Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hiils, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

Houde sin 4580

Authored by: Gabriela Women's Partylist Reps. LUZVIMINDA C. LAGAN and
EMERENCIANAA. DE JESUS.

Explanatory Note

With its geographic proximity, resilient highly industrialized economy, and close economic and cultural
ties with the Philippines, Japan is one of the top destinations of Filipino migration and deployment of
overseas Filipino workers in the Far East. It is also one of the earliest destinations of Filipino
migration, dating back to the Spanish colonial period.

Before WWII. when Japan took interest of the country as part of its ambition to establish _a Greater
East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, it deployed diplomatic and military officers disguised as civilian
investors. They took residence in the country and married ilipina partners whom they brought home
after the war. When the Philippine government started implementing its labor-export policy in the late
1970s, Japan was among the top choices for foreign employment destination,

There are now about 211,716 Filipinos in Japan, increasing from 144,100 in 2000. This figure does not
include Filipino migrants who have long established permanent residence in Japan as partners of
Japanese citizens. Nor does it include undocumented Filipino migrants estirmated to number from a low
of 30,000 to as high as $0,000. Filipino migrants and deployed overscas workers in Japan are working
as entertainers, factory workers, nurses, care givers. domestic helpers and trainees.

Filipino migration and overseas work deployment in Japan grow at a yearly average of 9.4 per cent.
This means an entry of more or less 2,000 Filipinos each year. If the trend continues for the next ten
years, it is estimated that their number in Japan would easily approach the vicinity of 235,000 thousand
by 2020. Filipinos in Japan are the biggest dollar remitters outside of the Middle East. In 2010. total
remittance from Japan amounted to US$883 million.

Previously, Filipino migration and work deployment were concentrated in Tokyo and Osaka, the
country’s two premiere cities. But in the last decade, the region in Japan that has been experiencing
high entry rate resulting in increasing Filipino presence is the central part or the Chubu region. This


region is composed of Aichi, Gifu, and Mie prefectures (ken).

The hub of the Chubu region is the Aichi prefecture whose capital is Nagoya, Japan's fourth largest
city. Aichi-ken is the center of the automotive and aerospace industries of Japan. [t has four other major
cities. namely Toyota, Okazaki. Ichinomiya, and Toyohashi. Toyota City is the home of the world-
renown Toyota Motors Corporation. Aside from being an industrial hub, Aichi-ken is also the
entertainment and cultural center of the region. These factors combine to attract hordes of employment-
seeking Filipinos.

Thus, Aichi-ken now hosts 25,923 Filipinos, coming second to Tokyo with 31,567. Nagoya alone has
about 15,000 Filipinos which is bigger than the 11.360 Filipinos in the Kansai region which has a
Philippine consulate general office in Osaka City. The nearby Gifu-ken also has 8,465 Filipi

Mie-ken has 5,105. These three prefectures form a cluster with 39,493 Filipinos.

There are only two full consulate offices in Japan and four honorary consular missions.

One is the Philippine Embassy Consulate Office in Tokyo. It services the prefectures of Akita, Aomori,
Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Hokkaido, Ibaraki, Iwate. Kanagawa, Miyagi, Nagano, Niigata, Okinawa.
Saitama. Shizuoka. Tochigi, Tokyo, Yamagata, and Yamanashi.

The other is the Philippine Consulate General Office in Kobe-Osaka. It services the prefectures of
Aichi, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Gifu, Hiroshima. Hyogo, Ishikawa, Kagawa. Kagoshima, Kochi,
Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyazaki, Nagasaki. Nara, Oita, Okayama, Osaka, Saga, Shiga, Shimane,
Tokushima, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, and Yamaguchi.

In effect, the 39,493 Filipinos in the Chubu region are serviced by a consulate based in Osaka aided by
an honorary consulate in Nagoya. But because an honorary consulate is not a consulate in a true sense
of the word. Filipinos actually have to go to Osaka for their foreign and consular services needs, The
Osaka consulate general office offers outreach missions to Nagoya but these missions do not come on a
regular basis. Moreover, they are limited to Nagoya, hardly reaching Filipinos in other parts of the
Chubu region. As a result, Filipinos have to yo to Osaka most of the time for their foreign and consular
service needs.

