Ople Center backs calls of OFWs in Barcelona for consulate to remain open
OFW and labor advocate Susan Ople urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to reconsider its decision to shut down the Philippine Consulate in Barcelona, Spain in view of the large number of Filipinos under its jurisdiction. The president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a non-profit organization that specializes on migration issues, noted that Filipinos in Barcelona have organized a Facebook account with over 4,000 members to ventilate their misgivings over the DFA’s order to shut down the consulate as part of its rationalization plan. “We support the appeals of Filipinos in Barcelona for a reconsideration of government’s decision to close down the Philippine Consulate which services more than 20,000 OFWs. The consulate was opened in...
Ople Center’s Press Release on PHL’s Tier 2 rating
Loss of $250 million in non-humanitarian aid averted with PH’s Tier 2 rating A non-government organization welcomed the improved standing of the Philippines in the United States Trafficking in Persons Report for 2011 from a Tier 2 Watch List to a Tier 2 rating but emphasized the need to build on these gains because human trafficking syndicates continue to operate in the country. Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a non-profit organization that is actively involved in the drive against human trafficking, said that the upgrade should inspire the government to aim for a Tier 1 ranking, by trying to obtain more convictions and cleaning up the local recruitment process. “With this improved rating, the Philippines managed to...
Today is Father’s Day
On Father’s Day, we honor the “Tatays”, “Papas”, “Amangs”, “Dads”, and “Itays” in our family. We thank them for their fortitude. We celebrate their perseverance. We admire their humor in the face of all kinds of adversity. My own father passed on at the age of 75. He lived a full life, with seven children and several grandchildren, and an entire country to serve. His legacy lives on as our nation continues to rely – perhaps too much — on overseas employment and on the institutions that he was able to father — OWWA, the POEA, NLRC, and the old NMYC which is now known as TESDA. One of my deepest regrets as his daughter was that I was not there to hold his hand, and...
US gov’t cites PHL’s “significant progress” in fight VS human trafficking
(Note: The Blas F. Ople Policy Center issued this press release today, April 7, 2011) An uptick in convictions, historic budgetary allocations and offloading of suspected trafficked victims may have “saved” the Philippines from falling into the dreaded Tier 3 category of the US State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, a non-government organization said yesterday. “The interim assessment report greatly diminishes the possibility of having $250 million in non-humanitarian assistance to the Philippines withheld from us by the US government,” Susan Ople, head of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center explained. The country has been in the Tier 2 Watch List since 2009. A Tier 3 ranking this year would have led to the withholding of...
Ople Center Reactions to the Taiwan Deportation Issue
News Release Blas F. Ople Policy Center February 10, 2010 NGO calls on PH to say less and do more to show appreciation for its friendship with Taiwan Former labor undersecretary and known OFW advocate Susan Ople called on the Aquino administration to bare its plans on how to mitigate the impact of further fall-out from the ongoing row between the Philippines and Taiwan over the recent deportation of 24 Taiwanese nationals to mainland China. The daughter of the late Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople stressed that while the Philippine government continues to invoke its One-China policy, the fate of over 100,000 Filipino workers and their families back home hang in the balance. “Are we truly prepared to walk the talk? What is our contingency plan...
Job hunting 101
I recently interviewed two job applicants for a single opening in our non-government organization known as the Blas F. Ople Policy Center. The two young women were in their 20s, very pretty, but with resumes too skinny for the position offered. I asked both applicants how long they have been in job search mode. Six months, they replied. They were co-workers in a garments retail outlet that paid them a meagre Php 5,000 monthly salary. I advised them to sue the company, improve their resumes and prepare much better for a second evaluation. They have a week to come back and convince us at the Ople Center why they were worth the wait. In truth, both applicants were not prepared to sell themselves. I find this as a common affliction among job hunters. They...
Susan “Toots” Ople
My friends call me Toots. Am the youngest of seven siblings. Our family hails from the coastal town of Hagonoy, Bulacan and we are proud of our roots. My daughter's name is Estelle and she's a brilliant debater/person. I love dogs! And I enjoy writing in the dead of the night.
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