BWorld 14, OFWs, MERS-CoV and the DFA

* This is my article yesterday in BusinessWorld Weekender.
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OFWs, MERS-CoV, the DFA, and helpful people

AMONG the infectious diseases that have terrified people around the world since last year was the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV). It started in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and has killed many people there in 2014, and recently the disease has reached South Korea and killed some 36 people, infected nearly 200 others, and resulted in a lockdown and isolation of several small villages and hospitals with confirmed patients.

Among the people who succumbed to the MERS-CoV infection and died were Filipino health workers like nurses in frontline emergency cases in Saudi hospitals.

One of those Filipino nurses who died was my sister-in-law, Gemma B. Oplas, wife of my younger brother, Bonifacio S. Oplas. Gemma was working as a nurse at the emergency department of the Saudi government-owned hospital, King Fahad Medical Center (KFMC), in Riyadh. She was taking care of some MERS patients in the hospital until she herself was infected. Death was fast, only six and a half days from the time she was confined in the same hospital where she was working, until her death on May 6 last year.

Several issues came out of her case, implying several lessons that other health OFWs may take note.

1 Non-transparency by the hospital. Initially, KFMC imposed a news blackout sometime April-May 2014. No one knew the extent of infections and deaths in the hospital alone. The Philippine Embassy did not even know some of these things until they learned from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila when my brother applied for a rush passport. The information blackout by the hospital showed he severity of the problem, similar to the Chinese government’s news blackout when SARS spread and killed several people.

2 The DFA’s assistance. The Consular Office acted swiftly when my brother requested for a rush passport so he could fly to Riyadh and see his wife. But death was fast, he did not fly anymore, knowing that the DOH Quarantine would hold and isolate him for at least two weeks, the normal incubation period of MERS, when he returned.

3 Three months’ body freezing. Since it was death from a highly infectious disease, the body would be put in a freezer for 2-3 months before it can be transported back home. My brother would have preferred cremation and bringing home the ashes, but cremation is not allowed in KSA.

4 Airline paranoia. Around mid-August 2014, KFMC and the Saudi Ministry of Health decided it was safe to send home Gemma’s body via Cathay Pacific cargo (Riyadh-HK-Manila route). Gemma’s body was supposed to arrive in Manila on August 17, before being transported to Bacolod City. A belated correspondence from Cathay Pacific the day before transporting the body said the Hong Kong government and the airline would require an “import permit.”

Import permit for the dead? Cathay said this permit should come from the Department of Health, to ascertain the safety in bringing home the body of a person who died of an infectious disease. I went to the department’s Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ), talked to the director who said that it is not their duty or responsibility to give a permit for incoming deceased people. They can give permit for outgoing deceased bodies.

I wrote to a Cathay officer and asked what exactly is the “import permit” that they require and from what agency it should come from. They replied,

“...If not cremated, death Certificate + Undertakers Certificate. If death caused by communicable disease, admittance allowed only when the remains is [sic] cremated or properly embalmed and enclosed in hermetically sealed coffin.”

So their earlier requirement of an “import permit” was irrelevant as the HK government wanted a different set of requirements.

5 Quick burial, avoid further health stigma. Saudia Air transported Gemma’s body, Riyadh-Manila direct last September 04, 2014, or almost four months after she died. Then PAL cargo brought the body to Bacolod that same day. The plane landed around 6pm, the coffin was brought to a cemetery in Bacolod, short mass, the coffin was not opened, no public viewing, then buried around 8pm.

6 Getting the benefit package, a long process. Around July or August 2014, KFMC deposited the hospital’s benefit package for Gemma, equivalent to three years’ salary, plus end of service award, to Al Rajhi Bank in Riyadh.

At first, my brother sent a special power of attorney (SPA) to Gemma’s close friend, fellow hospital co-worker Magda, who would then transfer the amount to the joint account of my brother and their only child, Lois, in Bacolod City. The SPA went through various official routes -- DFA, notary public, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) embassy in Manila, then mailed to Riyadh.

After several weeks, the feedback was that the Saudi bank said they would not honor that SPA, because according to KSA customs, recipients of Gemma’s benefit package should not only be the legal and married family of Gemma but also her original family, meaning signatories should include her parents and siblings.

Sensing that even this may create new questions from the Riyadh bank and other Saudi government agencies, the Philippine embassy offered to be the recipient of the SPA, so in case of any problems, this would be handled as a government-to-government matter.

7 Al Rajhi Bank’s delaying moves. After submitting all the new requirements to the bank, the Philippine embassy wrote and called up the bank several times to get the benefit package. But the bank did not respond to their letters or take their phone calls. And when a staff member of the embassy visited the bank, the bank manager would not even entertain him.

The bank’s website says it cares for its customers and gives them instant personal finance, without the customers even having to wait for 15 minutes. So why would the benefit package for a dead person be pending for many months?

There is not a single email address of any of the bank’s officers. I blogged about the bank and also tweeted them, and still no reply.

8 Secretary Albert F. del Rosario’s office acted. First, I wrote to Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago in Riyadh to do something about this case, but got no reply. Then I wrote to DFA Undersecretary Jesus I. Yabes of Migrant Workers’ Affairs, and no reply too. My brother emailed the DFA Secretary, then I followed up with some friends at the department. The Office of the Secretary acted swiftly. They sent a formal reply to my brother, saying they had instructed the Philippine embassy in Riyadh to speed up this case.

Within a week or two, the embassy texted my brother saying they had the check, since the bank had finally released the package, which was then sent to the DFA’s main office. After more than three weeks, going through regular processes, the DFA finally deposited the fund in the joint account of my brother and his daughter.

Problem no. 1, getting the body back home to Negros Occidental, was finally solved after almost four months.

