Overseas Filipinos

Overseas Filipinos
Mga Pilipino sa ibang bansa
Total population
10,238,614 (2013)[1]
Regions with significant populations
 United States 3,535,676
 Saudi Arabia 1,028,802
 UAE 822,410
 Malaysia 793,580
 Canada 721,578
 Australia 397,982
 Italy 271,946
 United Kingdom 218,126
 Qatar 204,550
 Singapore 203,243
 Hong Kong 201,094
 Kuwait 198,289
 Japan 182,917
 Taiwan 89,195
 Bahrain 72,083
 Greece 61,716
 South Korea 59,839
 Oman 55,590
 France 48,018
 Germany 47,214
 Spain 42,804
 New Zealand 39,091
 Israel 36,400
 Brunei 32,765
 Jordan 29,766
 China 29,691
 Lebanon 29,113
 Papua New Guinea 26,153
 Netherlands 21,789
  Switzerland 20,910
 Cyprus 19,948
 Norway 18,088
Languages
Filipino, English, Spanish, other Philippine regional languages
Religion
Predominantly Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism & Iglesia ni Cristo)  · Islam
Related ethnic groups
Filipinos

    An Overseas Filipino (Filipino: Pilipino sa Ibayong-dagat) is a person of Filipino origin who lives outside of the Philippines. This term applies to Filipinos who are abroad indefinitely as citizens or as permanent residents of a different country and to those Filipino citizens abroad for a limited, definite period, such as on a work contract or as students. It can also include seamen and others who work outside the Philippines but are neither permanent nor temporary residents of another country. As a result of this migration, many countries have substantial Filipino communities.

    Overseas Filipinos are known by a variety of terms with slightly different and sometimes overlapping meanings. Overseas Contract Workers, also known as OCWs, are Filipinos working abroad that are expected to return permanently either upon the expiration of a work contract or upon retirement. Balikbayans are Filipinos who have become citizens of another country and have returned to the Philippines for temporary visits. Global Filipino is a term of more recent vintage that is less widely used. Overseas Filipino Investor or OFIs are those Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy through remittances, buying properties and creating businesses. This was coined by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the 14th President of the Philippines.[2]

    Population

    In 2013, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) estimated that approximately 10.2 million Filipinos worked or resided abroad.[1] In the census year of 2010, about 9.3 percent of Filipinos worked or resided abroad.[3]

    More than a million Filipinos every year leave to work abroad through overseas employment agencies, and other programs, including government-sponsored initiatives. Overseas Filipinos often work as doctors, physical therapists, nurses, accountants, IT professionals, engineers, architects, entertainers, technicians, teachers, military servicemen, seafarers, students and fast food workers.[7] Also, many overseas workers are women applying as domestic helpers and caregivers.[8] Others emigrate and become permanent residents of other countries.

    The exodus includes a number of skilled workers taking on unskilled work overseas, resulting in what has been referred to as a brain drain, affecting the health and education sectors. For example, doctors have retrained to become nurses.[8][9]

    Economic impact

    In 2012, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, expects official remittances coursed through banks and agents to grow 5% over 2011 to US$21 billion, but official remittances are only a fraction of all remittances.[10] Remittances by unofficial, including illegal, channels are estimated by the Asian Bankers Association to be 30 to 40% higher than the official BSP figure.[10] In 2011, remittances were US$20.117 billion.[11]

    Philippines is the fourth largest recipient of official remittances after China, India, and Mexico.[10] OFW remittances represent 13.5% of the country's GDP, the largest in proportion to the domestic economy among the four countries.[12] OFW remittances is also credited for the Philippines' recent economic growth resulting to investment status upgrades from credit ratings agencies such as Fitch and S&P.[13]

    In 2012, approximately 80% of the remittances came from only 7 countries—United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, UAE and Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Japan.[11]

