S T A T E M E N T

Letter to Chaplains

Letter to Filipino Community Leaders

5^th international Consultation Meeting
On the Filipino Ministry Worldwide

Angels’ Hills Retreat and Formation Center
Arnoldus Road, Maitim II East
Tagaytay City, Philippines

September 11 – 15, 2006

We, the Filipino Chaplains and Pastoral Workers[1] ministering  the different migrant Filipino communities from various parts of the world, together with the Chairman, the Executive Secretary and the Staff of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples (ECMI) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and some diocesan ministers for migrants from the Philippines for four days, have gathered, shared, and exchanged ideas on the pastoral experiences, issues and concerns of the Filipino migrants.

The meeting included a dialogue with some officials[2] from the government whose agencies are directly involved with Filipino migration to raise issues and concerns of Filipinos overseas. Among them were from the Department of Labor and Employment Agency (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Office of the Undersecretary of Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philhealth, National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA) and Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) of the Office of the President.

Two private organizations presented services and program of their own initiatives in the consultation meeting

The assembly was also an occasion of prayer and discernment and a real chance to assess the Filipino migration and its challenges to evangelization, following the theme of the consultation meeting, “Appraising the Filipino Diaspora and its Challenges to Evangelization.”  It has brought the participants to the following realization:

1. That the Church has shown great concern on the growing migration phenomenon worldwide and issued Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi;
    
2. That the Philippine Church and society is growing more aware of the Filipino migration including its social costs that affect very significant part the people’s lives;
    
3. That while the church does not encourage or promote migration, it continuous to encourage Filipino migrants to be evangelizers and make efforts to establish ministry to  the migrants at the diocesan level;
    
4. That we appreciate the generous efforts of receiving churches to provide pastoral care to Filipinos overseas
    
5. That we recognize the heroic efforts of the limited number  of pastoral workers  abroad
    
6. That Filipino migrants encounter different realities and challenges which requires specific and appropriate pastoral care in various parts of the world;
    
7. That the Philippine government has made labor migration a significant part of its economic policy and has targeted one million overseas jobs annually;

 With these realizations, we humbly put forward the following recommendations:
 

 To the Church in the Philippines – 

1. To intensify awareness on migration phenomenon in the church and on the recent Vatican instruction Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi;
    
2. To establish effective ministry for migrants and their families at the diocesan level.
    
3. To collaborate with government agencies to ensure that values and faith formation are included in preparing departing migrants in providing pre-employment orientation seminar (PEOS) and pre-departure orientation seminar (PDOS);
    
4. To offer opportunities for deepening spirituality and skills development for chaplains and pastoral workers in migrant ministry;
    
5. To maintain critical collaboration with government agencies to advocate for the welfare, rights and dignity of migrants.
    

 To the receiving Churches –

 1.  To continue providing appropriate pastoral programs for Filipinos in their respective territories;

2.   To advocate for the protection, welfare and rights of migrants in their countries.
 

  To the chaplains and pastoral workers –

1. To focus on nurturing the Catholic faith of the second and subsequent generation immigrants;
    
2. To strengthen coordination and collaboration with each other and ECMI through regular information exchange and communication tools;
    
3. To show interest in participating in yearly national meetings, bi-annual regional meetings and international meetings every three years;
    
4. To foster appreciation of Filipino culture and heritage through socio-cultural activities and other related initiatives;
    
5. To encourage the migrants’ philanthropic spirit.

To the Philippine government – 

1. To enforce vigorously existing government policies on recruitment and deployment of OFWs;
    
2. To be more vigilant in anti-trafficking measures and campaign against illegal recruitment;
    
3. To promote and support multi-agency response to the care of migrants and their families including research and studies on migration issues and concerns;
    
4. To address the real causes that lead Filipino migration such as poverty and unemployment.

Inspired by the virtues of St. Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila, the patron of Filipino migrants and guided by our baptismal call to service, we continue to commit ourselves to the Filipino migrants and immigrants and their families in the pursuit of living the values of the Gospel. We pray for continued guidance of the Holy Spirit, and we implore that the Blessed Mother pray for us as we accompany the Filipinos who work and live in foreign lands.

The Delegates
(see more photos)