OFWs
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03.17.08Study of the Day
We keep “stealing” from the Inquirer but we can’t help it, it’s in our naycha. Or that seems to be the nature of blogging. Anyways, here’s a report from Vincent Cabreza about a study which found out that OFWs are a new power bloc in their communities. I’m sure you kinda know that already but it’s good to have your anecdotal evidence established by members of the academe. From the Inquirer:
Ngoddo’s study looked at how indigenous communities in Sadanga, Mt. Province, coped with modern life and a cash economy that “eroded” traditional community partnerships.
Villagers often cooperated in the annual cleaning of communal irrigation canals, but have been hiring contractors to do the task because money, some traced back to OFWs, was available, she said.
Ngoddo said OFWs were being counted among the villages’ more influential people to whom residents turn to solve community problems.
So is it a sad development when people no longer work together as a community because there’s money to pay contractors who’ll do the work anyway? We think it is. Maybe Marcos, for all his faults, had a good idea when he organized those Sanggunian this, Sanggunian that, community patrols, barangay brigades, etc. etc. ano?
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03.16.08Diaspora
Here’s a story written by a kailiyan which pretty much reflects the experience of thousands of Igorots/iCordilleras and millions of Filipinos who, despite their misgivings, end up working abroad. Our best wishes, Rolly.
Originally published in the Inquirer’s Youngblood section:
Patriotic doubts
By Rolly Allan MatinekLittle did I know that one day I would join the ranks of Filipinos dispersed around the world, who now make up more than 10 percent of the Philippine population. While it is no secret that most Filipinos harbor the desire to get out of the country in the hope of improving themselves and upgrading their socio-economic status and living standards (as well as that of their families), it was not really my “cup of tea”—as they say here in England—to work abroad.
On board an international flight with a one-way ticket, my priced laptop and my passport stamped with a foreign visa, I still could not believe that I had turned my back on my idealism. I love my country, especially my little town of Sagada in northern Philippines; and I consider myself a patriot. If I try giving this as a reason for not leaving the country to someone I meet on the street, I’d be met with rolling eyes and be called crazy. Every time a colleague or a friend left Philippine shores for the same job but with a much better compensation abroad, I wished him all the best, yet at the same time felt not a pang of envy, only sadness for the loss of one more talent.
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03.13.08Laoagan Fund Update
From the Calgary Herald:
A fund set up by former co-workers to help homicide victim Arcelie Laoagan’s family has raised more than $100,000.
The money will be used to set up a monthly income for family in the Philippines left without support after she was killed in Calgary on Jan. 18.
Laoagan left behind five children, from elementary-school age to young adults, and husband Gregorio Laoagan.
“We’re just overwhelmed and so appreciative of all the donations,” said Jane Mugford, the vice-president of technology at West Canadian, a graphics company where Laoagan worked. “We’ve had people walk in off the street and donate.”
Donations have come from all over Calgary, across Canada and even Australia, she said.
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01.26.08Laoagan Trust Fund
Kudos to Arcelie Laoagan’s employer, Western Canadian, for setting up a trust fund for Arcelie. According to the company, the fund raised “will be used to cover funeral expenses and transportation costs to the Philippines which will total about $15,000. Donations surpassing the $15,000 mark will be put into an account for Arcelie’s children to help continue her dream of bringing her boys to Canada.”
To date over $20,000 have been donated to the fund. Visit West Canadian’s site to see how you can contribute.
ERRATUM: Contrary to an OWWA officer’s report as quoted by the Inquirer (and which we republished here), Arcelie Laoagan is not from Sagada, Mt. Province. She was born in Naguilian, Isabela and lived in Santa Cruz, Ilocos Sur with her husband and children. Thanks to Samuel Cabrera for the clarification.
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01.25.08Finally Home
Here’s a report on the service held for Arcelie Laoagan:
On the day they put their friend, fellow parishioner and sister to rest, the more than 400 people who fill Calgary Full Gospel Church Thursday console themselves with the conviction that the devoutly Christian mother of five is now, as Pastor Denzel Fenn tells them, “safe in the arms of Jesus,” in a place “where there are no more tears.”
They chant “yes, yes” when the pastor celebrates Arcelie’s passion for her faith; they heartily sing along when the choir — of which she was a member — belts out a jazzy rendition of Amazing Grace; and they hug one another throughout the service that is a moving send-off to what by all accounts was a gentle, kind woman whose life was filled with more challenges and pain than anyone should have to endure.
Read the full story here. Photo shows Laoagan’s siblings during the service. Photo credit: Canada.com
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01.25.08Suspect Arrested in Laoagan Case
From cbc.ca: A man has been arrested and is being questioned by Calgary police in connection with the murder of a woman whose badly mutilated body was found last week near a Calgary LRT station.
Police are questioning a man in connection with the murder of Arcelie Laoagan, who was found dead near the Franklin LRT station last week.Police are questioning a man in connection with the murder of Arcelie Laoagan, who was found dead near the Franklin LRT station last week.
In a news conference held late Thursday, Insp. Guy Slater said charges had not been laid in the death of Arcelie Sombrito de Laoagan.
“What we’re trying to determine now is the role this man played in the homicide,” said Slater, quoted in the Calgary Sun.
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01.25.08Arcelie Laoagan Updates
About the photo: Members of the Full Gospel Church of Calgary are devastated by her death. (Photo credit: Canada.com)
The Calgary Herald, 24 January: Police have officially identified the city’s latest homicide victim as a Filipina mother of five working in Calgary to support her family back home.
Arcelie Sombrito de Laoagan, 41, was last seen Thursday night, her final movements caught in surveillance camera footage. Investigators believe she got onto the LRT at the 8th Street S.W. station and disembarked at the Franklin station.
They are asking for anyone who may have seen her on the northeast leg of the McKnight-Westwinds C-Train between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. to contact them. Laoagan’s body was found early Friday morning on a well-travelled path near the Franklin station. Her purse is still missing.
The homicide prompted police to warn women to be more cautious, stay in busy, well-lit areas and to call 911 if they feel threatened.
A memorial for Laoagan is set for tonight at 7 p.m. at Calgary Full Gospel Church - 917 - 14th Ave. S.W.
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