The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) have been hailed as the new generation of “heroes” of the Philippines. Leaving the motherland to pursue a livelihood that will sustain their families and a better quality of life is, rightfully, seen as a sacrifice of heroic proportions. I honor them, the nation salutes them.
According to the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released in December 2022, the number of OFW’s who worked abroad at anytime during the period April to September 2021 was estimated at 1.83 million. In 2019, the number of OFW’s was placed at 2.18 million. With the re-opening of the global economy and international borders, it can be expected that the number of OFW’s should have risen in 2022.
Underscoring the personal sacrifice of OFW’s is their economic heft. In a news report citing a study by Fitch Solutions, it was cited that remittances by OFW’s over the past decade have accounted for about 10% of the country’s GDP. Even in times of crisis, remittances have been inelastic.
Case in point would be the recent pandemic. In 2019, remittances were reported at US$33.47 billion. 2020 saw the worst of COVID with the number of OFW’s shrinking from 2.18 million to 1.77 million due to repatriations resulting from the global economic halt. Even so, OFW remittances dipped only ever so slightly to US$33.19 billion. This shows that tenacity of OFW’s in caring for family during good times or bad. With the return of economic activity in 2021, remittances rose to US$34.88 billion and then even more to US$36.14 billion in 2022. OFW remittances of Filipinos are the fourth largest in the world following India, China and Mexico.
Truly, the impact of these remittances cannot be emphasized enough. With remittances accounting for 10% of GDP, that would almost be equivalent to the contribution of the entire agricultural sector. In 2022, agriculture contributed around 9% to economic activity in the country. Perhaps, this is also a reason why the Philippine economy is driven in large part by domestic consumption, with remittances financing a significant portion of consumer spending.
In the automotive industry – as I suppose in many other industries as well – the level of OFW remittances are used as a major input in projecting sales of new vehicles. As remittances go, so does the auto market. In the last 10 years, remittances have been rising year-on-year from US$21.39 billion in 2012 to $36.14 billion last year. This generally mirrors the growth of automotive sales and the rise of motorization. except the aberrations of 2017 due to tax changes and, of course, COVID.
I think we can do a better job of caring for our OFW’s. Not simply because of their economic value but, more importantly, because it is government’s responsibility to care for Filipinos everywhere. Horror stories abound about abuses by foreign employers, especially of the physical and emotional kind. Tales are also rampant about wages being withheld or not being paid on time or in full. Reports of these nature are really sad to hear.
I was heartened by the creation of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) in February, 2022 which is now headed by Secretary Susan Ople. The DMW was established to increase the amount of support OFW’s should receive and to speed up the delivery of services to them, as well as to bring together all of their agencies and inter-agencies with a mandate to protect and promote OFWs. Given the significant contributions and value of OFW’s to the country, they truly deserve a government agency exclusively dedicated to their welfare.
Outside of caring for OFW’s while they are deployed, I hope that the DMW can also enhance their efforts in making applications for overseas deployment less complex. It would be nice, for example, to have “one-stop” windows instead of having to shuttle between numerous windows to process their requirements. Also, online counselling can be strengthened to reduce going back and forth. And, critically, cutting out unscrupulous placement agencies and fixers must be vigorously pursued. Perhaps, these are already the case. I hope.
For me, though, the most important support we should provide OFW’s is a re-entry strategy for when they are ready to come back home and take their righful place with their family. Financial management counselling is a practical way of preparing OFW’s to assure that they can provide for themselves. We can also make available upskilling opportunities – even while they are abroad – so their repatriation can be more seamless. And, we should provide a support system that gives back to our OFW’s for their sacrifice – health care, social security, housing, etc…
I was an OFW myself, working overseas for almost two decades. I was proud to be carrying the flag of the Philippines and even prouder now that I am back home.
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