Problem no. 2, having the benefit package delivered to the family of the deceased, happened after almost 15 months. The main cause of the delay was the bank in Riyadh.

My brother and I would like to thank the DFA for being a helpful agency in this case. From rushing his passport (via Consular Office) to assisting in the body’s return (via the department’s Office on Migrant Workers’ Affairs) to getting the benefit package (via the Philippine embassy in Riyadh and the Office of the Secretary). People who at once criticize the DFA for its supposed “inaction” on their requests may need to observe restraint and learn the formal processes whenever possible.

Finally, there are helpful people around. I met this man, Croox, in June last year, who has already retired from the DFA. Receiving his monthly pension but not doing much at home, he would frequently return to his previous office and help people anyway he can. For free. A jolly and cheerful guy, he helped us secure certain government documents, including a notarized copy by the Saudi Embassy, for the SPA. Croox would spend his own money to go to the DFA and the Saudi embassy to follow up papers.
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See also: 

BWorld 10, Greece crisis, pension and rule of law, July 11, 2015 

BWorld 11, China's stockmarket and central planning, July 18, 2015 

BWorld 12, Investments, APEC and economic liberalization, July 25, 2015 

BWorld 13, SONA's liberalism, five years after, July 28, 2015 

OFW Death, PH Embassy in Riyadh and Al Rajhi Bank, April 12, 2015

OFW Death, PH Embassy in Riyadh and Al Rajhi Bank

Last May 06, 2014 or almost one year ago, my sister in law, Gemma B. Oplas, a nurse at King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), died of MERS CoV. I wrote it here,

Two issues followed: (1) repatriation of her body back to our province in Negros Occidental, and (2) getting the benefit package that KFMC gave to  Gemma's family, my younger brother Bonifacio/Bobong and their only child, Lois.

After the mandatory body freezing + several problems with an airline, I wrote it here, Gemma's body was finally repatriated and buried the same day as its arrival in Bacolod City last September 04, 2014 or almost four months after her death.

Issue #1 is done, but issue #2 is not yet resolved until  now. I myself am confused where's the problem here.

In July or early August 2014, KFMC-MOH deposited the benefit package of the hospital for Gemma, equivalent  to three years salary + end of service award, to Al Rajhi Bank in Riyadh. Dr. Fahad Al Ateeg of KFMC wrote to Philippine Ambassador to KSA, H.E. Ezzedin H. Tago about this and the desire of the hospital to help repatriate the body.

At first, my brother sent a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) for Gemma's close friend, fellow Filipino co-worker at the hospital, Magda, to receive the amount and transfer it to the joint account of Bobong and Lois in Land Bank Bacolod branch. The SPA went through various official routes -- DFA, notary public, and KSA Embassy in Manila.

After several weeks, the feedback was that the Saudi bank or court said that they would not honor that SPA because according to KSA customs, recipients should not only be the legal and married family of Gemma but also her original family, meaning signatories should include her parents and siblings.

Several weeks more passed, it was suggested by the PH Embassy (PE) in Riyadh that it would be the recipient of the SPA, and PE will get the amount from Al Rajhi Bank (ARB) and deposit it to Bobong and Loi's joint account.

Several follow up attempts by PE to ARB, by phone calls and personal visits, Mr. Bayani of PE told my brother that ARB would not respond to their letters, they have written the bank twice. He visited the bank  and the bank manager would not even entertain  him to update him about the status of the fund.

So where could the problem rest here?

(1) ARB that refuses to release the fund, or (2) PE-Riyadh that is not insistent enough to pressure ARB to release the fund, or (3) my brother for not going to Riyadh himself to follow up  things?

If it's #3, it is indeed a big problem as it is not cheap to go to Riyadh and stay there for several days or weeks. Besides, he already issued the SPA for the PE-Riyadh.

I would like to think that it is primarily #1, and partly #2 too. But I do not want to pin blame whenever possible. Just release the fund, the family has suffered enough with the death of Gemma + delayed repatriation of her body and now delayed repatriation of her benefit package. That money is from the hospital, not from ARB or PE-Riyadh, so why can't it be released? 

ARB says in  its website that it cares for its customers and give them  instant, not even 15 minutes waiting, but instant personal finance. So why would the benefit package of a dead person take many months not to be released?

My brother is shy to write directly to Amb. Tago because DFA Bacolod that helps him advised him not to do it, they themselves will write to the Ambassador as the proper protocol. 

Aside from PE-Riyadh, who else can pressure ARB to release the fund? KSA's Central Bank or other agencies that regulate banks there?

My brother said that Mr. Duran has taken the place of Mr. Bayani in PE-Riyadh in handling the case of fund repatriation of Gemma. He is still waiting for feedback from Mr. Duran until now. No updates yet.

I should write to some officials about this case...

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See also:
MERS CoV and OFWs (May 08, 2014) -- death of Gemma
MERS-CoV and OFWs, Part 2 (August 26, 2014) -- hassles with airline in body repatriation
MERS-CoV and OFWs, Part 3 (September 04, 2014) -- final repatriation of the body, burial in Bacolod City

Free Trade 37: Multiple Concerns and Regulations in the ASEAN

The next and 25th Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit will be held this coming  November 12-13 in Myanmar. Among the preparations for this, the Department  of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is conducting consultation with some stakeholders in the Philippines to explain its position on certain issues and get feedback from the public.

Yesterday, the DFA consultation with civil  society organizations (CSOs) for the 25th ASEAN Summit plus related matters -- PH advocacies in the 23rd and 24th Summit, 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeeting -- was held at the DFA Auditorium, main building in Pasay City. DFA Under Secretary for Policy Evan Garcia gave the welcome message and an overview of the recent ASEAN Summit and this coming event in Myanmar.

