Q&A: Philippines Ambassador Luis T. Cruz

News1 news agency sat down with the Phillpines Ambassador to Korea Luis T. Cruz and the embassy’s Labor Attaché Attorney Felicitas Bay at the ambassador office on November 28th for an in-depth interivew. Ambassador Cruz and attorney Bay answered questions regarding undocumented migrants, the Filipino community, and the laws and policies that protect them.

Was the embassy notified of the death of Narag William Baurian?

All Filipinos who encounter deaths here in Korea will have to pass through us. All registrations of birth and death have to be issued certifications. No one can be shipped back to Manila without proper documentation.

We are also aware that Mr Bariaun was left at the Dobong Hospital for eight days before his body was returned to the Philippines. Could you explain the details of the postmortem?

From what I know his body is now buried in the Philippines. Narag’s remains were shipped back with the help of our home office, the Foreign Ministry(formally the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). If the deceased does not have family in Korea, the embassy will take care of the body and will notify our home office.

Has there been further investigation on Mr. Baurian’s death?

Not that I know of, except for the statement from the hospital on the cause of death. He was suffering from high blood pressure. The family was aware of it and they did not challenge the findings of the hospital.

Do undocumented workers receive protection of rights even though they cannot receive insurance?

It depends on their relationship with the employer. Some of the undocumented workers will receive insurance from their employers. We also have more than 100 associations - social groups, religious groups, and sports groups spread out in Korea and they render assistance to those who encounter accidents or death.

What kind of assistance can deceased undocumented migrants receive in Korea?

We will ask our home office to contact the next of kin to ask them for repatriation money. In case there are none, we will negotiate with the welfare agencies here. The last recourse is of course, our government. In the case of Narag, after the embassy exhausted all remedies to find out if there were any associations or welfare agencies to help out, our government took care of the repatriation costs.

Does helping undocumented foreigners cause any conflict with the Korean government?

I don’t think so. We haven’t come into any issues.

You have mentioned that migrant workers are very well-taken care of by employment contracts here in Korea. But there are been prevalent violations of contracts, in regards to minimum wage and pension.

There have been severe violations of contracts like bankruptcy or closure of the establishment. (In such cases) Migrant workers may change their employers for up to three times on their first sojourn, and two times on the second sojourn. But of course, there should be valid grounds for the changing of employers. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has also created the Human Resources Development (HRD) as a response to such violations.

Can workers take legal action if their contracts are violated?

Of course. There are even legal officers at the HRD offices. They provide counseling and legal advice. In case workers change jobs, the offices also offer accommodation for them so that they can have a place to stay while in between jobs.

What are the subjects taught at the HRD agencies?

They have Korean cooking, Korean translation, electric welding, barista training, excavator operations, and automobile driving.

Where are these services offered?

In accredited HRD training institutions in different areas – Daejeon, Incheon, Busan, Yangchon. In Daegu, we have 25 returning workers who just finished their excavator operations this past August. They are prepared to work back in the Philippines and other countries, or Korea if they choose to come back here.

What has the embassy done to better the lives of migrant workers here in Korea?

We offer input towards the renegotiations of the Employment Permit System (EPS), which is part of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) between Korea and the Philippines. The agreement recognizes that the Korean government deploys foreign workers from the Philippines to small and medium industries in Korea. Every two years, the two countries will renegotiate the MOU and our contribution is precisely that whenever we renegotiate, we meet with our constituencies - the Filipinos that are working here. We ask them their state of condition, and we provide input towards the renegotiations.

Why are there illegal migrants when there is a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) between Korea and the Philippines?

First, to avoid the age limit. The agreement has a quota which limits each worker’s stay to three years and an age limit ranging from 18 to 38. Sometimes it is the Korean employers who encourage the workers to overstay, more often than not. After the three years are over, these migrants are not ready to leave. It will be difficult for returning migrants to be gainfully employed or earn the same as they have in Korea so they are encouraged to be entrepreneurs by our government for which they do not have any training. In fact, there was a study conducted by a Filipino NGO that 70% of businesses opened by former migrant workers fail because they do not have the appropriate skills.

What challenges do you think Korea will face with multiculturalism?

Much has to be done to promote the integration of foreigners into Korean society. One of the major challenges would be the immigration policy. In the US, you have to forget about your language in order to assimilate. In Canada, they practice enculturation. You immigrate to Canada, you bring your culture with you. Look at Quebec. Korea can have the best of both worlds. We even have the Filipino Korean Spouses Association that was established 11 years ago.

I also think that one of the contributory factors to this phenomenon is that there are many Koreans going to the Philippines as well. This year we are expecting 900,000 Korean tourists and there are more than 20 flights a day. Our office has also issued 35,000 student visas to Koreans enrolled in university.

Those who have overstayed their visa have a choice to go back to renew their visas and come back.

Yes, that is correct. On this matter, I have spoken to the immigration commission and they have said that if Filipinos have not overstayed their visa for more than a year then they will not be blacklisted. If they do, they will not be able to enter the country for three years. On the second case of overstaying, they will be banned for five years.

There is an upcoming international seminar on immigration policy next month in Jeju. Will you be attending?

Yes, I am the speaker.

What kind of policies will you promote and what will you discuss?

The challenges I mention are from this petition that more than a 1,000 Filipinos and 500 employers signed. The first issue being the waiting period of six months for re-entry. The second is the re-taking of the Korean language exam during the six-month waiting period. The third is the limitation of the three-year employment contract. As Korean employers are concerned, they feel that they should be allowed to choose or to extend the services of the foreign workers.

During President Lee’s visit to the Philippines, the two presidents were said to have discussed issues on mutual security. President Aquino has asked for aid in military weaponry and we are aware that there is maritime dispute with China over the South China Sea.

Oh, it’s not related to that. This military assistance that your government is providing has been an ongoing thing since 1993. In fact, we have some Filipino defense officials who are conducting the annual joint committee meeting (JCM). One of the things they discussed is the transfer of military hardware. We have not only received weapons through sale and donations, but have also conducted biddings. A few years back, there was a bid for military trucks and Kia won. Well, this is the testament to the fact that Korean military hardware are up-to-par, to the point that this group of defense officials we have now are discussing a defense military industry. We will offer a trap of land for the Korean defense industry so that they could relocate some of the operations there. By 2015, we will have formalized the FTA to other ASEAN countries. It is a huge market of about half a billion people, and an opportunity for the Korean defense industry.

mhchloe@news1.co.kr