The 23rd National Migrant Sunday
Each year the Catholic Church celebrates National Migrants Sunday (NMS), a special time dedicated to the migrants especially to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families.  The celebration is spearheaded by the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).  In the midst of the global financial crisis, the Church feels doubly the responsibility to offer solace to migrants in their period of suffering. Once more she has expressed her solidarity to those affected OFWs who had been the first victims of displacement in labor migration and whose families suffered the immediate effects of global economic meltdown.

Date:March 1 , 2009
Venue:Manila, Philippines

Together, Making Migration a Choice
Recognizing the importance of having a properly organized and well-coordinated program of activities for migrants on the occasion of the celebration of International Migrants’ Day, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), staged last December 18 an important forum to determine what transpired in the recently concluded Second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which was held in Manila last October 27 – 30. The forum carried the theme, “Together, to make migration a choice.”

Date:December 18 , 2008
Venue:Manila, Philippines

PMRW Meets the Media
Cognizant of the important and crucial role of media in public advocacy and information dissemination, the PMRW organized a morning tete-a-tete with selected members of the media last September 2, 2008 at the Scalabrini Migration Center, PMRW’s Secretariat office. It was also PMRW’s way of formally introducing the network and its member organizations to the media.

Friends from online, television, radio and print media graced the occasion.

Date:September 2 , 2008
Venue:New Manila, Quezon City

The “Asia Consultation” of ICMC
In cooperation with the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) and the Philippine Migrants Right Watch (PMRW), the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) organized a consultation meeting on migration issues and concerns in Asia at Bahay Pari located in the San Carlos Seminary Complex in Guadalupe, Makati City last August 28 –29, 2008. The high level Conference convened about 40 delegates from 18 countries in the region, composed mainly by bishops and representatives from their respective commission for migrants of their bishops’ conference.

Date:August 28 - 29, 2008
Venue:San Carlos Seminary, EDSA, Makati City

Consultation on the 2008 GFMD for Metro Manila-Based CSOs
Last August 27, 2008, close to 50 representatives of Metro Manila-based civil society organizations (CSOs) including the private sector got together at the San Carlos Seminary, EDSA, Makati City for the last of the CSO consultations for the CSO GFMD 2008. They were joined by observers from other CSOs, international and regional migration groups, and agencies of government.

Date:August 27, 2008
Venue:San Carlos Seminary, EDSA, Makati City

A SPLASH OF PMRW Capacity Building 2008
From August 21-22, member organizations of the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) gathered at the Splash Mountain Resort in Laguna for its annual capacity building activity. This activity aims to develop camaraderie between and among the staff and members of the PMRW member-organizations. It is also a venue for exchange of information, skills and experiences to enhance capabilities in carrying out organizational tasks and mission towards the promotion and protection of migrants’ rights and welfare.

Date:August 21 – 22, 2008
Venue:Splash Mountain Resort, Laguna

PMRW Planning Meeting
On the 10th and 11th of March, members of PMRW convened at the Splash Mountain Resort in Laguna for its annual planning meeting. Aside from discussing the general direction of PMRW for the year 2008, the 2007 General Report was once again read and updated from its last presentation during PMRW’s General Assembly held in Tapei, Taiwan on December 8, 2007.

Date: March 10 - 11, 2008
Venue:Splash Mountain Resort, Laguna

International Migrants' Day
This year, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) chairs the inter-agency committee for the celebration of the month of overseas Filipinos and international mi-grants’ day. President Gloria Arroyo on October 10, 2007, signed Administrative Order No. 202, creating an interagency committee to prepare commemorative activities on December 18, 2007 as avenues for collective action to pro-mote the welfare of Filipino migrants. Co-chaired by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the commit-tee on December 18 came up with the forum “Elevating Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Filipino Migrants” held at the Coconut Palace.

Date: December 18 , 2007
Venue:Coconut Palce, Manila

First PMRW General Assembly
This year, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) chairs the inter-agency committee for the celebration of the month of overseas Filipinos and international mi-grants’ day. President Gloria Arroyo on October 10, 2007, signed Administrative Order No. 202, creating an interagency committee to prepare commemorative activities on December 18, 2007 as avenues for collective action to pro-mote the welfare of Filipino migrants. Co-chaired by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the commit-tee on December 18 came up with the forum “Elevating Standards for the Protection and Welfare of Filipino Migrants” held at the Coconut Palace.