Osaka is some 139 kilometers from Nagoya and going thereto from any point of the Chubu region
entails a travel time of 2 to 3 hours that costs $200 in transportation expenses. This means, in addition
to financial costs, the loss of whole day of paid work on the part of Filipinos who want to process their
travel documents with the Osaka consulate.

The Kansai region is basically a destination of Filipino emertainers while the Chubu region is the
destination of a wide range of Filipino migrants and overseas workers: factory workers. trainees,
entertainers, and domestic helpers. The Filipino community in the Chubu region is therefore bigger and
growing faster than in Kansai. On the heels of this vibrantly growing Filipino community is their
growing foreign and consular services needs that have led to persistent clamor for the creation of a full
consular office in Nagoya, Japan. They have voiced this demand since 2007.

A consulate in Nagoya, Japan will benefit not only the growing Filipino community in the Chubu
region but also the Filipino communities in nearby prefectures. Migrante International estimates that
some 50,000 Filipinos will benefit from a Nagoya-based consulate.


On these premises, the authors hereof urge the immediate enactment of this bill.

dada, Ce Noni &
Lu INDA C. ILAG. EMERENCIANA A.DE JESUS
Gabficla Women's Party

GabriclaWomen's Party


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

Howe 4580 _

‘Authored by:

jabriela Partylist Reps. LUZVEMINDA
EMERENCIANA A. DF. JESUS

AN ACT CREATING A FULL CONSULATE GENERAL OFFICE,
IN NAGOYA, JAPAN AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the House of Representatives and the House of Senate, assembled in the Fifieenth
Congress of the Philippines, that,

See, 1, Statement of state principles and poticies -

a, The State recognizes the immense sacrifice that overseas Filipino workers go through in sceking and
maintaining their employment abroad:

b. The Stale also recognizes the invaluable contribution of overseas Filipino workers ta the national
economy, and

. In reciprocation of their sacrifice and contribution to the national economy, it is the policy of the
State to extend full forcign affairs services and support programs to overseas Filipino workers and to
make these services and support programs convenient and accessible through the establishment of
diplomatic or consulate general missions where there is considerable presence of Filipino community.

Sec. 2. Creation of a consulate general office in Nagoya, Japan — There is hereby created a consulate
general mission that shall hold office in Nagoya. Japan (to be referred hereinafter as the Nagoya
consulate general office).

Sec. 3. Area of responsibility - The Nagoya consulate general office shall have jurisdiction over
Aichi-ken, Gufi-ken and Mie-ken and such other adjacent or nearby Japanese prefectures to be
determined by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in accordance with Scc. 12 of Republic Act 7157 or The
Philippine Foreign Service Act of 1991. Aichi-ken. Gufi-ken and Mic-ken and such other prefectures as
determined by the Secretary shall constitute the territorial limits of the jurisdiction of the Nagoya
consulate general office.


Sec. 4, Full staff complement — The Nagoya consulate general office shall have the full officers and
personnel complement of a consulate general mission in accordance with The Philippine Foreign
Service Act of 1991, the rules of the Civil Service Commission and such other pertinent laws.

Sec. 5. Mission head and appointment - The Nagoya consulate general mission shall be headed by a
consul general to be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines in accordance with
the provisions of The Philippine Foreign Service Act of 1991:

Sec. 6. Appointment of vice consuls and labor attaches — The appointment to the positions of vice
consuls and labor attaches and all other officers and personnel necessary for the full staff complement
of the Nagoya consulate general mission shall be made by the appropriate appointing authority in
accordance with the provisions of The Philippine Foreign Service Act of 1991, the rules of the Civil
Service Commission and such other pertinent laws.

See, 7. Namber of labor attaches - In order to serve the Filipino community in the Chubu region to
the fullest and most efficient extent possible, the Nagoya consulate general mission shall have at least
two labor attaches.

Sec. 8. Budget - There is hereby allocated the sum of One Hundred and Fifty Million Philippine Pesos
(P150 M) from the 2012 General Appropriations Act to fund the creation of the Nagoya consulate
general office. Thereafter, the MOEE of the Nagoya consulate general office shall be included in the
annual budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the General Appropriations Act.

Sec, 9, Exclasionary clause — If any portion or provision of this Act shall be declared unconstitutional
or invalid, the portion or provisions that remain unaffected and valid shall continue to have full force
and effect.

See. 10. Effectivity clause, This Act shall take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official
Gazette.

Approved.