Moving Forward: From OFWs to Donors and Investors

By:Perla Aragon-Choudhury

Of the close to 200 countries and territories where Filipinos have ventured into, Italy and Spain rank among the more hospitable places for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Unlike most countries temporarily hosting OFWs, Italy and Spain offer the possibility of long-term residence and eventually citizenship to migrants. More importantly, legal residents in these two countries may be joined by parents, spouses and minor children. After more than four decades of migration from the Philippines, Filipino communities are now very much a part of the social landscape in Italy and Spain.

The migration of Filipino workers to Italy and Spain was pioneered by women who took up domestic work. The state was not involved in organizing their migration, not like the large-scale and organized labor migration to the Middle East that started at around the same time. Until about the 1990s, Filipino communities in Italy and Spain were highly feminized. Since then, the demographics of the Filipino population now include a sizable male population, the second-generation, and an emerging cohort of elderly.

Although many migrants and their families have prospered, time and time again, migrants’ rights advocates have stressed that migration policies must go beyond the deployment of workers, and that migration has development potentials beyond remittances.

These twin concerns are among the reasons for a study done last year in these two host countries and in the Philippines by the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC). The research was the main activity of the Migrants’ Associations and Philippine Institutions for Development (MAPID) Project in 2008, an initiative supported by the European Union’s Aeneas Programme. The European Union provided 79 percent of funds (EUR 580,250.20 or about Php 41 million) to support the project; the rest of the funds – 21 percent – constituted the share of SMC.

SMC directs and coordinates the MAPID Project and partners with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas in the Philippines, the Fondazione ISMU (Fondazione per le Iniziative e gli Studi sulla Multietnicità) in Italy, and the University of Valencia in Spain in carrying out this three-year three-country project to build and strengthen the partnership between migrant communities (particularly through migrants’ associations) and government institutions in the Philippines. In Italy and Spain, the study looked into the concern of Filipino workers for their homeland, their intent to invest in the Philippines, and the potentials of their associations to help Filipinos in the host country and to develop their home country. Highlights from the studies in these two destination countries are presented here.

The respondents

In both Italy and Spain, a total of 200 migrants were interviewed in each country. In Italy, Laura Zanfrini of Fondazione ISMU directed the conduct of the MAPID study in Milan and Rome, where many Filipinos live and work. The Italy-based respondents are from 30 to 49 years old; 69 percent women, 56 percent married, mainly with Filipinos; 74% with children in the Philippines and in Italy.

Some 60 percent of these workers are college-educated or graduates in the Philippines. They are mostly employed in domestic work. They are all regular migrants, mostly first generation, and 84 percent are Catholics.

In Spain, the University of Valencia research team headed by Edelia Villaroya conducted the survey in Madrid and Barcelona, home to the largest concentration of Filipinos in the country. Most of them are around 40 years old; 66 percent women; and largely first generation Filipinos.

Half of the interviewees are married, mainly to Filipinos; 63 percent have children (mostly born in Spain). Half either started or completed college in the Philippines; and are employed in domestic work mostly.

All the interviewees are regular migrants in the sense of being documented, many hold Spanish passports; and most are Catholics.

Remitting but not yet fully investing

A main finding stresses the close ties between migrant workers and their families. “In both Italy and in Spain, their main objective is to help their family and to earn more,” Baggio reported. “Their main transnational practice is sending remittances regularly.”

In addition, many of the Filipino workers in Spain dream of putting put up a business in the Philippines, the researchers documented. This appears feasible with their household income of EUR 1,000- 3,000 (about Php 71,000- 212,000) – an amount seen by most respondents as enough for their expenses and to help their relatives back home.

The same dream was verbalized to the researchers by migrant workers in Italy, who normally own or rent houses and have a household income of EUR 2,000-3,000 (about Php 142,000-212,000) and who (one in every four) also aspire to have a business in the Philippines.

Helping the Philippines develop

And so, how prepared are Filipino workers in Spain to help their home country? Baggio described how they have a strong wish to help via philanthropy and support to community projects.

“There may be very little investment in the Philippines but there is some collaboration in local projects – mainly disaster relief,” he said.

And how about Italy? Filipino workers there have very little investments back home but some collaboration (10 percent) in local development projects.