An update on the ASEAN Intergovernment Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) was given by the PH Representative to the Commission, Rosario Marcelo. Ms. Daza of ASEAN office in DFA was the event moderator while Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz was the discussant in the consultation with CSOs.

Issues on (1) foreign policy and national security, (2) economic diplomacy and ASEAN economic integration, and (3) social protection for overseas Filipinos were discussed.

Most NGO participants lobbied for more social protection re human rights, labor rights, environmental protection, some even calling for postponing economic integration. No other free trader in the room except me, as usual. Fellow free marketer Kenneth Varona accompanied me but he did not speak, thanks Kenneth.

All CSO leaders were given the floor to first introduce themselves and their institutes or organizations in round 1, then in discussing their position on the presentation of DFA advocacies and agenda as earlier presented. Some spoke longer than others, as usual. 

When my turn came, I just argued on four points.

1. Rule of law on the SCS/WPS conflict. China's communist government is a bully and would unshamelessly bully its own citizens. It would even deprive its people access to facebook, twitter and  youtube. No independent NGOs, no big citizens assembly, people can be imprisoned if they do so. But internationally, China can be ashamed. Thus, the need for endless, continuous, internationalization of the conflict. Do not be tempted by the militarist approach. China is shameless internally/domestically but can be ashamed internationally.

2. Food security. Thailand and Vietnam are the world's top rice exporters, they are our neighbors. Cambodia and Myanmar are approaching that stage too of being major rice exporters. They have abundant, wide, flat lands with good irrigation that are suitable to rice farming. Hence, they have cheap rice there while we have expensive rice due to trade protectionism. Our neighbors should prioritize us in cases of emergencies like large scale destruction of rice crops due to heavy flooding. 

3. Energy security. The 3 power plants in Batangas that run on Malampaya's natural gas supply about 45% of total Meralco customers (M.Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite; and Laguna?). Malampaya's gas output is slowly declining and will be depleted by 2022-24, or 10 years or less from now. Nat gas is abundantly available in some of our neighbors. Brunei is 99% dependent on nat gas for its power; Singapore is 78% dependent on nat gas, about 45% for thailand, etc. Successor to Malampaya is question mark, so we need to import LNG Our neighbors should prioritize us. We don't want to go back to candles and noisy gen sets in houses and shops.

4. Economic integration must proceed. Do not postpone or delay it. While some sectors have expressed reservations about it, the argument of "hindi tayo handa" (we're not ready) with more economic competition and integration has been argued in the 60s, in the 70s, 90s, until now.

I could see some smirks, raised eyebrows from some NGO leaders in the room when I said that. It is expected from a protectionist perspective. It is a policy dialogue so diversity of ideas is expected.

If I have to illustrate a supply-demand graph. Supply curve 1 (S1) is the status quo curve. S2 is free trade supply, moving to the right of S1 because domestic supply expands with the entry of more products and services from abroad, giving local consumers more choices, more options re quality and prices.

Having more regulations though -- labor regs, environmental regs, energy regs, human rights/gender regs, health regs, LGU regs, etc. -- effectively a form of bureaucratic protectionism, will restrict the entry of more foreign goods and services. This shifts S2 back to S1 position, or worse, to S3, to the left of S1. Meaning higher prices, lower aggregate supply. Local consumers will be penalized and worse off.

The draft presented by DFA as PH agenda for the 25th ASEAN Summit contains many social concerns that can divert the main purpose of integration -- more trade, freer flow of goods and services across countries who are ASEAN members. Yes, ASEAN is more than trade, there are human rights and other political and social concerns. But trade is the single most important aspect of the association. Countries that have less trade also have more human rights violations, like Myanmar and Laos. Countries that have more trade also have more economic prosperity and less human rights violations, like Singapore and Thailand.

I believe that the only considerations in regulating foreign trade is if things involve public health and safety. Like bringing in guns bombs, poisonous substances, fake medicines, virus-infected animals, etc. All other goods should be allowed entry with the minimum or zero restrictions and taxation as this will significantly bring down prices and benefit consumers, especially the poor.

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See also:
Free Trade 33: ASEAN Economic Community 2016, February 16, 2014
Free Trade 34: ASEAN's Bilateral and Regional FTAs, February 27, 2014
Free Trade 35: EU-FNF Forum on 'FDI Engine for Job Growth', May 15, 2014
Free Trade 36: Taxation, Regulations, Trade and Rule of Law in ASEAN, August 05, 2014

Business 360 16: ASEAN Economic Community 2016, March 20, 2014
ASEAN Tax Reform Initiative, April 10, 2014
EFN Asia 25: The ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, July 23, 2014
Stratbase Forum on ASEAN Competitiveness, July 25, 2014

MERS-CoV and OFWs, Part 3

Four months after she died in Riyadh, my sister in law, a former nurse in a Saudi government hospital, is finally home in our province in Negros Occ. Welcome home, Gemma. Lois, their only child, 13 yo, with her in this photo which I took from Gemma's fb wall.

She should have been brought home last August 17 via Cathay Pacific (Riyadh-HK-Manila). But about one or two days before she would be transported, Cathay demanded a new requirement before they would transport Gemma. First they demanded an "import permit" from Manila. When I wrote to  them  what  is that “import permit” and what agency in Manila it should come from, they corrected it to "embalmer's certificate" from Saudi, etc. My brother wrote to the travel agency arranged by the Saudi hospital, to look for another airline that would not be too bureaucratic.

So the travel agency arranged for a new airline. Saudia Air took her from Riyadh to Manila direct, arrived mid-day today, then PAL for Manila-Bacolod. The plane landed in Silay-Bacolod airport before 6pm, the body was brought to Rolling Hills funeral park in Bacolod, short mass, then she was buried. Now she is back in  the  province where  she was born  and  grew up.

