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By Dante “Klink” M. Ang 2nd, Executive Editor
LAHORE, Pakistan: Filipino community leaders in
this city want their government to assign a labor attache (also
called labatt) to Pakistan, although they feel there is no immediate
need for one because life is good here.
Filipinos are well regarded by Pakistanis, get
along fine with them, and the Philippine Embassy officials are
accessible, said Boni Chew, president of Filcom, one of two Pinoy
associations in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. But it would
be helpful to have a labatt, especially to the growing number of
Filipino domestic helpers in this country, he added.
“Masarap ang buhay dito [Life is good
here],” he said, adding that he believes life in Pakistan is
better than living in America.
Chew is head chef of Avari Lahore, a top-end
hotel in this historic city. He has worked in Pakistan for 20 years,
during which he brought over his wife. Their two children, now aged
8 and 13, were born here. They attend a local school and are fluent
in Urdu, said Chew, a 52-year-old Tsinoy who grew up in Binondo,
Manila.
He has his own house, which has become sort of a
community center for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and other
Asian friends, he said. Filipinos often gather at his home, where
they sing, eat and play tong-its, a card game similar to mahjong, he
added.
Philippine Embassy officials based in Islamabad
regularly travel to Lahore to attend to the needs of the Filipino
community, but it would be nice to have someone dedicated to help
them, Chew said.
Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is about
five hours by car from Lahore. The Philippine Embassy there has
fewer than 10 personnel, which includes a military attaché—but no
one from the Labor department.
Ambassador Jimmy Yambao, Manila’s envoy to
Pakistan, said there are about 3,000 OFWs in this South Asian
country, including 300 or so in Lahore.
Most OFWs in Pakistan are professionals, many
working as consultants for international organizations based in
Islamabad, the envoy said.
Recently, there are a growing number of domestic
helpers sought after by wealthy Pakistanis, he said. Filipinos are
in demand, because they are educated, which means they are easier to
give instructions to, Yambao explained.
Usually, the Filipinos are made to head the
household staff or the “mayordoma,” he added. Since the
Pakistani employers are wealthy, they have no problem paying premium
salaries.
Chew said the pay in Pakistan is “good
enough,” compared to other countries, and the cost of living is
very low. For example, he said, 1,000 rupees (about $16) buys a
grocery-bag full of food items, and it used to be enough for two
bags when he first arrived a couple of decades ago.
There are plenty of employment opportunities
here. He said his employer, Avari Hotel, is looking for a sous chef
or an assistant. The starting salary is $1,000 a month, with free
board and lodging. In the Japanese restaurant of that hotel, there
are openings of at least five chefs to work the sushi bar and
teppanyaki section, and the starting salary is $1,600 a month, plus
free room and board.
There are two Filipinos there now. One of them,
Peter Aquende, is the Japanese head chef at Avari. He was recruited
by Chew to work in Pakistan five years ago, leaving his job at
Furosato, a Japanese restaurant in Manila.
When Aquende first arrived in Pakistan in 2002,
he didn’t think he could hack it—being away from family and
being in different culture. But now, he is fine and feels safe
working in Pakistan.
Maria Atiq Alvi, a Filipina married to a
Pakistani, said the demand for Filipino domestic helpers is growing.
Her placement company, Alvi Associates, serves the elite of
Pakistan’s society, including its prime minister.
Punjab Gov. Khalid Maqbool said Pakistanis and
Filipinos get along well because they have more in common than most
people realize.
The Philippines and Pakistan were both colonized
by English-speaking Western powers, and both became democracies that
fought communism, he said. “Our ability to connect with the West
[and] our ability to use English as our lingua franca, have been
beneficial to [both countries].”
Like the Philippines, Pakistan has a large
expatriate force in the Middle East, the US and the United Kingdom.
Like Filipinos, they remit money to their families in Pakistan.
Maqbool added, however, that “the Philippines
has done a much better job” in tapping migrant labor.
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