But are there factors to facilitate and coordinate these projects? To find out, researchers from the University of Valencia also interviewed four directors of Filipino migrants’ associations in Madrid and six in Barcelona (six), as well as 40 key informants.

Informants included Filipino diplomats in Spain; Filipinos who are pioneers, religious leaders, community leaders and professionals in Madrid and Barcelona; representatives of Spanish institutions working with Filipinos; representatives of NGOs and associations; and teachers and health professionals with links to Filipinos.

MAPID documented how Filipinos in Spain generally tend to remain in Filipino groups, do not participate in Spanish associations; tend to rely more on NGOs, especially the Church, for help; and generally do not avail of government-provided assistance.

Can Filipino migrants’ associations in Spain become agents of change? This is not among the declared objectives of any such group but solidarity with the Philippines is a founding element of many of them.

Also, the groups have very little contact with Spanish institutions; little information on funding possibilities; and a reliance on membership fees which cannot possibly support development projects.

“They have problems too of internal management and group management skills,” Baggio reported.

But even then, half of Filipino immigrants in Spain say that their migrants’ associations can cooperate in the development of their country of origin.

In Italy, Fondazione ISMU identified and interviewed 20 Filipino associations in Rome and 20 more in Milan, with many officers declaring involvement with solidarity and relief projects back home.

Fondazione ISMU also interviewed Filipino diplomats in Italy; Filipino pioneers, religious leaders, community leaders and professionals and artists in Rome and Milan, and representatives of Italian agencies working with Filipino communities there.

Similar to Spain, Filipino migrant workers in ltaly have a low level of integrating with the larger society – becoming what Baggio called an invisible community, intent on not creating problems and surviving as self-supporting groups.

But on the whole, interviewees from Filipino migrants’ associations in Italy are interested in investments that will benefit family and relatives in the Philippines. In fact, 30 percent of these groups have been asked to support community projects here, and 40 percent have done so.

“There is a great potential for future engagements,” Baggio concluded.

What’s next?

The research findings of the MAPID study in Italy and Spain were considered in the design of training programs and materials for leaders of Filipino migrants’ associations in these host countries. MAPID hopes to tap the potentials of migrants’ associations as change agents. Most migrants’ associations were formed primarily to promote solidarity and provide support to their members. Through capacity building programs, migrants’ associations can realize their potential to promote the full participation of Filipinos in their host societies and as development partners of their home country. The capacity building programs were the main activity of the MAPID Project in 2009.

Based on the response of the participants in the training programs conducted in Italy (Rome and Milan) and Spain (Barcelona and Madrid) between September and November of this year, Filipino migrants’ associations wish to become more proactive in their engagement with Italian, Spanish and Philippine institutions. In Milan, some migrants’ associations are already thinking of participating in the call for proposals by the municipal government. These are encouraging signs of Filipino migrants’ associations rising to the challenge of expanding their role as agents of change in a transnational context.

source:  Commission on Filipinos Overseas

OWWA Grants Scholarship to Qualified OFW Beneficiaries

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) grants scholarship to qualified beneficiaries or dependents of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through their Education for Development Scholarship Program (EDSP). Those who want to avail of this opportunity this year have until September 15 to submit their applications. Each school year, the scholars are entitled to receive financial help from OWWA worth Php60,000.

Click here to read more about the requirements to avail of this scholarship.

Why Do OFWs Choose to Work Overseas?

In 2007, OWWA reported that there were about 1.75 million Filipinos working abroad, a 15.3% increase over the number of OFWs during the same period the year before.  I can’t see any particular online reference right now on the 2008  statistics, but I’m sure the number has increased again last year.  However, due to the global crisis towards the last quarter  last year, it’s a good possibility that many of our OFWs were sent home or opted to come home because of financial problems in the countries where they were working.

Now that there seems to be an improvement in the global economy,  we see an increase again of overseas migration as many of our kababayans continue to travel to different countries for employment.

My question really is why do OFWs choose to work overseas?  The answer to this question is of course, obvious.  It is mainly for economic reasons as many Filipinos are quick to say that there are not a lot of opportunities in the job market here in the Philippines.  And this is the very core of some organizations calling for the government to provide sustainable employment options here so that our countrymen no longer have to consider overseas jobs as the only way to survive.