Her arrival  at Manila  airport today was reported in TV Patrol of ABS-CBN, and was reported online.

 Body of Pinay MERS-CoV victim arrives in PH

Report from Atom Araullo, ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 09/04/2014 2:51 PM | Updated as of 09/04/2014 2:51 PM

MANILA – The remains of a Filipina nurse who died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus in Saudi Arabia arrived in Manila on Thursday morning.

The body of Gemma Barrilea Oplas arrived at the cargo section of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 past 10 a.m. It was immediately brought to Bacolod….

Special thanks again to the DFA. Riyadh PH Embassy coordinated with Saudi MOH and the hospital to finally bring her back.

Problem 1, bringing home the remains, is solved.

Problem 2, sending the benefits that the hospital would give to Gemma's family (her siblings included, based on Saudi laws and culture). This will take several weeks more...

I checked the ABS-CBN facebook page for this report, there were many comments. Mostly positive and notes of condolence, but there are some idiots who wrote negatively about Gemma, or about health OFWs in Saudi in general. Ignoring the idiots, here are some comments, mainly from Gemma’s friends:

Jan Jefri: FYI po, colleague ko po ung nsa news.. she died here in Riyadh kaso need to keep for 2-3 months freezed para macontain ung virus.. SOP po yan ng Ministry of Health dto s KSA. Pinoy nurses are highly competitive when it comes to giving nursing care to patients regardless of the disease that a patient have. Direct contact na kulang nlng mahalikan at mayakap ang mga pasyente. We took care our patients as our own family.. Yan ang risk sa profession na pinile nmin.. All we need is your prayers to all nurses all over the world.

Ang work po nmin as nurse dto is from the dirtiest to clean work..meaning all in one po.. package ika nga!!! At dyan competent mga pinoy nurses.. a million salute to you Ate Gemma, may your soul rest in peace. Youre a HERO!!!

..and another thing, if you're working as ER nurse in any facility hndi mo alam kung anong meron ang bawat pasyente na pumapasok sa unit..Likewise, madaming ntatamaan ng MERScOV na asymptomatic pero positive pala s test.. so hindi mo rin tlaga masabi.. need tlga to boost immunity para sa mga virus na yan and effective handwashing.. especially now that ebola is around. MERS and EBOLA will go hand and hand!!! Fight fight fight fellow nurses!!!

Oo nga, instead na magsalita ng hndi maganda..better to pray for everyone..wala nman may gusto na madapuhan ng deadly virus na yan..

Rest in peace ate gemma.. ur memories will remain in our hearts.. a million salute to you!!!

Richel Amante Tayros: Rest in peace Gemma kapitbahay ko yan.at yung mga bad comments ng iba na kung ano anung speculation pwede kung wala kayong alam hwag na lng magsalita ng masama.hindi nyo kilala yung tao pra husgahan.

Yoj Arnaldo: Sa mga may negative comment jan, gemma took care of her colleague na may mers.nahawa sya and namatay ahead.d pa nga alam ng nkahawa sa kanya na patay na sya.gemma is a friend of my friend.imbes magcomment ng pangit,kesyo ganito o ganyan, why cant u just pray for her soul...

Danilyn Pinote: tama na,hwg naman kau masyado putak ng putak.saludo ako sa kanya. nagbuwis sya ng buhay nya para sa ibang tao.ginampanan lang nya ang trabaho nya. condolence po

Roxane Septimo Romias: She a Person withbeautiful heart kahit nung nakalatay sya pneumonia pa lang findings in ask pa nxa ako i doble check ung namatay ng mers cove kasi kaibigan nya meron

Myrz Flores: Totoo na mers cov yun..nag alalaga siya ng kaibigan na may mers then siya pa yung namtay..yung inalagaan niya buhay at stabke na sa ngaun.kakalungkot naman talaga at ngaun lang siya nakauwi.

Ross-ana Hulleza Toroy: I would like to express my sincere condolence to the family of my friend gemma oplas.rest in peace my dear friend.

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See also:
MERS CoV and OFWs  May 08, 2014
MERS-CoV and OFWs, Part 2, August 26, 2014

Helpful Government Personnel

Helpful government personnel. I think there are many of them in the Philippines, thanks to them. I met this man about three weeks ago. He has already retired from government, receiving his monthly pension but not having much to do at home, he frequently returns to his previous office and helps people, the public, in anyway he can. For free.

His name is "Croox", jolly and cheerful guy. He retired from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), he has helped me secure certain government documents including a notarized copy by the Saudi Embassy, for a Special Power of Atty (SPA) of my younger brother authorizing an officemate of his deceased wife in a hospital in Saudi, to get her benefit package. My sister in law, a nurse in a Saudi government hospital in Riyadh, died of MERS-CoV nearly two months ago. See On MERS CoV and OFWs.

Croox would spend his own money to go to DFA, then Saudi embassy, to follow up papers. I am one of the many people that he has helped for free. Thanks a lot Croox.

And this is DFA Asst. Secretary for Legal Affairs, Eddie de Vega. A friend way back in the 80s in UP Diliman undergrad. He helped me in various ways, outside of his function, which are various legal concerns of the DFA. He also introduced me to some guys at the Office of UnderSec for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA). That is where I met Croox, and Roel Carlos.

While I can secure the DFA seal as Ed can help me, it is difficult to get the Saudi Embassy's notary seal for the SPA because of its own bureaucracy. That is where Croox comes in, to help Filipinos secure certain documents faster from certain foreign embassies in Manila as the guys there know Croox and trust him.

