Held at the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library in Susupe, the workshop theme was “Bridging the Gap: Overseas Filipinos in our Contemporary Society.”
It was sponsored by the U.P. Alumni Association-Saipan chapter, U.S. Pinoys for Good Governance and the Filipino Community in the CNMI.
Broken into three groups, the participants were tasked to identify the problems overseas workers face in the CNMI, the causes of these problems and possible solutions.
The common problems that the groups identified were the expiration of the umbrella permit, lack of health insurance and unemployment.
Problems of discrimination, family-related issues, currency exchange rate and repatriation were also mentioned.
Tayag, perhaps the most famous student activist in the late 1960s, discussed the importance of unity among the overseas Filipino workers. He admitted, however, that it is hard to organize these workers because they are scattered all over the world.
The most important thing in organizing, Tayag said, is ideology or the fundamental set of values and principles that bring people together.
Using his hand as an example, Tayag said fingers are easily harmed if they are spread out in different directions. But if they are bent together forming a clinched hand, it can fight even a knife.
During the presentations of ideas following the group discussions, he noted a “unity of thoughts” among the participants.
“But what we need is unity of action,” he said. The Philippine government, he added, must address unity among the overseas workers and solidarity with their families.
He said the economic problems in the Philippines continue to drive its people to work abroad.
There are “gaps” that need to be bridged, he added.
These gaps include the distance that separates overseas workers from Philippine government’s policies and the “blind spot” that deprives workers an entrepreneurial vision.
“It would be difficult on our part to establish a system of priorities due to our scarce sources which always have alternative uses including graft and corruption,” Tayag said in his presentation.
He also discussed the adjustment problems of workers in light of the Middle East crisis.
These workers, he added, are trying to cope with momentary and long-term unemployment.
The good news, he said, is that there now exists a program to study the problems of adjustments and provide a program to solve them.
Tayag said there should be systematic program to study the adjustment problems of the workers as well as the social cost involved.
Tayag studied political science at the University of the Philippines and was imprisoned for almost 11 years on subversion and rebellion charges.
In college, he was president of the Student Cultural Association of U.P., the same organization that sparked activism in the state university.
A few years after his release, he studied theology at the national seminary of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, or the Philippine Independent Church, and consecrated bishop in 1993.