Perhaps one of the things we should look at is the encouragement of entrepreneurship, which can provide more options to the Filipino worker.  If banks are friendly here and have programs designed for the small businessmen/women, where capital is easily accessed and fund management options are given, then there will be more Filipinos who will consider just staying here and starting their own business, no matter how humble at the start it maybe.

The Filipinos are known to be hard working, creative and easy to get along with.  That’s why we are the favored race in most countries looking for cheaper labor (hard to swallow, but true!).  It’s sad that we can only prosper in an environment that is alien to us and one that usurps our talents which should have been dedicated to our own country in the first place.

I hope that one day the government will no longer boast of the country’s vast number of OFWs as its number one export product, but as its most valuable resource.

If there are ample opportunities here for professional and economic growth, then there will be no reason for millions of Filipinos to sacrifice life and limb for mere pieces of foreign currencies.

Of course, it’s the government’s responsibility, but it is also the obligation of each working Filipino to be resourceful and creative in identifying opportunities that are already here, before longing for greener pastures overseas.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Overseas Absentee Voting Act

As May 2010 approaches, it is important for our overseas kababayans to know more about their rights as absentee voters.

The Overseas Absentee Voting Act (Republic Act No. 9189) was signed on 13 February 2003, and its purpose is to provide all qualified overseas Filipino citizens the opportunity to exercise their right to participate in the election of President, Vice President, Senators and Party-List Representatives.

Below are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the OAV, as posted on the GMANews website:

Q. Who are qualified to vote as overseas absentee voters?
A. All citizens of the Philippines abroad, who are not disqualified by law, and who are at least 18 years of age on the day of the elections. (Click here to see OAV Primer).

Q. Who are disqualified to vote as overseas absentee voters?
A. Under the OAVA, the following are disqualified to vote:
• Those who lost their Filipino citizenship;
• Those who expressly renounce their Philippine citizenship and pledge allegiance to a foreign country, except dual citizens as referred to under Republic Act No. 9225;
• Those who are convicted in a final judgment by a court or a tribunal of an offense punishable by imprisonment of not less than one (1) year, including those found guilty of disloyalty as defined in Art. 137 of the Revised Penal Code;
• An immigrant or a permanent resident who is recognized as such in the host country; and
• Any citizen of the Philippines abroad previously declared insane or incompetent by competent authorities in the Philippines or abroad.

Q. Under what conditions may an immigrant or a permanent resident be allowed?
A. Prior to registration, the immigrant or permanent resident shall execute an affidavit declaring that he/she shall resume actual physical permanent residence in the Philippines not later than three (3) years from approval of his/her registration as an absentee voter (Section 5d of the OAVA).

Q. Can undocumented migrants vote? If so, will they be required to execute the affidavit?
A. Yes, provided they are not among those disqualified under the law. They can present their passports as proof of their Philippine citizenship, or other documents such as birth certificate, baptismal, marriage certificate, etc.

Undocumented migrants are NOT required to execute the affidavit declaring their intent to return to the Philippines within three years, as they are not considered “immigrants” or “permanent residents” in the host country. The deliberations during the passage of the act indicate that Section 5d of the law was specifically intended to cover persons who are LEGAL IMMIGRANTS abroad, such as the Green Card holders in the USA.

Q. How can a Philippine Embassy or Consulate determine who among Filipinos abroad should be considered immigrants or permanent residents abroad, and therefore required to execute affidavits declaring that they will return to the Philippines in three years?
A. There are elements in the definition of immigrant or permanent resident as indicated in law:

• A decision to settle permanently in another country;
• Such decision must be made of the person’s own free will and is not being imposed by an outside factor (in other words, it is not the worker but his employer who can determine anytime his place of work.)
• He must be considered as such in the host country, meaning he is a legal immigrant and not an undocumented alien.

Following these rules, the following are NOT required to execute the affidavit:
• Overseas contract workers who keep on renewing their contracts of employment (such as the Filipinos in the Middle East, even those who have been staying abroad for many years);
• Filipinos who are not staying legally in their host country (such as the “TNTs” in the USA); and
• Persons working for certain companies or employers who transfer them from country to country, independent of the private choice of the employee (such as religious workers, chefs, executives of multinational companies, and other ambulatory workers).