Ed liked the smile of my young girl, Bien Mary, whom I brought to DFA as there is no one in the house to watch her that day. Ed said he cherishes Croox as one of his all-time favorite officemates, way back in the mid-90's.

I think Croox wants to disprove that all croox are bad :-) I posted our photo above in my facebook wall and many friends either liked it or commented positively about him. I texted him about it, he replied that "tumutulong lang ako, maluwag sa kalooban ko."  

Public recognition and admiration is his reward. 

Cheers Croox.

Migration and Freedom 18: Getting a Philippine Passport

There is good news for us Filipino passport applicants, or renewing our expired or about to expire passport. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Consular Office will open up many satellite offices nationwide starting next month. For Metro Manila alone, there will be DFA passport processing offices in Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas (next month), SM Megamall and SM Manila (September) and Ayala Town Center in Alabang (October). This means lesser congestion at the current DFA Consular Office in Macapagal road, Pasay City near the SM MOA.

While this is a good development, more improved services that I hope to see soon are:

1. Schedule of personal appearance (for the electronic photo and signature) with all the requirements should be within five working days from the time of online or phone call application, not the current two or more weeks

2. Express processing should be within two or three working days after submission of all requirements and personal appearance, not the current seven, while regular processing should be within seven days, not the current 14.

3. The length or expiry of passport should be five and a half (5 1/2) years, not the current five. This is because one cannot travel abroad if the passport will expire within six months, so that the effective life of a passport is only 4 1/2 years although its official life is 5 years.

For instance, my current passport is expiring on April 17, 2013. I may have a trip to HK this coming early November 2012. This means I need to get a new passport again by October because I can no longer use my current passport which technically, will expire next year. What a bummer. More money to surrender to the DFA soon, P950 for regular processing, P1,250 for the express service.

Over the long term, beyond my lifetime, I wish to see the visa system of countries be abolished. People mobility should be respected, people should just bring their passport as their "national ID" when they travel abroad, and they cannot be given a passport by their government if they have some criminal liabilities in their countries. Or if they have valid passports already, they can be prevented from leaving the country pending resolution of their criminal cases.

Meanwhile, here's what I wrote last May 19, 2012:

My wife and two daughters are not here, they flew to Hong Kong yesterday and will come back tomorrow evening. My wife saved from her second job, paid for their trip including that of her sister who travelled abroad for the first time, and will be her assistant in watching the two young girls especially when they go to HK Disneyland.

I got my younger daughter's passport only last Tuesday or three days before their departure. The four of us have passports already. My elder daughter got her passport in May 2008. I brought her and my wife to Hong Kong in June 2008 when I attended the 2nd Pacific Rim Policy Exchange where I was given a travel scholarship (plane fare, hotel, registration fee, all free) by the main organizer, the Americans for Tax Reforms.  My daughter was only 1 year and 8 months old then.

Before I discuss the current procedure in getting a passport, here is what I wrote nearly five years ago.
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Getting a Philippine passport

October 22, 2007

Recently, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has come up with machine-readable passport (MRP), a first for so many years. It was a very welcome development, and I heard that credit specially goes to Assistant Secretary Doy Lucenario.

Criminals 7: Illegal Drugs and China Execution

The use, transport, marketing and trading of "illegal drugs" is a serious crime in many countries around the world. Violation, when caught, can lead to severe penalties, from long imprisonment up to execution.

(this picture from www.thegooddrugsguide.com) Such illegal drugs like codeine, heroine, demerol, etc. Well, I haven't tried any of them, never been a drug user or drug dependent. But from what I gather, those drugs can cause their users to be "out of their normal selves". Some would look and act like idiots, while some can cause physical harm on themselves or to other people.

High alcohol use can also have the same or even worse effect on the users. I've experienced heavy drinking during parties with friends in my younger days, and I've experienced near-death incidence before, like drunk-driving and nearly falling on a deep creek. Or being robbed by muggers while asleep somewhere else due to heavy intoxication.

But alcohol is allowed but certain drugs are not. Both can cause harm to users and other people. Why the double standard?

Anyway, the 3 Filipinos convicted of drug smuggling in China have been executed today. It's a high emotion, high media exposure case here before the final execution. While the victims and their support groups have various reasons to say that they were not real drug smugglers, the government of China was only implementing what it has enacted into law. In a sense, China's government only promulgated the "rule of law" in their own country.

Could the Chinese government possibly have granted some "clemency" and reduced the penalty for the 3, as lobbied hard by the Philippine government through Vice President Jejomar Binay?

My friend from the DFA said the answer was a possible Yes. The problem was the heavy media exposure in the Philippines. There are back channels always in major cases. But China would not be happy to hear if people will say, "Pressure by Philippine media caused the Chinese government to reduce the penalty for the 3 convicted drug traffickers." In a sense, the louder the media noise here, the stronger the resolve of the Chinese government to proceed with the execution. Which is what exactly happened.

So one lesson here is that for cases that involve foreign governments, there are limits and dangers when local media becomes too noisy. Foreign governments have their own laws and have their own political culture.

Many laws are irrational and oppressive, whether in the Philippines or abroad. If we are strangers or aliens in foreign lands, it is always safe to obey those foreign laws, no matter how harsh they may be. If we think they are too harsh and too barbaric, then don't go to those countries. Go to other countries where the laws and political culture are something that one can live with.
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Part 2:

With expanding globalization, including the globalization of criminal activities, the public's perception and expectations of the role of certain government agencies like the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) evolve.

The same friend of mine from the DFA whom I indirectly mentioned in Illegal drugs and execution commented to my article. He wrote,

What is important is for govt to be allowed breathing space to do its duty, instead of the whole world being incited to breath down its neck. There are things that can only be done quietly. But the culture of distrust and inciting the public to hate the govt for its "inaction" would often make it impossible for positive results to be achieved. Pnoy sent a letter to his counterpart about the three. That is the highest action a country can take. We had the VP go to China. These are very concrete actions. And yet, some sectors accuse Pnoy and the govt of not doing enough.