Date: December 8-9 , 2007
Venue:St. Christopher’s Church in Taipei, Taiwan

A Conference on Globalization and Human Rights of Migrants
During the first week of the month of December 2007, the Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) in association with Stella Maris InternationalService Center, Scalabrini International MigrationNetwork (SIMN) Taiwan, the Dpiscopal Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People of Taiwan (DCMI), and Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA) convened an International Conference on Globalization and Human Rights of Migrants, in Taipei Taiwan. The Conference was attended by about four hundred interested bodies from educational institutions, governments, NGOs and the media. It was an appropriate venue to discuss issues related to the real situationof migrants in the South-Dast Asia region, especially in Taiwan.

Date: December 6 - 8, 2007
Venue: Taipei, Taiwan

PMRW Forum on Illegal Recruitment in Bayombong
The Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) along with the Dpiscopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (DCMI) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and the Bayombong Diocesan Migrants’ Commission (BDMC) organized a public forum titled “The Present Plight of OFWs in Region 2,” at Cordillera Resort and Sports Complex in Nueva Vizcaya last September 29, 2007. The forum tackled mainly the issue of illegal recruitment and the status of the Filipino workers who returned from Lebanon last 2006.

Date: September 29, 2007
Venue:Cordillera Resort and Sports Complex, Nueva Vizcaya

Forum on Welfare and Protection for OFW's
PAMPANGA – Despite the heavy rains that poured that day, migrant leaders and representatives from various non-government and government line agencies attended the forum on Overseas Employment Welfare and Protection Mechanism held at King’s Royal Hotel & Leisure Park in San Fernando, Pampanga on 14 August 2007.  The forum aimed to provide migrant leaders and advocates in the province of Pampanga appropriate information on the initiative of national government agencies regarding welfare and protection mechanisms on the overseas employment program.

Date: August 14 , 2007
Venue:King’s Royal Hotel & Leisure Park in San Fernando, Pampanga

Capacity-Building Seminar for Effective Advocacy and Lobbying

The Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) knows and values the importance of lobbying and advocacy work towards achieving its goal of promoting the rights and welfare of Filipino migrants. As such, the theme for this year’s Capacity-Building Seminar was on project planning, lobbying and advocacy.

Date: August 9-11, 2007
Venue: La Roca de Trinidad resort in Los Baños, Laguna

Book Launch of “Migrants' Stories, Migrants' Voices”
The Philippine Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) recently launched its latest publication. Entitled “Migrants' Stories, Migrants' Voices,” the book was made available to the public during a launch held on March 6, 2007 at the Scalabrini Center for People on the Move (SCPM). The book is a compilation of various experiences of OFWs and their families left behind. It presents twelve stories written by migrants and members of their families.

Date: March 6, 2007
Venue: Scalabrini Center for People on the Move (SCPM)

Forum on Media and Migration
For more than three decades now, Filipinos have gone overseas in search of better lives and opportunities. At present, there are about eight million Filipinos scattered all over the world. This number is expected to increase as more and more Filipinos see migration as an option to improve their quality of life.

Date: 28 June 2006
Venue: Bayview Park Hotel, Manila

16th CCOFW meeting
The 16 th CCOFW meeting was held at POEA on March 6, 2006 . PMRW members and other NGOs were present. Admin. Rosalinda Baldoz of POEA presided over the meeting. POEA Deputy Administrator Viveca Catalig, Dir Noriel Devanadera and Dir. Felixberta Romero also of POEA, Philhealth Vice President of Membership and Contributions, Gregorio Rulloda, Fiscal Elizabeth Santos of the DOJ, Mr. John Macalincag of OWWA, Atty. Edna May Lazaro and Ms. Estrella Roman of DFA-OUMWA, Ms. Mariel Quizon of ILAS and Hazeline Barroso of the BID were also present.

Date: 6 March 2006
Venue: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

15th CCOFW meeting
The 15 th Consultative Council for OFW (CCOFW) was convened on February 6, 2006 at the OWWA Multipurpose Hall. In attendance were members of the PMRW and other migrant NGOs. On the government side, the DOLE was represented by Usec Danillo Cruz who presided over the meeting. The OWWA and POEA were represented by Directors and other staff, with the POEA delegation led by Deputy Administrator Viveca Catalig. Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr led the DFA-OUMWA team.

Date: 6 February, 2006
Venue: OWWA Multipurpose Hall