{"id":388452,"date":"2023-03-31T06:04:07","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T20:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=388452"},"modified":"2023-03-31T06:04:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T20:04:07","slug":"livelihoods-hang-in-the-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/livelihoods-hang-in-the-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Livelihoods hang in the balance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last of a 4-part series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This is part of a series of special reports that Saipan Tribune is featuring every Friday this month, focusing on the \u201ctouchback\u201d provision. The series will examine the rule\u2019s impact on employers, affected workers, and the CNMI economy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Even as only a handful of foreign workers were interviewed for this report, the consensus is clear: the livelihoods of those who rely solely on their jobs in the CNMI are in jeopardy once the touchback rule comes into effect in October this year.<\/p>\n

There are hundreds if not thousands of foreign workers in the CNMI that are facing possible long periods of waiting and loss of income due to the touchback provision of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act (Public Law 115-218), that requires employers to send their foreign workers back to their home countries as they wait for their work visas to be renewed.<\/p>\n

The livelihoods of breadwinners who consider the CNMI their second home will surely be impacted, but this will likely also lead to a loss of valuable skills for businesses and government operations that rely on a huge chunk of Commonwealth-Only Transitional Workers (CW-1). Many of the affected workers are fearful for themselves and their families, but many are also exploring other options, like going to other countries, or migrating to the U.S. mainland.<\/p>\n

Rica Lozarito, a beautician at Mary\u2019s Salon in Garapan, who arrived on Saipan in 2014, said that having to leave again will affect her income. \u201cI\u2019m the breadwinner of my family and if I stay in the Philippines for how many months without a job, it will be bad for me and them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 47-year-old said that Saipan is already her second home. \u201cI don\u2019t want to leave, but I have to. My thoughts on this touchback rule is that it\u2019s not good for people just trying to feed themselves and their families back home. They\u2019ve been working here for many years and, at the end of the day, it\u2019s like it\u2019s nothing when they go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is optimistic though, that she can find work as a beautician elsewhere, as \u201cbeauticians are in demand all over the world,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if I can\u2019t come back here, maybe I\u2019ll go back to Dubai again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Kabiling, also a beautician at Perfect Image salon in Gualo Rai, has been in the CNMI for almost 20 years but is a CW-1 worker. He said he is worried about making enough money before going home. He sends money to his elderly father twice a month. About going back home, he said \u201cI\u2019m sad, but it\u2019s going to happen, so what can I do? If there\u2019s a chance, then please don\u2019t let it happen so we can stay longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWe\u2019re worried because we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen. If we\u2019ll stay long in the Philippines, of course we need to find work, but it\u2019s much harder to find a job there. I\u2019m used to Saipan already. This is my second home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danilo Talenio, however, is actually ready to go back home. Talenio, a cook at Himawari Restaurant who arrived on Saipan on May 11, 2019, said that going back to Pangasinan in the Philippines will allow him to just focus on his fishing business in his hometown. He said he will, however, miss his coworkers and friends on Saipan.<\/p>\n

Another foreign worker, who asked that he not be named, said this might actually be the motivation he needs to look for a job elsewhere, especially since he also have job offers in Australia and Canada.<\/p>\n

Rommel Ramos, a cook at Himawari Restaurant since 2016 from Bulacan, Philippines, said in Tagalog that he is sad and worried about the touchback. \u201cI\u2019m not ready to leave as I don\u2019t have enough savings,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m the breadwinner of my family as my wife is a housewife and my children are still in school, so it\u2019s hard to be the only one working.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the touchback rule will negatively impact his livelihood as one, he provides for his family, and two, he is not ready to leave and hopes that he will have more time before leaving for his hometown.<\/p>\n

Michaela Panganiban, from Laguna, Philippines, who works in Information Technology for the L&T Group of Companies, is also the breadwinner of her family. She feels \u201csad and happy at the same time\u201d about the touchback rule\u2014sad that she\u2019s leaving Saipan because \u201cyou have to save money for the fare, expenses, etc.,\u201d and happy that she\u2019s going to see her family again.<\/p>\n

But she is also not ready to leave because of the expenses of leaving and of not having a job for an undetermined number of days or months. Panganiban\u2019s daughter, mom, aunt, and cousin all live here and she would have to bring her daughter, who is a CW-2, with her back to the Philippines when she leaves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be separated again and I have to stop working. Work is important to me since I\u2019m a single mom and I\u2019m the one taking care of my daughter\u2019s needs and everything,\u201d she said about the negative impact of leaving.<\/p>\n

Marjorie Del Rosario, a restaurant server, has been in the CNMI since April 2016. A native of Bulacan, Philippines, she said she is not ready to leave as she is the bread winner of her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not only me who will be affected by this touchback, but my family too, especially my parents. They\u2019re old already and don\u2019t work. I\u2019m the only one supporting them since my other siblings have their own families too. That\u2019s why if ever I need to leave because of the touchback, I don\u2019t have any idea what will happen to us, given that we need to stay for a long time in our country to wait for my paper to be approved again.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a sliver of hope for foreign workers in the CNMI. Earlier this month, Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) introduced a legislation\u2014H.R. 1420\u2014that will delay the \u201ctouchback provision\u201d of Public Law 115-218 for three years.<\/p>\n

Even with that, most foreign workers do not want to rely on \u201cmaybes\u201d because, as they said, what\u2019s certain is that once they leave for their home countries\u2014which they left in the first place in search of better opportunities\u2014their livelihoods would be severely impacted in a negative way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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