I agree with my friend from the DFA. The planned execution then was a decision by a foreign government, China, not by media or individuals in China. Thus, the most appropriate action given the circumstances then of high public discourse on the saving the 3 convicted Filipino drug traffickers, was a government to government negotiation.

Personally though, I think the RP government should have never negotiated with its Chinese counterpart on those executions. What if another group of Filipinos will be caught and prosecuted on drug trafficking in Malaysia, another VP Binay trip to Kuala Lumpur? Another group of Pinoys on drugs trafficking case in Norway, another Binay trip to Oslo? Do we taxpayers pay and pay for those many foreign trips to save not-so-responsible fellow Filipinos?

People should be responsible for their actions. They should be accountable for whatever negative consequences of their actions, it has nothing to do with their own government. They know that drug trafficking is super-regulated and super-penalized in many countries, they should not even think of doing it, much less of actually doing it. When they are caught and prosecuted, they run to the DFA and the Philippine government, and when they are finally executed, it is the fault of the Philippine government for "not doing enough"? Where is personal responsibility there?

Another friend commented,

States do no want other states to execute their citizens. Citizens also expect their state to give them help - di ba may Public Attorneys Office tayo to defend the accused if they cannot afford to hire a lawyer.

I don't buy this, to relegate personal responsibility, that it's all government responsibility. Meaning some Filipinos can steal, kill and transport drugs in other countries, and when they are caught and penalized, DFA and Binay or P.Noy will be busy saving them?

What the RP government can do perhaps, is to advise ALL departing Filipinos, whether as tourists or workers or students abroad: "If you violate certain laws of the countries you are visiting, RP government may not save you. So, obey the laws there, the same way that you should obey the laws here."

The main job of the DFA is to promote international trade, economic, cultural and political diplomacy, between the Philippines and the country where it has an office. Also to provide some economic intelligence to Philippine-based exporters. Stuff like, are the European consumers buying more Thai and Vietnamese fruits than Philippine fruits? Why? DFA should reward the industrious and those who obey the laws. If we assign or expect them with the ugly job of protecting each and every Pinoy law violators in other countries, then they will have no more time to promote diplomacy and international trade.

There are some proposals to increase the budget of the DFA, like having more defense counsels. I will be in favor of that, but not through higher taxes, but by cutting the budget of other agencies, like the bloated Armed Forces and Defense department (AFP-DND).

But there should be a limit to what the DFA legal counsels can do. Like helping OFWs in distress (raped by their employers, unpaid, over-worked, falsely accused, etc.) For drug traffickers, especially proven and convicted, they should not be government priorities. If they commit the same crime in the Philippines, RP law says they should get harsh penalty anyway, no difference. They should get their own private legal counsels to defend them.

About overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), it is wrong to say that it is a "government policy". Employment, local or foreign, is always a private contract between the employer and the employee, it is never a government contract. Since government is outside of this contract, the function and regulations of the POEA should be shrank significantly. More POEA regulatons means more bureaucracies, additional fees, additional transaction procedures.
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See also:

Criminals 1: Killings in Thailand and Military Crackdown, April 16, 2009

Criminals 2: Pakistan, the Criminal state, August 17, 2010

Criminals 3: Kidnappers in Government, August 24, 2010

Criminals 4: Hostage-taking of HK Tourists in Luneta, August 31, 2010

Criminals 5: One Year of Maguindanao Massacre, November 23, 2010

Criminals 6: Bukas-kotse Gang in QC, January 19, 2011

Migration and Freedom 6: Passport and People Mobility

I originally wrote this in May 15, 2008

Passport, Travel Tax, and People Mobility

One indicator of how free a country or society is, is the ease of mobility of its citizens to travel both within the country and abroad. The easier and less costly it is to move around, the more freedom the people have. On the contrary, the more bureaucratic and more costly it is to travel, the less free the people are. In short, mobility = freedom. Less mobility, less freedom.

To travel abroad, a Filipino needs (a) a Philippine passport, (b) a plane ticket, and (c) a valid visa of the destination country whenever it is needed. For many Asian economies like Hong Kong and member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), visas are not needed for visits of less than 30 days.

For Filipinos traveling abroad to attend a conference, to study, a business trip, or as tourists, they have to pay (a) travel tax of Php1,620 per passenger, and (b) airport terminal fee of Php750. Hence, even before one can board a plane, he has to shell out nearly Php2,400 already and it is not a small amount. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are exempted from paying travel tax and also the terminal fee, I think.

Getting a new passport, whether for the first time or for renewal of the expired or expiring passport, can be costly. The cost of passport, the new machine readable passport (MRP), is Php500 for regular processing (released after 14 working days) and Php750 for fast/overtime processing (released after seven working days).

Other costs are (a) passport pictures, Php150 for six copies, definitely a monopolistic price, service provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) multi-purpose cooperative; (b) securing birth and/or marriage certificates, other papers and clearance from other government agencies when necessary, and (c) taking a leave from office, first to get a schedule for application processing, and second, actual processing day, payment, data encoding, etc. Some people apply through their travel agents, and normal processing fee by the travel agencies is Php1,000 per passport, but the applicant still has to go to the DFA for the electronic signature and perhaps interview for first-time passport applicants.

Those long queues are stressful and costly for passport applicants. Long queues mean only one thing: the supplier of the service or a commodity is small or few relative to those who demand the service. In order to reduce, if not remove the long queue, the supplier should either expand the staffers who attend to the long lines of people, or expand the number of offices (or shops) in different places to attend to more people from more places.

