
Contemplacion was executed in Singapore on March 17, 1995 after she was convicted for killing fellow Filipino domestic helper Delia Maga and Maga's four-year-old Singaporean charge in May 1991.
Though Contemplacion reportedly confessed to the crime, there were reports quoting witnesses that said she was coerced and that Huang's father strangled Maga after his child drowned in the bathtub under her watch.
Contemplacion's case and execution, which strained relations between the Philippines and Singapore, became a rallying cry against the inhumane, abusive, and exploitative working conditions that many Filipino domestic workers and laborers face abroad.
No changes
In its statement, Migrante noted that the conditions faced by female migrants remained lamentable 20 years after Contemplacion's execution.
They said the "worsening crisis under the Aquino regime" drove more women to "more desperate conditions, locally and abroad" and "to tolerate more abuses in the workplace".
"Unfortunately, the Aquino government lacks the political will and competence to fully address these cases... Many abused, exploited and maltreated women OFWs are yet to attain justice, with government support and assistance generally lacking," the group said.
Migrante International chairperson Garry Martinez even compared Aquino's negligence of OFW affairs to the alleged whitewashing of his involvement in the Mamasapano incident last January 25.
“For OFWs and their families, Aquino’s role and Malacanang’s consequent efforts to cover-up his accountability in the Mamasapano tragedy is the last straw. Patunay lamang ito na kung kayang ipain at isubo ni Aquino ang sarili niyang hukbong sandatahan sa tiyak na kamatayan, paano pa ang mga kawawang OFW at mamamayan?” Martinez said in a separate statement.
Palace belies Migrante
In Malacañang, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. disputed Migrante’s claims, saying that the government is assisting and protecting OFWs.
He said the government “provides all the necessary and appropriate consular and legal assistance to Filipinos on death row.”
“We negotiate with the victim’s family when there is a demand for payment or blood money and the issuance of a letter of forgiveness,” Coloma told Palace reporters at a press briefing.
“We even go to the extent where the President writes to his counterpart to ask for clemency. We also conduct regular jail visits to ensure their conditions, well-being and health,” he added.
Coloma further said the OFW group’s call for Aquino to resign is baseless. “Sa amin pong palagay hindi makatwiran at walang batayan ang panawagan na ‘yan,” he said.
Nora Aunor
Nora Aunor, who portrayed Contemplacion in a movie in 1995, joined the pro-OFW group in a procession from Recto to Mendiola on Tuesday, which Migrante dubbed as a "Global Day of Action for Aquino’s Resignation."
Protesters marched with signs marking Aquino as an oppressor of OFWs and the country's "#1 human trafficker.”
Aunor, a veteran actress described in local showbiz as a “superstar,” wore a shirt saying, “Proud to be Filipino, Ashamed of my Government.” —with Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News
In a statement prepared for the occasion, Migrante International accused Aquino of espousing "forced migration and modern-day slavery" through "aggressive labor export" policies.
Contemplacion was executed in Singapore on March 17, 1995 after she was convicted for killing fellow Filipino domestic helper Delia Maga and Maga's four-year-old Singaporean charge in May 1991.
Though Contemplacion reportedly confessed to the crime, there were reports quoting witnesses that said she was coerced and that Huang's father strangled Maga after his child drowned in the bathtub under her watch.
Contemplacion's case and execution, which strained relations between the Philippines and Singapore, became a rallying cry against the inhumane, abusive, and exploitative working conditions that many Filipino domestic workers and laborers face abroad.
No changes
In its statement, Migrante noted that the conditions faced by female migrants remained lamentable 20 years after Contemplacion's execution.
They said the "worsening crisis under the Aquino regime" drove more women to "more desperate conditions, locally and abroad" and "to tolerate more abuses in the workplace".
"Unfortunately, the Aquino government lacks the political will and competence to fully address these cases... Many abused, exploited and maltreated women OFWs are yet to attain justice, with government support and assistance generally lacking," the group said.
Migrante International chairperson Garry Martinez even compared Aquino's negligence of OFW affairs to the alleged whitewashing of his involvement in the Mamasapano incident last January 25.
“For OFWs and their families, Aquino’s role and Malacanang’s consequent efforts to cover-up his accountability in the Mamasapano tragedy is the last straw. Patunay lamang ito na kung kayang ipain at isubo ni Aquino ang sarili niyang hukbong sandatahan sa tiyak na kamatayan, paano pa ang mga kawawang OFW at mamamayan?” Martinez said in a separate statement.
Palace belies Migrante
In Malacañang, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. disputed Migrante’s claims, saying that the government is assisting and protecting OFWs.
He said the government “provides all the necessary and appropriate consular and legal assistance to Filipinos on death row.”
“We negotiate with the victim’s family when there is a demand for payment or blood money and the issuance of a letter of forgiveness,” Coloma told Palace reporters at a press briefing.
“We even go to the extent where the President writes to his counterpart to ask for clemency. We also conduct regular jail visits to ensure their conditions, well-being and health,” he added.
Coloma further said the OFW group’s call for Aquino to resign is baseless. “Sa amin pong palagay hindi makatwiran at walang batayan ang panawagan na ‘yan,” he said.
Nora Aunor
Nora Aunor, who portrayed Contemplacion in a movie in 1995, joined the pro-OFW group in a procession from Recto to Mendiola on Tuesday, which Migrante dubbed as a "Global Day of Action for Aquino’s Resignation."
Actress Nora Aunor asks PNoy to step down. | via @dannyboypata pic.twitter.com/7W5BZio7Ei
— GMA News (@gmanews) March 17, 2015
Protesters marched with signs marking Aquino as an oppressor of OFWs and the country's "#1 human trafficker.”
Aunor, a veteran actress described in local showbiz as a “superstar,” wore a shirt saying, “Proud to be Filipino, Ashamed of my Government.” —with Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News
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