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Migrant teachers claim scam CNN Video
Filipino teachers learn lessons in courage in Baton Rouge
By MFeria
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 11:55:00 08/15/2010


MANILA, Philippines—At first they were fearful and embarrassed to admit that they had gotten themselves into a situation of “virtual slavery.” Complaints of human trafficking and debt bondage are
more likely to come from uneducated domestic workers in the Middle Eastern kingdoms—not from Filipino teachers in the United States of America.
But for a chance to work in the US, the teachers, over 350 of them, had coughed up over P700,000 (about $15,000) each to a California-based employment placement company and its local recruitment partner. Some of them hocked their homes to raise the placement money. Those who couldn’t produce instant cash were referred to partner lending agencies that charged them compounding interests of 43 to 80 percent.
To their chagrin, the fees and payment demands, which included 30 percent of their salaries for two years, did not stop even after they got there. They were also overcharged for rent and visa renewals. Their travel and working papers were in the hands of the agency, and when they complained or asked too many questions, the recruiter reportedly shouted at them and threatened to send them home.
It was like a racketeering trap, teachers claimed. “We were herded onto a path, a slowly constricting path, where the moment you realized that something was not right, you were already past the point of no return,” said Ingrid Jomento-Cruz, who began her overseas teaching stint in 2007.
The subjects of the teachers’ complaints are Universal Placement International (UPI), owned by one Lourdes “Lulu” Navarro, its Philippine-based partner, PARS International, run by Navarro’s brother, Emilio Villarba, and some officers of the East Baton Rouge school system in Louisiana, where many of them were assigned.
It began with a blog
Their struggle to free themselves began with a blog. After months of silence, a few of the teachers launched in the first week of November 2008 www.pinoyteachershub.blogspot.com, where they posted “An Open Letter to Our Fellow Filipino Migrant Teachers.” They listed down their complaints and invited others to air their views.
No one dared list their real names. They went by the tags “Gurong Sulong,” “Sinag ng Tala,” “Gurong Kritical,” “Gurong Gala,” among others.
Discovering their strength
After one secret meeting at the end of that week, Sinag ng Tala wrote: “This day is a special day. I was looking for something that I did not even notice I lost...I almost gave up. But then I started to share my fears, my apprehensions, my angst, my agonies. Suddenly, others did the same. Sharing. Describing their fears. Listening. Acknowledging each other’s wounds...Then out of nowhere, something struck me. Suddenly, I realized that I finally found what I was looking for—my strength.”
For the next few weeks, the blog was abuzz with research material. Overcharging of fees, they learned, was a violation of the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. It was also against regulations in the state they were assigned to collect fees in advance.
Anger and rage
Some of the teachers initially reacted with rage: “Queen Latifah back West and her minions (apparently referring to their California-based recruiter) just love to make our lives a living hell...I wonder how they sleep at night...Having charged us twice or even thrice the usual placement fee sure gave them the label of certified public f-ck-ups! I wonder how they sleep at night.” More expletives peppered the outburst, which was signed, “Orgasmic Chagrin.”
The anger subsided. The blog posts on November 10 and 13 talked of the need for unity and action. “We are a small axe but with our combined strength, we can surely chop this rotten tree down,” wrote Gurong Kritical.
It hurt to acknowledge that they were “modern-day slaves,” wrote Gurong Gala on November 13. But healing, she added, would come by “claiming due justice.”
The first “Taste of Victory” was posted on November 15. The teachers had confronted Lulu about the overcharged rent. They figured that Navarro, with a tongpats (overcharge) of $300 per apartment (they occupied at least 40 apartments, four teachers to a unit) was ripping at least $12,000 a month from them. They were able to bring down their per-bed rate from $310 to $275.
They also forced down the charges for visa renewals from $1,800 to $2,000 per individual, to $1,000.
These were charges in addition to the millions she collected from them before they left. She was also paid about $47,000 by the East Baton Rouge school system for the recruitment service.
A libel suit
Navarro had threatened to sue the teachers for libel. But courage was infectious. “Make my day!” wrote Orgasmic Chagrin. “We are just exercising our right to free expression,” wrote others.
“Who is Lulu Navarro?” responded another post. The group had discovered that Navarro had been convicted of and imprisoned for defrauding the California Medi-Cal system of more than a million dollars, and had pled guilty to money laundering in New Jersey.
By this time, the teachers’ blog had started attracting pledges of support from other groups. On November 20, the blog featured a statement on migrant rights from the Manila-based Partido ng Manggagawa. On December 6, a statement of support from the Filipino-American Association of Greater Baton Rouge appeared on the blog.
