The True Treasure : Importance of the Overseas Filipino Worker In Nation-Building
The Philippine government recognizes the importance of the Migrant Workers and their families. It is the first country to acknowledge the need to manage the deployment of its migrant workers through the establishment of the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEDB) and the National Seamen Board (NSB), the predecessors of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
It is the first country in the world to create a Welfare Fund for its migrant workers which eventually evolved into the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
The appointment of Labor Attachés and Welfare Officers from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and OWWA to countries with heavy concentrations of Filipino Workers to monitor their welfare emphasized how the Philippines values their contribution. And with the eventual enactment of Republic Act No. 8042 otherwise known as “Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995,” protection of Filipino Nationals overseas became the third pillar of Philippine Foreign diplomacy and institutionalized the role of government through its agencies to attend to their well-being.
The day of ratification of Republic Act No. 8042 also came to be known as Migrant Workers Day.
According to historians, the first Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a slave brought by the Spanish conquistadors to Mexico during the 1500-1600’s.
But more recent records indicate that the first documented OFWs were laborers imported by owners of sugar and pineapple plantations in Hawaii and Guam in 1920 when they experienced labor shortage.
After World War II, another wave of Filipino workers were sent to Guam, Okinawa, Wake Islands as construction workers in the rehabilitation of U.S. military stations.
In the 1950’s it is the turn of Filipino artists, musicians, barbers and contract personnel to work in various Asian countries. This was followed by the massive hiring of Filipino Seafarers by shipping companies all over the world.
Early in the 70’s Iran, Nigeria, Iraq and Papua New Guinea started hiring Filipino engineers, professionals and technicians. Up to 1983, overseas jobs were mostly blue-collar and construction jobs. More technical and professional workers demand increased in 1987.
The majority of the new hires for 1992-95 were in the vulnerable occupations, such as domestic helpers and entertainers.
Surveys have shown that people usually migrate due to political, economic, ecological, and personal reasons. In the Philippine case, it is primarily for economic reasons. Unemployment, search for better opportunities, and perception of the future of the country’s economy coupled by unmet labor demands, higher income and better employment opportunities in the labor hosting countries are what drives Filipinos to leave the country.
Typically, migration affects the country of origin as much as it does the country where the worker migrates.
On the up side, the host country experiences an increase in production, thereby boosting economic growth. On the downside, having a racially different working class may cause a shift in society.
Countries of origin, meanwhile, are relieved of unemployment problems through migration and can expect additional relief in national debt obligations by way of overseas worker remittance. However, it is inevitable to experience a loss of many skilled and highly-educated workers in favor of the host country.
OFWs benefited from migration because they usually become better off, thus enabling them to assist their family, community and country; save for their future and the family; have a chance to travel abroad and know the differences of other countries; build new ties and friendship; and develop their knowledge and skills from their job.
Migration is a fact of life in the Philippines. Whatever drives Filipinos to migrate, whether permanent or temporary, is a personal decision. But even if such decision is personal, it cannot be denied that the Philippines has these OFWs to thank for in keeping the economy afloat.
As Filipinos continue to seek greener pastures outside their homeland, it is not only their families who benefit when they send their remittances, but the country as well through increased investments, domestic consumption and business opportunities.
Since the 1970s, remittances of OFWs have been the biggest source of dollar investments for the country. In 2007 alone, a total of US$14.5B have been remitted by OFWs to their families.
But more than their remittances, the OFWs themselves, their person and well-being, are the most important national treasures that the Philippines can be proud of.
A treasure that the government, througsh its programs and services and protection it provides, honors this Migrant Workers Day. OWWA News
It is the first country in the world to create a Welfare Fund for its migrant workers which eventually evolved into the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
The appointment of Labor Attachés and Welfare Officers from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and OWWA to countries with heavy concentrations of Filipino Workers to monitor their welfare emphasized how the Philippines values their contribution. And with the eventual enactment of Republic Act No. 8042 otherwise known as “Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995,” protection of Filipino Nationals overseas became the third pillar of Philippine Foreign diplomacy and institutionalized the role of government through its agencies to attend to their well-being.
The day of ratification of Republic Act No. 8042 also came to be known as Migrant Workers Day.
According to historians, the first Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a slave brought by the Spanish conquistadors to Mexico during the 1500-1600’s.
But more recent records indicate that the first documented OFWs were laborers imported by owners of sugar and pineapple plantations in Hawaii and Guam in 1920 when they experienced labor shortage.
After World War II, another wave of Filipino workers were sent to Guam, Okinawa, Wake Islands as construction workers in the rehabilitation of U.S. military stations.
In the 1950’s it is the turn of Filipino artists, musicians, barbers and contract personnel to work in various Asian countries. This was followed by the massive hiring of Filipino Seafarers by shipping companies all over the world.
Early in the 70’s Iran, Nigeria, Iraq and Papua New Guinea started hiring Filipino engineers, professionals and technicians. Up to 1983, overseas jobs were mostly blue-collar and construction jobs. More technical and professional workers demand increased in 1987.
The majority of the new hires for 1992-95 were in the vulnerable occupations, such as domestic helpers and entertainers.
Surveys have shown that people usually migrate due to political, economic, ecological, and personal reasons. In the Philippine case, it is primarily for economic reasons. Unemployment, search for better opportunities, and perception of the future of the country’s economy coupled by unmet labor demands, higher income and better employment opportunities in the labor hosting countries are what drives Filipinos to leave the country.
Typically, migration affects the country of origin as much as it does the country where the worker migrates.
On the up side, the host country experiences an increase in production, thereby boosting economic growth. On the downside, having a racially different working class may cause a shift in society.
Countries of origin, meanwhile, are relieved of unemployment problems through migration and can expect additional relief in national debt obligations by way of overseas worker remittance. However, it is inevitable to experience a loss of many skilled and highly-educated workers in favor of the host country.
OFWs benefited from migration because they usually become better off, thus enabling them to assist their family, community and country; save for their future and the family; have a chance to travel abroad and know the differences of other countries; build new ties and friendship; and develop their knowledge and skills from their job.
Migration is a fact of life in the Philippines. Whatever drives Filipinos to migrate, whether permanent or temporary, is a personal decision. But even if such decision is personal, it cannot be denied that the Philippines has these OFWs to thank for in keeping the economy afloat.
As Filipinos continue to seek greener pastures outside their homeland, it is not only their families who benefit when they send their remittances, but the country as well through increased investments, domestic consumption and business opportunities.
Since the 1970s, remittances of OFWs have been the biggest source of dollar investments for the country. In 2007 alone, a total of US$14.5B have been remitted by OFWs to their families.
But more than their remittances, the OFWs themselves, their person and well-being, are the most important national treasures that the Philippines can be proud of.
A treasure that the government, througsh its programs and services and protection it provides, honors this Migrant Workers Day. OWWA News
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