"Karaoke Dreams", a musical comedy produced by the Philippine
Educational Theater Association (PETA) and sponsored by IOM's
European Union-funded Philippine Border Management Project (PBMP),
will open in Metro Manila today.

The play's serious message is designed to encourage Filipinos
planning to join the estimated eight million of their compatriots
living abroad to migrate legally using authentic passports and
genuine visas, and to avoid irregular migration channels operated
by people smugglers and human traffickers.

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, about
3,000 Filipinos leave the country every day to work abroad in
locations as diverse as the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore,
North America and Europe.  

The play, which is part of a PBMP information campaign
encouraging the use of authentic travel documents, is backed by the
Office of Consular Affairs of the Philippines, Department of
Foreign Affairs.

The main characters dream of going abroad for a better life, but
their dreams do not come true. A failed singer becomes a victim of
human trafficking and is sold into prostitution. A migrant worker
decides to overstay his visa and live as an illegal migrant, always
on the run from the authorities. And a third character buys
expensive fake travel documents, only to be caught at the airport
and have them confiscated.

"The musical portrays real situations and its messages support
the efforts of the Philippine government to ensure safe migration
for Filipinos," says the Manila-based IOM Regional Representative
for East Asia, Charles Harns.

Free performances of "Karaoke Dreams" will take place in
theatres, shopping malls and community centres in Metro Manila,
Cebu, Davao, La Union and Zamboanga over the next four
months. 

The PBMP is a three-year EU-funded technical cooperation
programme implemented by IOM in cooperation with six Philippine
government partner agencies. Its objective is to contribute to
government efforts to manage national migration in line with
international norms through improved border security and
management.

For more information, please contact:

Kerstin Bartsch

IOM Manila

E-mail: "mailto:kbartsch@iom.int">kbartsch@iom.int

or

Louie Sebastian

E-mail: "mailto:lsebastian@iom.int">lsebastian@iom.int