YEARS of advocacy for reforms in the deployment of Filipino entertainers in Japan have finally paid off. We in the Development Action for Women Network (DAWN) have always expressed our concern about how our Filipino women entertainers are vulnerable to trafficking, abuse and harassment in clubs and night spots in Japan.

We therefore welcome and support the recent efforts of the Japanese government to curb human trafficking in their country, one of which is the passage of a new immigration law which requires Filipino entertainers to complete at least two years of formal courses in music, dancing or singing, or have at least two years experience in the entertainment industry before they can be qualified to work in Japan.

The Overseas Performing Artists Coalition of Sectoral Forces

Whereas, the government of Japan has adopted an action plan against human trafficking in response to the U.S. State Department’s 2004 Report on Human Trafficking that identified Japan as among those countries that have failed to take adequate measures against this international crime;

Whereas, an integral part of the action plan is the amendment of the immigration law that aims to restrict the enter of foreign entertainers to Japan to curb human trafficking which has been closely linked to sexual exploitation;

Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-anak ng Migranteng Manggagawang Pilipino

GOOD intentions alone do not merit approval, much more support, if the action is hasty, detrimental to the lives of the people involved, and most importantly, if it does not solve the problem.

For this reason, KAKAMMPI, along with the OPA Koalisyon, urge everyone to rethink their options on the new immigration policy Japan is set to implement. We maintain that the new immigration law is not the solution to the problem of human trafficking, but if Japan decides to implement it, we ask the Philippines government to move for a 2 ½-year moratorium on its implementation.

MANILA – As if by coincidence, after the Philippines was taken out from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) roster of non-cooperative countries earlier this month, local banks began to launch new products for the overseas Filipino workers, announcing rosy earnings forecasts from dollar remittances. The central bank, too, said it would review its balance of payments targets in light of the action of the Paris-based agency.

But will the delisting really translate to a surge in remittances from the more than 7.6 million Filipino workers abroad?

Global Filipino Networking Convention

CEBU CITY – Some 1,000 upbeat participants from 20 countries, confident of their power to make a difference in the homeland, were in Cebu last month to participate in the third edition of the Global Filipino Networking Convention at the Waterfront Hotel.

“I am a Filipino and I’m proud,” was the headline carried by the Cebu Daily News on January 22 to describe the mood of the participants, most of who were Filipino-Americans and locals from Cebu, on the potential of their economic and social influence in the country.