The following should be considered as immigrants or permanent residents and should be required to execute the affidavit:
• Those who are carrying Green Cards or other identity cards issued by the host government, which under the host country’s laws are only issued to persons considered to have legally migrated to that country;
• Persons who are married to a national of the host country;

Q. What if the Filipino immigrant or permanent resident does not return to the Philippines within three years as what declared in the affidavit? What if he votes in the next elections as an absentee voter?
A. Failure to return shall be cause for the removal of the name of the immigrant or permanent resident from the National Registry of Absentee Voters and his/her permanent disqualification to vote in absentia. Immigrants and permanent residents who do not resume residence in the Philippines as stipulated in their affidavit Section 5d of R.A. 9189, within three years after approval of his/her registration and yet vote in the next elections contrary to said section, shall be penalized by imprisonment of not less than one (1) year, and shall be deemed disqualified. His/her passport shall be stamped “not allowed to vote”.

Q. What is the procedure in case a qualified citizens of the Philippines abroad failed to register under R.A. 8189 otherwise known as “The Voters Registration Act of 1996″?
A. He/she may personally apply for registration with the Election Registration Board of the city or municipality where they were domiciled immediately prior to their departure from the Philippines, or with the representative of the Commission at the Philippine embassies, consulates and other foreign service establishments that have jurisdiction over the locality where they temporarily reside.

Q. How shall the COMELEC notify the applicant in case an objection to the application is filed? What is the remedy of said applicant?
A. The Election Officer shall notify the applicant of said objection by registered mail, enclosing therein copies of affidavits or documents in support of the objection if any. The applicant shall have the right to file his counter-affidavit by registered mail, clearly stating therein facts and defenses sworn before any officer in the host country authorize to administer oaths.

Q. What is to be issued in case an application is approved?
A. A certificate of registration as an overseas absentee voter shall be issued by the Commission to all applicants whose applications have been approved, including those certified as registered voters. The Commission shall include the approved applications in the National Registry of Absentee Voters

Q. What are the instances in which entries in the National Registry of Absentee voters may be cancelled or amended?
A. When the overseas absentee voter files a letter under oath addressed to the Commission that he/she wishes to be removed from the National Registry of Absentee Voters, or that his/her name be transferred to the regular registry of voters; When an overseas absentee voter’s name was ordered removed by the Commission from the National Registry of absentee Voters for his/her failure to exercise his/her right to vote under the OAVA for two (2) consecutive national elections; and When an immigrant or a permanent resident fails to return or makes a misrepresentation in his/her affidavit as to his/her application for citizenship in another country.

Q. How can one transfer his/her Registration Record?
A. Section 19. Procedure for Transfer of Registration Records. OAVF No. 1B shall be accompanied by a photocopy of the requesting party’s passport and filed personally or by mail, as follows:

For transfer from one Post to another:

Who may file: Any registered overseas absentee voter who transfers residence from one Post to another.

Where to file: At the Post having consular jurisdiction over his new residence or before the COAV.

When to file: Not later than 31 August 2009.

The Post shall prepare a list of names of applicants who filed applications for transfer. Said list and the corresponding accomplished OAVF No. 1B shall be transmitted to the COAV simultaneously with the accomplished OAVF No. 1 and finalized CD’s in the manner provided in Section 9.b.4.i.

For transfer from one country to another under the same consular jurisdiction of the same Post

Who may file: Any registered overseas absentee voter who transfers residence from one country to another in the same Post having consular jurisdiction over two or more countries.

Where to file: At the same Post having consular jurisdiction over the country of his new residence or before the COAV.

When to file: Not later than 31 August 2009.

The Post shall prepare a list of names of applicants who filed applications for transfer. Said list and the corresponding accomplished OAVF No. 1B shall be transmitted to the COAV simultaneously with the accomplished OAVF No. 1 and finalized CD’s in the manner provided in Section 9.b.4.i.

For transfers from Post to the same Philippine city or municipality comprising the original residence of the applicant

Who may file: any registered overseas absentee voter who transfers residence from Post to the same Philippine city or municipality comprising his original residence

Where to file: before the COAV

When to file: during the period for the resumption of continuing registration in the Philippines but not later than 30 September 2009. For applications filed in connection with the 2004 and 2007 Elections, the COAV shall verify if the applicant is included in the National Registry.

