THE South China Morning Post's October 30 issue carried news about the right of Filipinos abroad to exercise their right to vote, beginning in 1998.
While some Filipinos may view it as a very positive development and attribute it to President Fidel Ramos' 'tireless pursuit and practice of democracy', I join those Filipinos who see it as a calculated step (if not a tacit admission that overseas workers' votes - some four million - will be badly needed at that time) to legitimise another Philippine Government that is anything but democratic.
What has the present government done for overseas workers? In an interview with Asiaweek on October 6, Mr Ramos said 'it [the present government] is the only administration that has gone beyond the protection aspect because there are many other things beside protection'. If the Philippine Government had really gone beyond the protection of overseas workers, Flor Contemplacion, Sarah Balabagan and other victims of oppression and exploitation would have been spared death, pain and mental anguish.
If it had gone beyond protection, no illegal recruiters would have been allowed to lure unsuspecting Filipinos into slavery abroad.
It is well known that overseas workers are the current biggest dollar earners for the Philippines.
But it is not well known (but definitely something that overseas workers should be aware of) that the bulk of the funds that saw the election of the present government came from fellow workers abroad.