The Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) organized a training seminar for the staff of its member organizations at Splash Mountain , Los Baños, Laguna. The event aimed to upgrade the advocacy skills of the members, providing them with updates on relevant migration-related issues and improving their networking abilities.

The training seminar was able to put together 30 participants representing the PMRW network organizations. Seven out of eight members had representatives present: the Apostleship of the Sea – Manila (AOS-Manila); Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA); Development Action for Women Network (DAWN); the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP-ECMI); the Scalabrini Center for People on the Move (SCPM); the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC); and the Stella Maris International Service Center (SMISC). Unfortunately the International Catholic Migration Commission – Southeast Asia was not able to send a representative.

The program consisted of lectures and workshops. The morning of the first day was focused on familiarizing and informing the participants about the advocacy work of the group, as well as the nature, programs and activities of each member organization of PMRW. The afternoon was dedicated to enriching the participants' knowledge of the various policies the Philippines and the international community have regarding migration. The next day, migrants' rights protection and the legal and paralegal approach to migrant labor cases were presented by National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) Labor Arbiter Atty. Teresita Castillon-Lora which was eventually followed by a workshop on the OWWA Omnibus Policy. Materials relevant to the topics discussed were given to each participant for their immediate and future reference.

The days were heavy with all the information given but the evenings provided balancing effect as camaraderie was given importance. Social activities have been prepared after a long day of work. A film showing, karaoke contest and a fellowship night were scheduled for the evening activities. These gave the participants the chance to become acquainted with and forge friendships with the other network organization officers and staff.

Over all the objective of the training seminar was achieved with the participants gaining more knowledge on migration as well as on the activities of each PMRW member organization. With this training seminar, PMRW has strengthened its advocacy work by instilling the grounds from which the organization moves on each member and encouraging them to be steadfast in the service they provide to the Filipino migrants.

By: Maria Celeste A. Marasigan