If the applicant is included, the Chairman of the COAV shall approve the accomplished OAVF No. 1B and shall direct the Election Officer to include the applicant’s name in the Computerized Voters’ List (CVL) of the precinct comprising the applicant’s residence, attaching to the directive a copy of the applicant’s previously approved Application for Registration/Certification.

If the applicant’s name is already in the CVL, the EO shall remove the annotation, if any. If the name of the applicant does not appear in the NROAV, his OAVF No. 1B shall be disapproved. The COAV shall notify the applicant of the Chairman’s action on the Letter-Request. If his OAVF No. 1B was approved, the applicant shall personally appear before the EO, accomplish CEF-1B (Annex E), and submit himself to live biometrics capture.

For applications filed for the purpose of the 2007 Elections and future elections, the COAV shall verify if the applicant is included in the National Registry. If the applicant is included, the Chairman of the COAV shall issue a certification to that effect and forward the same to the EO concerned for ERB action, attaching thereto a copy of the applicant’s previously approved Application for Registration/Certification. The EO shall notify the applicant of the ERB’s action on the Letter-Request, with copy furnished to the COAV.

If his OAVF No. 1B was approved, the applicant shall personally appear before the EO, accomplish CEF?1B, and submit himself to live biometrics capture. The COAV shall remove the name of the applicant from the NROAV.

Q. What is a “Type I” applicant as provided in the DFA’s Implementing Rules and Guidelines?

A. These are persons who can present a valid and existing passport during their registration. There is no need for the Post to verify such passports with the DFA if they are convinced that such passport is a valid passport. Ideally, all applicants for overseas registration should be encouraged to request for issuance of a valid passport (if they do not have any) and apply as a Type I applicant as these applicants are easiest to process.

Q. What if an applicant cannot present a valid passport for reasons other than its loss or temporary unavailability? (Type II applicants)
A. The applicant shall present substitute documents that the consular officer at the Post shall require such as the applicant’s expired passport, duly authenticated birth certificate from the NSO, residency card, employment card/permit and local identification card issued by the host country. If the consular officer is convinced that the documents submitted are sufficient to warrant the issuance of a passport to the applicant, the applicant may be allowed to complete the registration process.

Q. What are samples of applicants falling under Type II?
A. Persons who have valid passports but just do not have it in their possession when they apply for registration; Persons with expired passport and are not applying for their renewal; Persons who were last issued Philippine passport many years back (before 1992), and thus need to apply to apply for a passport as a first time applicant since DFA can no longer verify these long expired passports; and Persons of dual nationality who have never secured a Philippine passport (i.e., persons born abroad who have secured foreign passports and subsequently went to reside in the Philippines without ever using a Philippine passport although they were entitled to such; or persons with one alien parent who have always used a foreign passport, i.e., a passport bearing the nationality of the alien parent.) Note: Persons carrying passports under assumed name cannot apply as Type II applicants since they are required to surrender the passports with the assumed name and apply for a new passport under their correct name upon submission of the required documents. They would actually qualify therefore as Type I applicants.

Q. Can an applicant using a passport under an assumed name be allowed to register under such assumed name? If not, under what circumstances would he/she be allowed to register?
A. NO, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE WILL THE POST KNOWINGLY PERMIT THE REGISTRATION OF ANY APPLICANT UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME. This is expressly forbidden by the COMELEC’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (Art. 11). However, such applicant may be allowed to register AFTER issuance of a new passport under his/her true name upon showing of documentary evidence proving his/her true identity. (The applicant shall be considered as Type I applicant: those with valid passports). The original passport with the assumed name shall be confiscated by the consular officer as provided under existing DFA rules and regulations. If the applicant refuses to surrender the passport with the assumed name, the Post shall inform him/her that he/she cannot register for the elections, and it will be left to the discretion of the consular officer as to what should be done about the applicant’s passport with the assumed name.

Q. What shall an applicant submit if he/she cannot present a valid passport due to its loss or temporary unavailability?(Type III applicants)
A. The applicant shall execute and submit an authenticated affidavit sufficiently describing the lost or unavailable passport, attaching a photocopy of its relevant pages, if available; and stating the circumstances of the loss or the reason/s for the temporary inability to produce the passport. The Post shall request the DFA (or concerned Post in case the passport was alleged to have been issued by another Post) to verify the issuance of said passport, as part of the process for the registration of such voter.

