Labor attaché reflects on challenges as she nears end of tour

 “Challenging yet fulfilling” is how outgoing labor attaché Carmelina F. Velasquez describes her two-year tour of duty in the CNMI, her  second overseas assignment.

Velasquez, who arrived on Jan. 26, 2010, looks forward to being with her family when she flies back to the Philippines on Wednesday  and resume her post as the Funds and Investment Management Office director for the head office of the Overseas Workers Welfare  Administration.

As labor attaché designate, Velasquez said her main responsibility was to promote the welfare and protect the interest of Filipino workers in the Commonwealth.

Velasquez has under her belt other overseas assignments and missions, including a stint as a labor attaché in Brunei, but she considers the situation in the CNMI “unique” and “different” as it was fraught with the difficulties brought by the federalization law and the ongoing transition period of most employers on the islands.

“It’s challenging because I came at a difficult time-everything is in limbo,” explained Velasquez. “I knew very well since day one that it would really be difficult because of the unique situation of the islands. On the other hand, it’s fulfilling because you are able to serve Filipino workers.”

Compounding Velasquez’s tasks, she said, is their job generation thrust. “That proved to be even more difficult given how hard it is to tap the labor market here and find employment for our kababayans.”

The key challenge, Velasquez said, was how to deliver the services and programs of their office in the wake of federalization and the release of the final rule for all transitional foreign workers, including Filipinos.

“My answer to that is the reintegration program,” she told Saipan Tribune. “Because of the uncertainties, our reintegration program served as a safety net for all Filipino workers.”

Velasquez takes pride in having thousands of Filipinos in the Commonwealth benefit from the reintegration program. According to her, the number of enrollees and graduates under the program has increased three-fold. “The increase in numbers is a gauge, a clear manifestation of the success of the program.”

Velasquez said they provided additional courses like Basic Mandarin, financial literacy, and business management seminars that educated Filipino workers on financial discipline and encouraged them to become entrepreneurs, on top of the usual classes offered such as Basic Computer Operations.

“I think our program has been successful because we saw right away that they were able to apply the new skills they learned, like those who learned how to use the computer and send email to their loved ones or even communicate using another language,” she said.

What remains to be done is for the graduates to translate their skills into actual businesses in the Philippines, Velasquez said, one that would help create employment prospects for other Filipinos.

“We all know there’s a lot of business opportunities now in the Philippines because our economy is improving. This is the right time for Filipinos in the CNMI to start their own business and take advantage of the available loan program. I am hopeful that they will be able to do that in time,” she said.

Velasquez pointed out that the success of the reintegration program would not have been possible without the support of the Filipino community and their “social partners” -course instructors.

“The Filipino community here is very supportive. They made my life easier and they’re there to support you all the way,” she said.

During her term, Velasquez disclosed that they were also able to resolve labor and welfare cases through counseling and referrals with the assistance and cooperation of federal and local authorities.

As the end of her tour of duty draws near, Velasquez reflected on what she likes most about Saipan. “Saipan is a quiet and relatively safe place unlike the city. The lifestyle here is so simple and everybody knows everybody. The close ties of people is unmistakable,”

But more than the place, Velasquez said it’s the people who have been dear to her heart and the friendships she has established that she will profoundly miss.

“Thank you to all those I worked for and all that I worked with. I will be forever grateful to all those who made my stay easier, meaningful, memorable. I wouldn’t trade them for the world,” she said.