    Contributions

    Employment conditions

    Employment conditions abroad are relevant to the individual worker and their families as well as for the sending country and its economic growth and well being. Poor working conditions for Filipinos hired abroad include long hours, low wages and few chances to visit family. Women often face disadvantages in their employment conditions as they tend to work in the elder/child care and domestic. These occupations are considered low skilled and require little education and training, thereby regularly facing poor working conditions. Women facing just working conditions are more likely to provide their children with adequate nutrition, better education and sufficient health. There is a strong correlation between women's rights and the overall well being of children. It is therefore a central question to promote women's rights in order to promote children's capabilities.[14][15]

    Government policy

    Philippine Labor Migration Policy has historically focused on removing barriers for migrant workers to increase accessibility for employment abroad. Working conditions among Filipinos employed abroad varies depending on whether the host country acknowledges and enforces International labor standards. The standards are set by the ILO, which is an UN agency that 185 of the 193 UN members are part of. Labor standards vary greatly depending on host country regulations and enforcement. One of the main reasons for the large differences in labor standards is due to the fact that ILO only can register complaints and not impose sanctions on governments.

    Emigration policies tend to differ within countries depending on if the occupation is mainly dominated by men or women. Occupations dominated by men tend to be driven by economic incentives whereas emigration policies aimed at women traditional tend to be value driven, adhering to traditional family roles that favors men's wage work. As women regularly are seen as symbols of national pride and dignity governments tend to have more protective policies in sectors dominated by women. These policies risk to increase gender inequality in the Philippines and thereby this public policy work against women joining the workforce.[16]

    The Philippine government has recently opened up their public policy to promote women working abroad since the world's demand for domestic workers and healthcare workers has increased. This has led to the government reporting a recent increase in women emigrating from the Philippines. A healthcare problem arises as migrating women from the Philippines and other developing countries often create a nursing shortage in the home country. Nurse to patient ratio is down to 1 nurse to between 40 and 60 patients, in the 1990s the ratio was 1 nurse to between 15 and 20 patients. It seems inevitable that the healthcare sector losses experienced nurses as the emigration is increasing. The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement is seen as a failure by most since only 7% of applicants or 200 nurses a year has been accepted on average. Mainly due to resistance by domestic stakeholders and failed program implementation. The result is a "lose-lose" outcome where Philippine workers fail to leverage their skills and a worldwide shortage persists.Despite the fact that Japan has an aging population and many Filipinos want to work in Japan a solution has not yet been found. The Japanese Nursing Association supports "equal or better" working conditions and salaries for Filipino nurses. Yagi propose more flexible wages to make Filipinos more attractive on the Japanese job market.[17][18] [19]

    Results from a focus group in the Philippines shows that the positive impacts from migration of nurses is attributed to the individual migrant and his/her family, while the negative impacts are attributed to the Filipino healthcare system and society in general. In order to fill the nursing shortage in the Philippines suggestions that OFWs return to train local nurses has been made by several NGO’s and training will be needed in order for the Philippines to make up for all nurses migrating abroad.[19]

    Host country policies

    Wealthier households derive a larger share of their income from abroad. This might suggest that government policies in host countries favor capital-intensive activities. Even though work migration is mainly a low and middle class activity the high-income households are able to derive a larger share of their income from abroad due to favorable investment policies. Despite work migration being dominated by workers from low and middle income households it is still wealthier households that derive the largest portion of their income from abroad. These favorable investment policy's causes an increase in income inequalities and does not promote domestic investments that can lead to increased standard of living. This inequality threatens to halt the economic development as investments are needed in the Philippines and not abroad in order to increase growth and well-being. A correlation between successful contribution to the home country's economy and amounted total savings upon the migrants return has been found, therefore it is important to decrease income inequalities while attracting capital from abroad to the Philippines.[17][20]

    Many host governments of OFWs have protective policies and barriers making it difficult to enter the job market. Japan has been known for rigorous testing of Filipinos in a way that make them look reluctant to hold up their part of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement and solely enjoy the benefit of affordable manufacturing in the Philippines, not accepting and educating OFWs.[18]

    Unions and advocacy groups

    Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.

    Multiple NGOs such as UNIFEM, UNESCO and Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights are actively working to improve employment conditions globally. The ILO is a UN agency that deals with unfair working conditions and promote decent work for all no matter if it is domestically or abroad. Established in 1981 the Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW) is the longest existing independent service provider for migrants in Asia.[21] By providing legal help, counseling, and a place to meet the MFMW helps migrant workers in Hong Kong.