Q. What is the procedure of application for qualified seafarer?
A. He/she may file his/her application with the representative of the Commission at the Philippine embassy, consulate and other foreign service establishment having consular jurisdiction over the locality where his/her vessel is docked during the registration period. In addition, a seafarer must also submit a photocopy of his/her Seaman’s Book or any other document that will prove that he/she is a seafarer.

(Source: DFA – OAV Secretariat)

Maritess and the Superfriends

Did you ever wonder who kept the Hall of Justice of the SuperFriends super clean?  Who else, but their reliable Pinay helper, Maritess..

Here’s Maritess recounting her ordeal as an illegal alien hired by the Superfriends! Hilarious, with a bit of reality in it!

OWWA launches 2009 MOFYA

OWWA launches 2000 MOFYA

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has just launched the 2009 Model OFW of the Year Award (MOFYA).  The annual award aims to  recognize model OFWs who had impacted change in their family and community and had remarkable achievements in their fields.

Here are the MOFYA Selection Criteria, as released by the OWWA:

The specific selection criteria for the MOFYA award are as follows:

1. Wholesome OFW Family

-   a. Constancy of positive communication

-   b. Sharing of responsibilities among OFW family members

-   c. Emotional connection, support and maintenance

-   d. Psycho-social maturity of the children

-   e. Involvement of children in civic activities

2. Civic/community involvement

-   a. Advocacies

-   b. Membership in civic organization/Filipino association

-   c. Successful community projects

-   d. Special commendation of children/family member/s

3. Success in children’s or family member/s’ education

-   a. Children or family member/s’ education completed or continuing

-   b. Children or family member/s employed

-   c. Special commendation of children/family member/s

4. Success in managing family finances

-   a. Successful business enterprise/s

-   b. Savings and investments

The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has just launched the 2009 Model OFW of the Year Award (MOFYA).  The annual award aims to  recognize model OFWs who had impacted change in their family and community and had remarkable achievements in their fields.

Here are the MOFYA Selection Criteria, as released by the OWWA:

1. Wholesome OFW Family

-   a. Constancy of positive communication

-   b. Sharing of responsibilities among OFW family members

-   c. Emotional connection, support and maintenance

-   d. Psycho-social maturity of the children

-   e. Involvement of children in civic activities

2. Civic/community involvement

-   a. Advocacies

-   b. Membership in civic organization/Filipino association

-   c. Successful community projects

-   d. Special commendation of children/family member/s

3. Success in children’s or family member/s’ education

-   a. Children or family member/s’ education completed or continuing

-   b. Children or family member/s employed

-   c. Special commendation of children/family member/s

4. Success in managing family finances

-   a. Successful business enterprise/s

-   b. Savings and investments

One winning OFW family from the land-based sector and one from the sea-based sector will be chosen from  each of the 17 regions nationwide, bringing the total number of regional winners to 34.   A national winner will then be chosen from the regional winners for the land based and sea based awardees.

For more information, visit the OWWA homepage.

2009 SONA and the OFWs

In this year’s SONA (State of the Nation Address) delivered by Pres. Arroyo last July 27,  one of the things she mentioned was that it is her dream that one day working overseas will only be a career choice, and not the only option for hardworking Filipinos.  She highlighted the US$16.43 Billion (almost P800 M) that the Pinoy overseas workers brought into the country last year and how that has helped stabilize the peso and curb national inflation.

And our OFWs  are again heralded as heroes.. Nothing wrong with basking in the applause, for after all,  the Filipino overseas worker does deserve the accolades for being a partner in the Philippine economic recovery.  The only question there is for how long will this situation persist?  How much longer should  we see families with absentee parents because they have to work overseas to pay for their children’s education?

I pray for the day to come when we no longer brag about our Filipino workers being the number one export product of this country.  It is a costly compromise for the Filipino family, one that can be minimized if the  government fuulfills its  duty to create a strong,  financial environment where there are other options available.

Wanna know what else was in the  SONA?  Read the full  transcript here.