(Article from Filipino Reporter. MOU SIGNING: Seated, l.-r.: Loida Nicolas Lewis, JTS Mallonga, Imelda Nicolas and Lirio Covey. Standing, l.-r.: Fr. Joseph Constantino, SJ, Niles Perlas, Consul Leandro Lachica, Angie Cruz, Judy Arteche-Carr, Mila Manalac and Jenny Fernan. (Photo by Virgie Camarinas)
The New York-based Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund (FALDEF) and the Philippine Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to better serve Filipinos and Filipino-Americans suffering legal injustices across the United States.
The memorandum was signed on Dec. 28 in Manhattan between Secretary Imelda Nicolas, chairman of CFO; and lawyer JTS Mallonga, president of FALDEF, in the wake of increasing number of human trafficking of Filipinos into various parts of the U.S., as well as those entangled in immigration woes.
A highlight of the memo is the extension of pro bono legal service to whoever deserves it most.
“Both CFO and FALDEF agree to work together and initiate special projects aimed at promoting, as well as protecting the welfare and interests of Filipinos overseas,” Mallonga told the Filipino Reporter, citing salient points in the MOU.
“We’re dedicated to providing a forum for education, advocacy and scholarships aimed at educating and advancing the interests of Filipinos and the Filipino-American community on issues and matters pertinent to legal rights.”
“CFO and FALDEF have agreed to cooperate in providing pro bono legal services to indigent and distressed Filipinos, subject to more detailed operational guidelines to be agreed upon amongst both parties,” Mallonga added.
Nicolas, who was in the Big Apple to spend Christmas with her sister, businesswoman Loida Nicolas Lewis, said coordinating with private agencies like FALDEF is line with CFO and President Benigno Aquino III’s urgent mission to reach out to as many Filipinos overseas who are in dire need of help.
She said CFO and FALDEF have agreed to jointly undertake special projects to help educate Filipinos “on issues pertaining to but not limited to their immigrant and civil rights and to prevent human trafficking,” and “undertake on a best effort basis to raise funds in support of the pro bono legal services described in this MOU.”
“We’re (CFO) in a unique position to coordinate among the different agencies involved in providing help to overseas Filipinos like FALDEF,” Nicolas said.
“I’m very much involved with the NGOs before so I’m able to bring together the different groups that are involved in overseas Filipinos to work together.”
“Exporting labor is an acceptance of the reality that people are going out of the country because there’s no work at home,” Nicolas also said.
“The President is very much aware of that. He knows that his primary goal is to create jobs, employment in the Philippines. But he’s very much aware of the reality, and once they (workers) go out of the country, then promotion and protection of their rights become the priorities of the P-Noy Administration.”
Nicolas said she’s doing her best to coordinate with various agencies like the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to address problems like human trafficking and illegal recruitment, among other things.
She noted that the government has an Interagency Council on Anti-Trafficking, headed by the Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, of which the CFO is now a part of.
She added that CFO is also in the process of setting up a hotline, like the POEA and OWWA, for quick action and feedbacks.
In the meantime, Nicolas said overseas Filipinos can directly reach her through her direct e-mail address at imn103@aol.com in case of urgent matters, as well as recommendations or suggestions on how to improve the government’s assistance program.
For particulars, visit www.cfo.gov.ph/ or www.faldef.org
On Nov. 20, the CFO also signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) with similar goals of working together “in initiating and implementing projects and programs in the interest of Filipinos both in the United States and the Philippines.”
The agreement was signed by Nicolas and the newly-elected NaFFAA national chairman Engr. Ed Navarra during the 9th NaFFAA Empowerment Conference, also known as Empowerment 2010 (or E-2010), held in Burlingame, California on Nov. 19-21.