    International migration will not become perfectly mobile as long as autonomous countries create barriers to entry. These barriers are normally applied on certain sectors or restrictions aimed at workers from specific countries or regions. The WTO is an organization that works to decrease restrictions worldwide and promote free trade. The WTO has divided the masses of emigrating workers as some promote fair working conditions and strong labor rights. This group of workers argue that removal of international barriers and restrictions will enable equality and free choice no matter where you work or live. Others criticize the WTO for creating a dual international labor market that favors those with highly skilled jobs while low skilled jobs are highly immobile due to public policy and often faces restricted international movement as a result. The restrictions vary depending on level of education, host country and home country.[17][22]

    Family

    Work migration is increasing on a global scale and especially among women; it is especially sectors such as care and domestic work that have seen a rapid increase of women emigrating. The Philippines is leading this development but it is worrisome that as many as 60% of OFWs are temporary workers. Temporary jobs tend to be excluded from basic labor rights such as overtime pay, regular breaks or restricted working hours. Temporary workers can easily be fired and replaced which is the major reason foreign firms often prefer migrant workers. This temporariness causes an additional stress for the family. Many children of migrant workers has grown up not knowing both of their parents. Many children of longterm absent parents does not feel affection towards them, or might not even recognize them. Many relationships are broken as one parent emigrates which causes a larger proportion of children growing up with divorced or unhappy parents. "In the case of the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the strategy is predicted on calling upon women to take the lead in the development agenda, engendering responsibility for generating the means to fund investments in this development".[20][23]

    Remittances are money that are sent home from abroad by the migrant worker. These remittances earned by overseas Filipinos are indisputably positive for individual families and the governments balance of payments as well as the GDP. However it has been found that remittances are primarily used for costs of living such us food and education. Remittances fill the function of covering short term costs but wages are not sufficient to enable savings and investments. It has yet to be proven that remittances can be translated into value adding activities such as start-ups and investments. For the economy to thrive it is fundamental that the value adding activities are creating a long-term sustainable growth in order to improve healthcare, education, infrastructure and government programs.[24]

    Migration is often explained through push and pull factors with remittances pulling skilled workers from the Philippines to move abroad if they are well educated and want better pay in order to escape poverty and help the family. However, push and pull factors rarely include social stigmas, family expectations, gender roles or personal preferences. Leaving the family behind can become a burden for many educated women or men whose parents, partner and extended family expect them to work abroad.

    There is some evidence that women migrating from the Philippines send back more money in relative and sometimes absolute terms than the Filipino men. This is often explained by the women’s great commitment to the family and good abilities to save income. The Philippines government has recognized this recent trend and has therefore targeted sectors traditionally employing women such as childcare, domestic work, healthcare, service jobs and eldercare.[25]

    It has been emphasized by the World Bank that the Philippines has the largest portion of remittances in relation to GDP in the world. It is pointed out that remittances alone cannot keep the Philippines economy afloat and sustainable long term growth must come from domestic investment and growth

    There is some evidence that women in so-called "major sending countries" (e.g. Philippines and Sri Lanka) have higher autonomy and decision-making power within their households than those in "non-sending countries". This suggests that women to a larger extent are making economic decisions in the household. More than economic decisions ought to be measured until conclusions can be drawn from positive or negative effects of more women migrating for wage work and its impact on the family. However, this recent trend will empower women while broadening views and hopefully engage workers in defending their rights.Philippines.".[16][26]

    Return migration

    Returning migrant workers are often argued to have a positive effect on the home economy since they are assumed to gain skills and return with a new perspective. Deskilling has caused many Filipino workers to return less skilled after being assigned simple tasks abroad, this behavior creates discouragement for foreign workers to climb the occupational ladder. Deskilling of labor is especially prevalent among women who often have few and low skill employment options, such as domestic work and child or elder care. Other occupations that recently has seen an increase in deskilling are doctors, teachers and assembly line workers.[17]

