Chie Umandap – Bayani Ng Mga Bagong Bayani

Written By Carmel Rendon

Dr. Chie Umandap, the first nominee of the Advocates and Keepers of Overseas Filipino Workers (AKO-OFW) party-list, has always been willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need, no matter who they were. “We [the AKO-OFW party-list] are focused sa aming direksyon. We are focused sa aming adhikain. We are focus sa aming adbokasiya na tulungan ang bawat OFW na nangangailangan pati na rin ang kanilang mga pamilya.”

(We are focused on our direction. We are focused on our mission. We are focused on our advocacy to help every OFW in need as well as their families.)

He embodies the values that Filipinos are well-known for: compassion for others, service to our community, and devotion to the Lord.

Born and raised in Makati City and coming from a simple family, things were not served on a silver platter for Umandap. Umandap is the tenth in the family. And as he and his siblings witnessed their parents going the extra mile to provide for them, the children recognized the value of education. The first nominee, because of his parents, has always been driven to value his parents' sacrifices and hard work during his youth.

Now that they (the Umandap children) have their own families, they work hard to ensure that their parents' sacrifices are appreciated and that their efforts are not in vain. Alongside being a jeepney driver, Umandap’s father raised and sold pigs to raise enough money to pay for his son's education. This is the reason why he took his studies seriously because he had watched his father return home after jeepney driving, feed the pigs, and then go back out to drive the jeep. He then earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree from Centro Escolar University

Around the age of 17, Umandap was already a community organizer, coordinating youth movements and carrying out social action for barangays to benefit the youth. He had made it his mission to help others, and as he grew older, he preserved this passion through social services.

He became actively involved in the community, going on medical-dental missions across the Philippines. Umandap served the church as the head of the Social Service Ministry and was in charge of social services and charitable programs in addition to the dental missions. His services were subsequently recognized by Caritas Manila, one of the largest church-based nonprofit organizations in the Philippines, where he was appointed by Fr. Anton Pascual to be the District Operations Head of churches in Makati City, Pasay City, Mandaluyong, and San Juan.

Following the success of his efforts as a fruit of his active participation in the community and church, Umandap decided to take a different path to embark on a new mission. He took the decision to travel abroad and work in Kuwait, where he eventually decided AKO–OFW would soon be founded.  

He founded the Samahan ng mga Dentista (the Association of Dentists) in Kuwait in 1993 and served as the Vice-Chairman of the Council of Leaders of the Filipino Communities. Another organization he headed was the Filipino Badminton Committee; However, this wasn't your typical sports organization because all proceeds went to charity.

Aside from raising proceeds for charity, Umandap remained active by conducting leadership training for Caritas, Manila volunteers and providing social services. 

As Umandap shares, “Ang charity, hindi yan basta’t basta gusto mo lang magbigay. Hindi lang pwede may pera tayo donate ka lang, hindi ganon yon eh. Kailangan may e-bu-build ka, yong e-bu-build mo yon trust and hope doon sa tao.”

(Charity is not as long as you just want to give. We can't just donate money, it's not like that. You need to build something, you can build trust and hope in that person.)

Later, at a time when OFWs were being mistreated, leading to abuse, rape, and even death, AKO-OFW Incorporated was created. 

“One time, merong isang rape victim tumawag sa akin, umabot ako sa ospital, talagang tumutulo ang dugo sa legs nya. Yun pala nirape. Siguro napunit ng ari at talagang continuous yung bleeding. Binantayan natin dahil baka mamaya kunin ulit ng employer; so habang binantayan natin, tumawag tayo ng police, tumawag sa embahada para bantayan siya para hindi na siya makuha ulit ng employer niya na nag rape sa kanya. Doon din tayo nakakaranas ng personal experience na nakita natin yung mga binugbog, yung dugo-dugo yung mukha,” Umandap shares.

(One time, a rape victim called me. I arrived at the hospital, blood was really dripping from her legs. She was raped. Maybe the vagina was torn and the bleeding was really continuous. We watched because the employer might later take over again; so while we were watching, we called the police and called the embassy to watch her so that her employer who raped him would not get her again. It is also where we have the personal experience that we see the beaten ones, the bloody faces.)

The organization, AKO-OFW, began in Kuwait with the sole intention of assisting OFWs residing in the country. Following that, the organization flourished with the people and families that Umandap aided. Inspired by such acts of compassion, OFWs and even their family members who received help from the organization decided to continue this advocacy as well by creating branches of the organization outside Kuwait.

Umandap never expected anything in return, not even a thank you, and he never kept track of anyone he aided throughout the years.

“Dahil inisip ko, kapag tumutulong tayo, hindi kinakailangan ng record yon sa lupa. Yan ay record sa itaas. […] Pag dumating ang panahon, wala akong alam kung sino ang tinulungan ko kundi, hahayaan ko ang Diyos na magsabi sa akin kung sino ang tinulungan ko,” he says.

(Because I thought, when we help, there is no need for that record on the ground. That is the record above. […] When the time comes, I don't know who I helped but, I will let God tell me who I helped.)

Being described as "mga bagong bayani", or “new/modern-day heroes”, to Umandap, is insufficient in comparison to the sacrifices they have made and challenges they have faced; instead, this must be proven and felt. This is precisely what Umandap and his party-list intend to do. In line with their advocacy, they want to be able to offer OFWs the benefits they have yet to receive.

