By Arturo P. Garcia

D ateline Los Angeles, California (The EPCC NEWS) – The Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) of Washington, DC, has called Philippine President Benigno Aquino, III, to address the problem on massive poverty in the country and to stop using “blood and sweat” capital of its citizens as its way to pump prime the economy.

“Exporting labor as a way to make the Philippines survive cannot go on forever. The Aquino government must now take the more strategic route of industrializing the Philippines and providing education and jobs to its people in its own shores,” said Arnedo Valera, co-executive director of MHC, a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit organization serving immigrants in the US.

MHC's Valera issued the statement in the wake of the recent massive job termination of more-than 500 Filipino teachers in Prince George County in Maryland. The Philippines is also not acted on the spate of big labor-trafficking cases in the US,

In President Aquino's recent state of the nation address, Atty. Valera said that the President must not deceive the people into believing that all is well in the Philippines. The Philippine President is scheduled to speak on his annual state of the nation address. his first for his 6 year term on July 25, 2011.

“The economy has gone worse, and so we have to look at ourselves and our government inwardly, to start in our own backyard to boost our economy and not use massive labor exportation as a solution to our problem. In the long term, it is hurting us and our own families,” explained Mr. Valera.

500 Filipino Teachers Terminated in Maryland

In a gathering called for by the Philippine consulate in Washington, DC, last July 14, the teachers expressed their anxiety and anger over their situation and also explored possibilities on how to maintain their work statuses in the US, despite the very limited time to act on it.

But the Philippine Embassy in the capitol is too lame and too inutile to act on the teachers and the whole Philippine government is not doing anything for the Maryland teachers.

During the forum, Atty. Valera, who is also UN representative to human rights and migration through the Foundation for the Support of the United Nations, cited short-term goals, which the teachers could do. They include exploring possibilities of changing their non-immigrant visas into other categories such as B-1, B-2 visas, F visas, or student visas, especially for those who have dependents or children under 21 so as not to disrupt their studies. # # #