    To underline what a common problem this deskilling is returning migrant workers are calling for returnee integration programs, which suggests that they do not feel prepared to be re integrated in the domestic workforce.[16]

    As the Philippines among other countries who train and export labor repeatedly has faced failures in protecting labor rights the deskilling of labor has increased on a global scale. A strong worldwide demand for healthcare workers causes many Filipinos to emigrate without ever getting hired or become deskilling while possibly raising their salary. The result is a no-win situation for the sending and receiving country. The receiving countries lose as skilled workers are not fully utilizing their skills while the home country simultaneously experience a shortage of workers in emigrating prone sectors.[18]

    Countries with Filipino populations

    Lucky Plaza mall in Orchard Road hosts products and services that cater for Overseas Filipinos in Singapore.

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 3 "Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas As of December 2013" (PDF). Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
    2. ↑ "Editorial — Overseas Filipino investors". Philippines Today. 15 October – 14 November 2001. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
    3. ↑ Calculation:
      Domestic population (2010): ~92.34 million[4]
      Overseas Filipinos (2010): ~9.45 million[5] Some sources have indicated that there are on the order of 3 million additional Filipinos working illegally abroad.[6] These have not been included in this calculation.
      Total Filipinos (2010): ~101.79 million
      9.45 million is about 9.3% of 101.79 million.
    4. ↑ "The 2010 Census of Population and Housing Reveals the Philippine Population at 92.34 Million". Philippine Statistics Authority. April 4, 2012.
    5. ↑ "Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas As of December 2010" (PDF). Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
    6. ↑ Yvette Collymore (June 2003). "Rapid Population Growth, Crowded Cities Present Challenges in the Philippines". Population Reference Bureau. An estimated 10 percent of the country's population, or nearly 8,000,000 people, are overseas Filipino workers distributed in 182 countries, according to POPCOM. That is in addition to the estimated 3,000,000 migrants who work illegally abroad.
    7. ↑ "2014 OFW Statistics - 2.3 million work abroad". OFW Guru. OFW Guru. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
    8. 1 2 "Nurse Migration from a Source Country Perspective: Philippine Country Case Study" (PDF). National Institute of Health: 1413. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00716.x<.
    9. ↑ "Migration of health workers: Country case study Philippines" (PDF). International Labour Office: Institute of Health Policy and Development Studies. 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
    10. 1 2 3 Remo, Michelle V. (November 14, 2012). "Stop illegal remittance agents, BSP urged: Informal forex channels a problem in the region". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
    11. 1 2 Magtulis, Prinz (November 15, 2012). "Remittance growth poised to meet full-year forecast - BSP". The Philippine Star.
    12. ↑ "Remittances can't replace good economic policies". Archived from the original on 2006-03-05. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
    13. ↑ King del Rosario. "MBA Buzz: More Funds in the Philippines". Retrieved 2013-06-11.
    14. ↑ UN (2007). " A call for equality.". The state of the worlds children. pp. 1–15. Retrieved 2014-05-18
    15. ↑ "Gender and Migration: An Integrative Approach [eScholarship]". Escholarship.org. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
    16. 1 2 3 Oishi, N. (March 2002). "Gender and migration: an integrated approach". Escolarship.org.
    17. 1 2 3 4 Beneria, L. Deere; Kabeer, C. (2012). "Gender and international migration: globalization, development and governance".
    18. 1 2 3 Nozomi, Y. (February 2014). "Policy review: Japan-Philippines economic partnership agreement, analysis of a failed nurse migration policy".
    19. 1 2 Lorenzo, E. (June 2007). "Nursing migration from a source country perspective: Philippine country case study" (PDF). Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
    20. 1 2 "Migration and Foreign Remittances in the Philippines". IMF working paper: Asia and Pacific department. p. 3.
    21. ↑ "Mission For Migrant Workers |". Migrants.net. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