One of the initiatives AKO-OFW’s party-list wants to push for if they ever get the chance to win elections is to establish OFW hospital wards in all regional hospitals around the Philippines. Despite the fact that an executive order has been issued to establish an OFW hospital in Pampanga, not all overseas workers and their families reside in the area. Umandap noted that the reason they want these OFW hospital wards is that these OFWs have been abroad from the country for at least two years and have been deprived of any medical attention that they may need during that time.

An OFW Pension Plan, Discount Benefits and Advisory Council are other plans in mind from the party list. Since OFWs do not currently receive as many advantages as they should, Chie intends to establish these in order to assist returning overseas workers.

Umandap highlighted that his party-list wanted the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to be more than just a welfare fund, but also a provident fund because it would be the first step toward implementing the OFW Pension Plan. Currently, the benefits that OFWs can obtain are mainly from OWWA, SSS, and PhilHealth.

“Hindi sapat na tawagin lang kami na ‘bagong bayani’, iparamdam,” Umandap says. “Dapat iparamdam. dapat may pinakapakinabangan ang mga OFW.”

(It's not enough to just call us ‘new heroes,’” Umandap says, “It should be felt [that we are ‘new heroes’]. OFWs should have benefits.)

Umandap felt that the OFW sector was not fully recognized in our community and that our society failed to acknowledge it as a whole sector, leading to local government units failing to hear their concerns, and this is where the OFW Advisory Council comes into effect.

“Dapat ngayon kilalanin na ang OFW ay isang malaking sektor ng ating community. Dapat may boses ang mga OFW sa ating bawat barangay at sa bawat munisipyo. Dapat sa pag gawa ng mga municipals o barangay resolutions or [barangay] ordinances, dapat kinokunsulta narin ang sektor ng OFW,” he says.

(We must now recognize that OFWs are a big sector of our community. OFWs must have a voice in every barangay and in every municipality. In making municipal or barangay resolutions or [barangay] ordinances, the OFW sector should also be consulted.)

Another issue faced by an overseas worker is the possibility of mistreatment. In 2020, approximately five thousand incidents of maltreatment of overseas Filipino workers were reported, with the Middle East accounting for the lion's share with 4,302 cases (Statista, 2022). There is no easy or single solution in this case, but Umandap suggests that recruitment agencies from other countries create a monetary deposit here in the Philippines, which the worker can draw from if they are sent home and do not receive any compensation or benefits, or if the agencies violate the contract between them and their employee(s).

Umandap also pondered strengthening the presence of legal assistance for OFWs in outside countries and creating a database for employers, including complete information about the employers so that those who have a history of abusing workers will be unable to hire anyone from any of these recruitment agencies in the future.

What distinguishes the AKO-OFW party-list from any other party-list advocating for the same causes is that their officials and members have first-hand experience as OFWs and have been first-hand witnesses to the challenges they are highlighting.

“Ang AKO-OFW, ang bumuo nito at ang mga nominees nito, ay mga OFW talaga. Kaya nga ang lakas ng loob namin sa aming adbokasiya na nilalatag natin, na sinasabi namin. Hindi ito based sa aral lang, personal experience ito. Kami ang person of witnesses sa mga nangyayari na ito.” Umandap shares.

(The AKO-OFW, its creator and its nominees, are really OFWs. That’s why we have the courage in our advocacy that we lay out, that we say. [Our advocacy] is not based on just lessons, it's also personal experience. We are witnesses to these happenings.)

Aside from increasing their social media presence, the party-list made an effort to visit barangays and provinces so that their presence is felt not just online but also in person. During their visits, they held open forums where anybody could ask any question in the hopes that these interactions would allow the people to get to know them. 

Umandap highlighted, “Malaking bagay kasi na makita ng mga taong-bayan sino ba ang iboboto nila.”

(It's a big thing for the people to see who they will vote for.)

Whether they win or lose, Umandap says, “Ang AKO OFW, ano man mangyari sa elections na ito, ano man ang maging resulta, ay mananatiling isang NGO. […] Ipagpatuloy natin ang serbisyo, ipagpatuloy natin ang paglalaban. Hindi ang party-list ang dahilan kung bakit nabuo ang AKO OFW, hindi yan ang primary purpose ng AKO-OFW.”

(The AKO-OFW, whatever happens in these elections, whatever the outcome, will remain an NGO. […] Let's continue the service, let's continue the fight. The party-list is not the reason why AKO-OFW was formed, that is not the primary purpose of AKO-OFW)

Umandap noted that the organization's central objective is to protect and care for OFWs and that no matter what the results are, they will continue to carry out their mission.

“Ang laban ng OFW ay laban ng mga Pilipino. […] Bawat pamilya, bawat magulang ay nangangarap na ang kanyang anak ay maging isang professional, makagraduate ng kolehiyo. At bawat pamilya na yan at bawat bata na yan, magiging professional, maging college graduate, posibleng magiging OFW. Ngayon, hindi sapat na proteksyon ang pagiging professional,” Umandap says.

(The fight of OFWs is a fight of Filipinos. […] Every family, every parent dreams that his child will become a professional and graduate college. And every family and every child, be a professional, be a college graduate, possibly be an OFW. Now, being professional is not enough protection.)

The AKO OFW is more than just a party-list for OFWs and their families. As Umandap emphasized, their party-list aims to care for and represent these overseas workers because even our country's modern heroes need protection.

Recommended Song: So Far Away - Bamboo

Images from Chie Umandap’s Facebook Page