Fastfood chains do that. Banks too, and malls and convenience stores, gasoline stations, repair shops, Internet shops, barber shops, and so on. All private enterprises operating in a competitive environment are stretching wide and hard to reach out to more people, to serve and satisfy more customers.

Why can’t the DFA and many government agencies follow that? If the current number of personnel is not enough, then DFA should rechannel some of its staff from other departments or divisions to help in the passport processing work; or hire more staff. If eight hours on 5 ½ days are not enough, then work 12 hours on six days per week. If the DFA building is not enough, then get or rent additional offices in other cities, both in Metro Manila and the provinces. Many DFA regional offices across the country are also experiencing long queues for passport applicants. There are additional costs for this expansion of offices and staff, definitely, but there are additional revenues too that can more than finance the additional expenses.

I suggested the re-channeling of some staff from other DFA offices and divisions because I have noticed that while the staff at the Passport Director’s Office and related offices working on passport issuance are harassed and seem to be overworked, the staff from neighboring rooms and offices at the DFA seem idle.

If the DFA cannot have the flexibility or will to expand its staff and/or offices, then it may consider allowing and accrediting some private travel agencies to process passport applications. Then the DFA main office can attend more to those applicants with special or urgent need for a passport.

Like my case. Last month, I was going to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the Atlas Liberty Forum. The sponsor paid for my hotel and subsidized my plane fare. Less than a week before my flight, my passport accidentally got wet; my travel agent advised me that I need to get a new one as my current passport might be declared “mutilated” and hence, invalid, by the immigration officers of the Philippines and the US.

With the help of some friends who have friends at the DFA, I was entertained at the Passport Director’s Office, where there is a long queue of people who may have the same urgent need for a new passport. Anyway, I had to cancel my original flight, got my new MRP after four working days, flew the following day, and caught up the conference on the day it started.

The high cost of getting a new passport plus travel tax and terminal fee constitute an indirect restriction to some people who maybe poor and desire to be more mobile across the country. The world is globalizing fast, and there are not too many opportunities in the country given the bad state of governance. Those unnecessary but indirect restrictions to people’s mobility should be reduced. The travel tax, for instance, looks like extortion since there are no corresponding services to the public who paid the tax. It should be abolished.
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Passport and People Mobility, Part 2

May 18, 2008

I circulated my article on “Passport, travel tax and people mobility” to some of my yahoogroups, got comments from 7 friends. Below are the summarized comments and my reply to them.

(1) From Prince:

I think the bigger issue with the slow processing of passport is not the number of staff but the equipment for the electronic signature and thumb mark. I assume the equipment is very expensive that is why the government cannot acquire more of it. Another issue there is an unusual increase in demand for passports with the issuance of machine-readable passports (MRP) Several people want a new MRP even if their current ones are not yet expired. Another problem that they need to look at is the number of fixers and unscrupulous people trying to exhort money from passport applicants near the DFA national office.

(2) From May:

This means poverty stricken countries will never be considered free. What’s the meaning of “free”? According to David Schwartz, if you believe you are free, you can be free.

(3) From Eunica:

The problem is in the system. I doubt if the size of the bureaucracy is the problem for I am sure that more than one of the employees there could be considered redundant. So I doubt if a Jollibee-and- Starbucks- type of expansion is the solution.

Subjecting it (DFA) to competition could be given a thought but only up to the point where some steps in the processing could be outsourced. But the nature of information handled by the particular agency could raise some important issues. Given the massive outflow of overseas workers and the rise of budget airlines, business related to this will be viable.

All those expenses and the pressure from predatory Customs officials that OFWs face are just too much and indeed need some drastic measures. Mobility matters to the middle class more than to other people whose major concern is meeting the basic needs that could tide them over a day. Hence, as a barometer of freedom, its application is limited.

(4) From Emir:

Why do we have to pay airport terminal fee anyway? Countries with much more modern terminals don’t even charge any fee. There was a time we used to pay for using those old luggage carts. If they were able t abolish the push cart fee, why not also the terminal fee. If the collection of the fee is for terminal maintenance, the money does not obviously go there. Our terminals are probably the oldest and the worst in Asia. Vietnam or even Cambodia (au naturelle) terminals are even more impressive. The low cost carrier terminal in KL is a lot better that terminal 2.

Whoever is managing the PAL terminal (NAIA 2), has not even heard of an invention called ESCALATORS. When you arrive via NAIA Terminal 2, you need to drag your carry-on luggage down the stairs towards the immigration counters. And you need to pay them P750 for the inconvenience?

(5) From John:

Why can’t the DFA make our passports expire in 10-years, so that we don’t go to them every 4 ½ years since we cannot travel anymore if our passport will expire in 6 months or less?

(6) From Jay:

The lines are long because many people need passports. Passports are needed because the places they want to go to require visas before they let them enter… Even if the government handed out passports for free, that still doesn't result in greater mobility because ultimately it is not the issuance of a passport, but the respective countries who decide whether you can go in or not.

In your conclusion you say that high passport costs "constitute an indirect restriction to some people who maybe poor and desire to be more mobile across the country." There is no connection. No one needs a passport to travel anywhere across the country.

Having traveled very extensively, I agree that there is something that needs to be done about the travel tax, costs of service, and efficiency. Far more efficient systems exist than what is currently in place at DFA, and given the number of people who need passports, it is proper to demand an accounting and better services for the money that is paid. But efficiency takes more than reducing taxes and increasing staff.