    22. ↑ Nair, M. (February 2014). "Health professionals’ migration in emerging market economies: patterns, causes and possible solutions" (PDF). Journal of Public Health (Jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org).
    23. ↑ Nussbaum, M. pp. 241–252. Retrieved 2014-05-18
    24. ↑ http://www.docstoc.com/docs/132815534/Workers-Remittances-and-Economic-Growth-in-the-Philippines
    25. ↑ Deparle, Jason (22 April 2007). "A good provider is one that leaves". The New York Times (New York).
    26. ↑ Rosewarne, S. (2012). "Temporary international labor migration and development in South and Southeast Asia". Tandfonline.com.
    27. ↑ "Profile of Filipinos in Brazil". Backgrounder: Brazil. Office of the Press Secretary. 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
    28. ↑ Kwok, Abigail (2009-04-29). "38 OFWs in Brazil jail for drug trafficking". Inquirer.net.
    29. 1 2 3 4 "Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas As of December 2009" (PDF). Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. 2009. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
    30. ↑ "Philippines takes over China as number one source of Canadian immigrants". VisaBureau.com. 2008-12-31.
    31. ↑ Philippine Embassy in Athens, Greece and Cyprus Archived February 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
    32. ↑ "New wave of Filipinos in dynamic Jakarta". The Jakarta Post. 2012-04-23.
    33. ↑ "Profile of the Filipino Community in Ireland". Philippine Embassy in London. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
    34. ↑ "Department of Foreign Affairs to Filipinos in Japan 'Heed advisories'". Japan. March 12, 2011.
    35. ↑ Sakai, Hiroko (10 March 2013). "Welfare Services for Foreign Residents" (PDF). http://www.osakapcg.com (Japan: Philippine Consulate General Osaka-Kobe). Retrieved 26 March 2014. External link in |website= (help)
    36. ↑ "Diplomat to oversee mass Filipino evacuation from Libya". BBC News (BBC). 31 July 2014.
    37. ↑ By Pinzon’s estimate, there are about 200,000 descendants of Filipinos in southern Mexico. They are concentrated in the Costa Grande north of Acapulco. The town of Coyuca 35 miles north of Acapulco was called Filipino town in the old days. There is also a large Filipino community in Colima, about eight hours ride north of Acapulco.
    38. ↑ "Filipiniana Night for Filipinos in Nepal", The Himalayan Times, Nepal,
    39. ↑ "OVERVIEW OF RELATIONS PHILIPPINES-NEPAL", Embassy of the Philippines, New Delhi, India,
    40. ↑ Quismundo, Tarra (8 May 2007). "Filipino workers recount nightmare in Nigeria". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
    41. ↑ Caber, Michael (5 May 2007). "Kidnappers, officials meet on hostages in Nigeria". Manila Standard Today. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
    42. ↑ Flores, Maynard (28 October 2008). "Nigeria-base OFWs renew appeal to PGMA to lift the ban". The PBSN Blogsite.
    43. ↑ "Philippines-Norway Relations". Embassy of the Philippines. 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
    44. 1 2 "'Oman: Safest Country for Filipinos in Middle East'". Pinoy OFW. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
    45. ↑ "Philippines monitors condition of Filipino workers in Pakistan". Monsters and Critics. Nov 5, 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
    46. ↑ "Qatar´s population by nationality". BQ Magazine. 18 Dec 2013.
    47. ↑ "Korean embassy hints at action vs 15,000 undocumented OFWs". Asian Journal. July 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
    48. ↑ "Spanish language diploma key to Filipinos’ legal stay | Ang Bagong Filipino". AngBagongFilipino.wordpress.com. 2011-08-29.
    49. ↑ "Filipinos in Liverpool, Part 1". Filipinohome.com. 1915-05-04. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
    50. ↑ Scholes, Robert J. (c. 2007). "The "Mail-Order Bride" Industry and its Impact on U.S. Immigration" (PDF). Uscis.gov. pp. 1 and 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-25.
    51. ↑ "Historic Filipinotown - Things to Do". VisitAsianLA.org. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
    52. ↑ "Background Note: Philippines". U.S. Department of State: Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. May 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-02. There are an estimated four million Americans of Filipino ancestry in the United States, and more than 250,000 American citizens in the Philippines.

    External links

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    General statistics from Philippine government

    From other sources

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