Fewer Pinoy entertainers going to Japan after tightening of immigration law

Fewer Filipinos have been going to Japan as entertainers since the country started tightening its immigration law eight years ago, a report on GMA News TV’s "State of the Nation" (SONA) program on Tuesday noted. In an interview with SONA reporter Bam Alegre, dancer and professional entertainer Jiezel Paloma said she will fly to Japan this March with an entertainment team that will work at a club there. However, she said the journey has not been easy. “Nag-apply kami, mga six months siguro. Kasi dapat December tapos na-move lang nang move,” Paloma said. The number of Filipino entertainers going to Japan has dwindled after the country implemented tougher immigration rules in 2005. Since the rules were changed, entertainers’ papers prior to the new implementation were not acknowledged. As a result, some Filipinos who have worked in the country found it hard to gain entry back to Japan. “Kami nawalan kami ng trabaho almost three years , ‘di katulad before na napakaluwag,” said Zedrik Santos, who belonged to this category of OFW entertainers. Sharp drop Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration show that in 2004, there were around 40,000 OFW entertainers in Japan. In 2006, however, that number fell dramatically to around 4,000, which decreased even more so in 2012, where only about 1,500 OFW entertainers were allowed to perform in the country. Japan tightened its rules because some entertainers do not have "documented talents" and were actually victims of human trafficking. An entertainer must have prior experience, proper papers and a documented talent before he/she will be allowed to ply his/her talent in the country. Slight increase The Philippine Embassy in Japan, located in Tokyo, said the number of OFW entertainers in Japan increased slightly in 2012, but that it was not an indication of an increase in demand for the profession because the country is still implementing tight rules. Still, the POEA says Japan remains a top destination for 350,000 new OFWs every year, mostly skilled technical workers. “Two-thirds ng mga new hired deployments napupunta sa Middle East and then the remaining one-third sa Southeast Asia,” POEA administrator Hans Cacdac said. Whatever profession OFWs choose to pursue and whatever country they pick to work in, however, the POEA wants to remind Filipinos to always be on top of what they’re going into. “Deal with only licensed agencies, at mga registered foreign employers ayon sa talaan ng POEA. Mag-ingat lang po, maging matalino at huwag magpaloko,” Cacdac said. - VVP, GMA News