Ang kawalan ng trabaho ang dahilan kung bakit sa harap ng napakaraming kwento ng hirap at pasakit, patuloy pa ring nagtutungo sa ibang bansa ang marami nating kababayan upang maging domestic worker, at patuloy pa rin ang pakikipagsapalaran ng ating mga kababayan sa probinsya na mamasukan bilang kasambahay sa mga lungsod.

            Kinikilala ito ng inyong pamahalaan, kung kaya ginawang prayoridad na pagsiglahin ang  ating ekonomiya, nang sa gayon ay mabigyan ng sapat na trabaho at pagkakakitaan ang bawat pilipino.

            Ngunit alam naman natin na hindi ito mangyayari agad-agad, at habang inilalatag ng inyong pamahalaan ang pundasyon para sa isang ekonomiya na magbibigay ng hanapbuhay sa nakararami, pangangalagaan namin ang inyong karapatan at bantayan ang inyong kapakanan.

            Bilang Chairman ng Board of Trustees ng Pag-IBIG Fund, nais kong ipabatid sa inyo na pwede nang maging miyembro ng Pag-IBIG ang mga kasambahay na kumikita ng hindi bababa sa isang libong piso kada buwan.

            Mandatory para sa mga employer na i-rehistro ang kanilang mga kasambahay bilang miyembro ng Pag-IBIG at magbayad ng kanilang counterpart na contribution.

            Under the law, domestic workers earning P1,500 and below shall contribute 1% of their salary, while those earning P,500 and above, shall contribute 2% of their salary. Their employers are required to contribute 2% as counterpart.

            Pag-IBIG savings allow them to double and even triple their money through their employer share and the annual Pag-IBIG dividends. Their savings together with its interest earnings can be withdrawn in full after membership maturity.

            Upon completion of 24 monthly contributions, domestic workers can secure from Pag-IBIG a whole range of benefits such as the multi-purpose loans for immediate needs, calamity loans during times of calamities, and housing loans for house & lot or lot purchase as well as home improvement.

            Sa ganitong paraan, nakakatulong ang inyong pamahalaan, sa pamamagitan ng Pag-IBIG, na matugunan ang inyong mga pangangailangan at matupad ang inyong mga pangarap, lalo na ang pangarap ng bawat pilipino na magkaroon ng sariling tahanan.

            Philippine society can be quick to undervalue labor: this work that our domestic helpers do is often seen as beneath that of other professions.

            This explains how domestic workers can be subjected to poor working conditions such as token wages, extended working hours without overtime pay and social benefits, lack of access to education while working, and even lack of proper medical care should they suffer injury or illness at the workplace. These conditions do not fit the mold of dignified work, and this is how domestic work can quickly share the complexion of forced labor and human trafficking.

            The protection of our people begins with law, and apart from the laws that safeguard universal human rights, there is a need for legislation that deals specifically with the challenges and plights of our domestic workers.

            Matagal na pong isinusulong ang mga angkop na batas para sa domestic workers. Simula pa noong 1996 ang iba’t ibang panukalang batas ang naihain sa kongreso upang kilalanin ang karapatan ng domestic workers.

            Ngayong 2011 ay nakahain muli sa mababang kapulungan ang panibagong bersyon ng batas kasambay: ang Magna Carta for Household Helpers, na akda muli ni Rep. Jack Enrile.

            Noong Hulyo, ako po ay sumulat kay Speaker Sonny Belmonte upang ipaabot sa kanya ang aking suporta para sa mabilis na pag-apruba sa kamara ng panukalang ito. Hiniling ko na rin sa ating mahal na pangulong aquino na i-certify bilang urgent measure ang Magna Carta for Household Helpers.

            Our domestic workers deserve access to decent and humane work. The said bill will ensure freedom, equity and security for domestic workers, and will greatly reduce the incidence of labor-related trafficking.  And the approval of the bill will show that the Philippine government is committed to protect the rights of domestic workers, whether at home or abroad. While we demand from other countries respect for the rights of Filipino domestics, we must also show that the rights of domestic workers are respected in their own country.

            The latest bill addresses issues such as wages, leave benefits and coverage by our social security and national health systems. But one of the most empowering provisions of the bill is the right of helpers to pursue an education.

            Tulad ng mga kababayan nating kasambahay, naranasan ko rin po ang hirap, at ang tanging nagbigay ng bagong buhay sa akin ay ang pag-aaral at pagtatapos.

            Kung nais nating bigyan sila ng tunay na pag-asa, ang kanilang edukasyon ay dapat bigyan ng kaukulang pansin.

            There is a counterpart bill at the Senate and I believe that the immediate passage of these bills will give us more teeth to address the issues of our domestic workers, as well as labor-related trafficking.

            Ako po’y nananalangin na maisabatas na ang mga panukalang ito, at hinihiling ko po sa lahat na tayo ay magtulungan upang isulong ang pagsasabatas ng House Bill 553 at ng Senate Bill 78.

            The drive to protect domestic workers’ rights is not just limited to the Philippines.

            It is a global call, and one that is recognized by the international labor organization. When the ILO adopted convention no. 189, or domestic workers convention of 2011, their rationale was simple: domestic work is work. Domestic workers, like other workers, are entitled to decent work.

            Kaya naman po ako po ay nagalak nang aking malaman na nitong katapusan ng Oktubre, ay isinulong na sa Senado ang maagang ratipikasyon ng Domestic Workers Convention Of 2011.

            Sa pamamagitan ng summit na ito at sa tulong ng department of labor and employment, mga trade unions, ngos, at mga domestic workers mismo, naniniwala ako na lalong mapapabilis ang ratipikasyon ng nasabing Ilo convention.

            Former Secretary Bobby Ocampo, an alumnus of this university in which we gather today, had an interesting story to share earlier this year. In 1979, working for the World Bank, he visited Oman and was invited to dinner by a minister of government. The minister was proud of his young children’s ability to speak English and asked two of his kids to recite English poems for the benefit of his Filipino guest. Mr. Ocampo was pleasantly surprised, as the two children confidently declaimed in Ilonggo-accented english. Their nanny was from Panay, and her influence on the children was unmistakably great.

            Our domestic workers are more than just people who help keep our houses in order, who lend a hand so that we can live in greater comfort. They are family, and they help us raise our children just as surely as they run our kitchens.

            If the hands that rock the cradle rule the world, then we cannot let those hands wither and fade because of neglect or ingratitude. It is time that we treat family properly and you have our firmest commitment that family will never be abandoned or left behind.

            Nais ko pong pasalamatan ang Visayan Forum Foundation sa pagkakataong ibinigay ninyo sa akin na magsalita sa inyo ngayong gabi. Gayundin sa ating mga kaibigan sa us state department sa inyong suporta sa pagtitipong ito.

            Tinitiyak ko sa inyo na ang inyong pamahalaan ay laging nakahandang tumulong upang malampasan ng ating mga domestic workers ang anumang pagsubok na kanilang hinaharap at haharapin.

            Ang hinihingi ko sa inyo ay ang inyong sariling pagpupunyagi, ang inyong pagtitiwala at suporta. Sa ating pagtutulungan, tiwala ako na sabay-sabay nating maaabot ang mithing magandang buhay dito sa ating bansang Pilipinas.

            Maraming salamat po.

            Mabuhay kayong lahat.​