Christmas gloom
There seemed to be a tinge of depression when Christmas came around. “We had a taste of a white Christmas last week, but the fun just melted so fast...It’s hard to have a merry Christmas if our pockets are empty and we can’t even send enough pamasko (Christmas goodies) back home.”
Also, the debate over what was to be done was heating up.
“Anonymous Teacher” posted contrary arguments: Would not all the “drama” they were creating lead to their losing their jobs? “Many Filipinos in the US started with a lot worse situations than we have now. (But after) years of perseverance and patience, they reaped their success in the end,” said the blogger.
Anonymous Teacher reminded the others that nobody had forced them into signing Navarro’s contract. “Your financial difficulty is a product of your own decision. You did whatever had to be done. There are consequences in your own actions. Business is business...A contract is a contract. It is a mutual agreement,” the author stressed. For the privilege of coming to America, some thanks were due to Navarro, the post said.
Warned Anonymous Teacher: “Employers do not want drama...Think about your own actions, guys. I suggest that you just work and impress your employer within your job description...I hope you will not lose your job. Your family will suffer very badly as a result.”
Stand up or turn a blind eye?
The teachers’ hub was silent over Christmas. At the end of the year, December 29, Gurong Sulong posted the blog’s most reflective article.
It is true, she began, that a contract is a contract. But, she argued, “A contract as a mutual agreement can only be enforced if it is not contrary to law.” “Clearly,” she pointed out, “there are some provisions in the contract that are contestable and could be voided.”
As for being business-like and professional, “We are not asking for charity,” she said. “We simply want to be treated fairly and professionally.” References to Filipino values of pagtitiis and pagtitimpi (enduring suffering or abuse), or utang na loob amidst tyranny, she argued, were out of place.
“Most of us come from modest backgrounds too and we know what paghihirap (hardship) means. I agree there are more Filipinos who underwent greater hardships. But that is not a reason to turn a blind eye to oppression. There is no logic in that assertion—just because others experienced more hardships, therefore it’s ok for us to be subjected to abuses...(That) in effect is condoning illegal and corrupt activities.”
As for their jobs, Gurong Sulong argued that in fact, it would be hard to separate teaching from their struggle.
“As teachers we mold children. And how can we mold them to be strong, freedom-loving citizens if we ourselves cannot stand up against tyranny. How can we teach them the bravery of Martin Luther King, the resolve of Mahatma Gandhi, the literary advocacies of Mark Twain, if we don’t even internalize their messages?”
She concluded, “Do not equate standing up against injustice as something negative or something to be ashamed of. The bedrock of this very country is in fact the struggle for equality, freedom, fairness, and justice.”
* * *
On September 30, 2009 the teachers, backed by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), filed a complaint with the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) and the US Department of Labor seeking remedies against UPI for violation of state employment service regulations.
On April 10, 2010, the LWC ruled that UPI had charged the teachers certain fees which were prohibited and premature under state laws, and ordered it to repay the Filipino teachers $1.8 million in illegally charged fees.
UPI, through their lawyer, was quoted in US publications as saying it would appeal the decision.
On Aug. 5, 2010 the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), with the LFT, the immigrant justice project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and private law firm Covington and Burling LLP, filed in behalf of the teachers a class suit against Navarro on human trafficking and racketeering charges. The plaintiffs, now out in the open, are Mairi Nunag-Tanedo, Ingrid Cruz, Donnabel Escuadra, Rolando Pascual, and Tomasa Mari (on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated individuals).
A+ for bravery
In April 2010, Cruz and other officers received the International Honoree Award from the AFT, with high commendations for their “personal courage, willingness to speak up and to believe in collective action.”
In her acceptance speech, Cruz, president of the newly formed Filipino Educators Federation of Louisiana, thanked the American teachers for supporting them.
“A few years ago, we were voiceless, vulnerable, and scared. Today we are organized and will never be silent again about our human and labor rights...Standing tall, we can say we have learned our lessons well at every step of the journey that led to this award.”
With their American colleagues, she said, they also discovered the true spirit of bayanihan, a cherished Filipino value of community heroism and cooperation. The teachers presented the AFT with a painting showing the traditional bayanihan, wherein neighbors and friends together hoist a new community members’ home on their shoulders to bring it to a better place.




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Migrant teachers claim scam CNN Video

Thanks Nes for the news!!!

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