(7) From Jim:

For comparison, a U.S. Passport cost about $100 or Php 4,200 (for applicants over 16 years of age) and $85 or Php 3,570 (for applicants 16 years of age and younger). It generally takes about 4 weeks to process, but I know that in case of emergencies one can go directly to a Passport Processing office and get it the same day. So basically Philippines is a bargain compared to the U.S. But with a Philippine passport you'll need a visa to visit most countries, while with a U.S.
passport a lot of countries will allow entry with out a visa. I guess it all boils down to planning, if you know you're going somewhere a months ahead of time kuha ka na ng passport.

My reply to them:

(1) To Prince:

I think it's not with the machines. If it were so, the long queues would be in the passport release section, where people were waiting for 2, 3, or 4 weeks for their passport to be released. The long queues are in the processing, 1 or 2 days before the application forms will reach the machines that produce the MRP. And that is why the number of fixers cannot go down: they know that many people are stressed by the long lines, they want someone who can help them shorten the process, even if they have to pay a big premium.

If there's a long line for customers, fastfood chains open up a dozen more new stores/shops in different locations. The banks, gasoline stations, car repair shops, vulcanizing shops, barber shops, do the same. So why can't the DFA do it too? "Limited funding" cannot be the answer to this question because passports are not free, there's a fee to get it. DFA being a bureaucracy and a monopoly, it need not be too sensitive to the needs and frustrations of the citizens. Unlike private enterprises who are forced by circumstances to be sensitive to their customers; otherwise, the latter will simply go to other firms and suppliers of the same or similar commodities/ services.

Nonetheless, I have respect for the staff of the Passport Director's office. They were really over-worked and they work hard, I could see it. It's the staff of other offices within the DFA who are often idle.

(2) To May

As I defined it earlier, mobility = freedom. Less mobility, less freedom. And according to Friedrich Hayek, freedom = absence of coercion.

Poverty-stricken countries need to simplify and liberalize the issuance of passport for their citizens who want to escape their country and work/move somewhere else. Or their governments need to liberalize the entry of foreigners -- investors, tourists, professionals -- who want to come to their country, and these foreigners can help generate jobs for their people.

If you believe you are free, fine. You have the freedom to go to Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok tomorrow, fine. Assuming you already have the passport, and going to those cities is visa-free for visits of 30 days or less, there are lots of government-imposed costs: (a) travel tax, (b) terminal fee, (c) inspection fee, security fee, embedded in the plane ticket. Which makes your foreign travel more expensive than what it should be if some of those government-imposed costs are reduced or removed.

(3) To Eunica

The DFA is a big bureaucracy in charge with different political and economic diplomacy, trying to save some OFWs from being hanged in the Middle East, attending and organizing different summit (ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, Ministerial meetings, etc.), issuing RP visa to some foreigners coming in, and so on. Issuing passports is only one of its functions. And it is here where the DFA is sometimes getting the public's ire and frustration, instead of support and commendation.

When a government, like the Philippine govt., will impose many taxes and fees on each step, from getting a passport to getting an OFW permit at POEA, OWWA, Bu. of Immigration (if any), etc., including preliminary papers like NBI clearance, PNP clearance, brgy clearance, etc., that government is putting indirect hindrance to people mobility and their freedom to travel.

To correct such hindrance, the burden of proof that a person trying to travel abroad could be an "undesirable" citizen, should be shifted from the people to the government. Thus, instead of the person producing different clearances and permits from different government agencies (NBI, PNP, brgy, POEA, etc.), those agencies should reconcile their data and watch out only for those with some criminal records, all the rest should not be harassed and not be required to secure and pay those unnecessary clearances and fees.

(4) To Emir:

Tama Emir. The terminal fee should either be abolished, or be reduced by 1/2 at most. Airport operators like MIAA earn enough from (a) airlines, (b) rental from shops inside the airport terminals, (c) ads from billboards inside the terminal, (d) airport taxis and rent-a-cars, (e) parking fees, etc.

(5) To John:

I was also thinking that passport validity should be more than 5 years since its effective usefulness is only 4 ½ years. It could be made 6 to 10 years, so there will be less people that go there, which adds to longer lines of passport applicants.

(6) To Jay

Getting a visa is a privilege to be given by foreign governments, and it was not the subject of my paper. Rather, it was about the privilege to travel abroad to be given (or denied) by the Philippine government -- hence, my discussion on RP passport, travel tax, terminal fee, etc. And my beef was that the Philippine government should reduce some unnecessary hindrances to Filipinos desiring to be mobile abroad, like the abolition of travel tax, reduction of long lines for passport application, etc.

"Travel across the country" was a typographical error, my mistake. I meant "travel outside the country".

Increasing staff at DFA passport processing is only one of about 4 options I made. Another option is rechannel some staff in other DFA offices who I saw, were idle, just chatting and laughing in their offices while the passport-related staff were harassed and over-worked.

(7) To Jim:

Not exactly "bargain" the RP passport fee. A $100 can be earned in one day perhaps by a minimum wage earner in the US. A P4,200 can be earned in 2 weeks work by a minimum wage earner in the Philippines. Also, as I mentioned in my paper, you pay not only P750 passport fee, you also pay P150 for those small pictures alone, another P150 to P180 for "notarized" statement that your passport was lost due to theft or fire, or damaged due to water or fire or babies, etc.
Then you also have to take a leave for about 1day from your office to file the application form, processing, etc. If you don’t like long lines, you pay P1,000 to travel agencies to help you, but you still have to go to DFA for e-signature, etc. You also pay sometimes for NBI clearance, PNP clearance, plus birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc. to NSO. DFA gets the original copy, not photocopy. You sum up everything, you could be near P4,000.

Sometimes you cannot just "plan" your trip. You have no money to be a tourist abroad, neither you want to work abroad, you don’t apply for a passport. Suddenly a relative will tour you to HK or Bangkok for free, or you get an all-expenses paid conference, you run to the DFA.