Philippine Diaspora

CRITICAL ISSUES & SURVEY OFTHE PHILIPPINE DIASPORA LANDSCAPE

Far East Asia Diaspora Educators ConsultationAugust 11-14, 2011, Manila, Philippines

Jojo ManzanoAsian Theological Seminary

Waves of Filipino Migration in Search of Employment Opportunities

1920s under American colonial rule, the Filipinos worked in pineapple plantations in Hawaii, California, and to Washington and Alaska to work in fish canneries.

1960s, Filipino nurses, doctors, medical technicians filled in skill gaps in the United States, Canada and other European countries.

1970s, the phenomenon of overseas contract workers (OCWs) emerged. Filipinos leave the Philippines in even larger numbers to fill in labour shortages in rich and industrializing countries in the Middle East (e.g. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait) and the Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia)as construction workers, nannies, domestic workers, nurses and entertainers.

http://pmscontario.tripod.com/id1.htmlhttp://www.poea.gov.ph/about/hiring.htm;

http://pmscontario.tripod.com/id1.html

http://www.poea.gov.ph/about/hiring.htm

Around 8.6 million to 11 million Filipinos (about 11% of the total population of the Philippines) live in 214 countries overseas.

Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Commission on Filipinos Overseas

Philippines

Middle East2,415,896

Europe722,427

Asia1,074,496

Where the 8M+ Filipinos are going

Africa64,738

Americas3,582,879

Oceania388,520

Sea-based330,424

@ 2009

www.poea.gov.ph

3,582,879

2,415,896

1,074,496

722,427330,42464,738

Stock Estimates of FilipinosBy Major World Group

Total: 8,579,378 @ December 2009)

www.poea.gov.ph

Permanent - Immigrants or legal permanent residents abroad whose stay do not depend on work contracts.

Temporary - Persons whose stay overseas is employment related, and who are expected to return at the end of their work contracts.

Irregular - Those not properly documented or without valid residence or work permits, or who are overstaying in a foreign country.

Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Commission on Filipinos Overseas

The top 10 destination countries of Filipinos:

United States of America Saudi Arabia

Canada United Arab Emirates

Australia Malaysia

Japan United Kingdom

Hong Kong Singapore

Diaspora in the Philippines

1. The Permanent and Temporary Migrants (OFW/OCW)

2. Irregular Migrants

3. Internal Migrants

4. The Foreign Migrants and Tourists in the Philippines

1.

The Permanent and Temporary Migrants

Permanent Migrants

Filipino permanent migrants are in the developed countries of North America, particularly the United States (US). Other destinations of permanent migrants are countries in Asia, Oceania, and Europe but the proportion is far lower than that in North America.

Mostly highly educated they emigrated because of more career advancement opportunities, over and above the differences in wages

The larger proportion of permanent migrants are unemployed—housewives, students, and minors. This scenario is created by the family reunification goal of permanent migration in the US – the prime destination of Filipino emigrants.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=575792&publicationSubCategoryId=66



Temporary Migrant Workers

Temporary migrant workers. This includes the increasing number of new-hire and the even faster increasing proportion of rehired workers.

Land-based temporary migrants are composed of professionals, service workers, production process workers, transport workers, and laborers.

Filipino temporary migrant workers are shown to be younger and better educated. Around 7 out of 10 are of ages between 24 to 44 years old and half of them have at least some tertiary education.

Temporary labor migration is likewise selective of gender, with majority of temporary migrant workers being women.




The history of systematized export of Filipino labor abroad is a product of extreme poverty, underdevelopment and joblessness in the country, rooted in the uneven distribution of land and wealth that has benefited a handful of rich landlords, big business, cronies, and multinational companies.

This system started under Spanish colonial rule, was entrenched under American colonial rule and continues to this very day—from Marcos era up to this present government administration of Benigno Aquino III.




The deepening economic crisis in the Philippines has aggravated the migration of Filipinos abroad to the point where 8 million people, more than 10% of the population, now work abroad as migrant labor in 214countries.

Filipino migrant workers contribute significantly to the ailing Philippines economy through their remittances. In 2010 remittances of migrant Filipinos were registered at $18. 7billion. This contribution is recognized by the government. Migrant workers are hailed as "new economic heroes“.




The Philippine government has been unable to provide protection to its migrant workforce, despite the hefty fees OCWs have to pay in order to be employed overseas. Many Filipinos continue to experience abuse and exploitation—contract violations, termination without cause, rape, sexual harassment, and even death.

The anguish and ordeal of migrant Filipinos continue. The conditions that confront them necessitate the continued organizing, education and mobilization work, in order that they can better defend their rights and welfare abroad, and to address the root causes of migration in the Philippines.



Deployment Trend of OFWs1975 - 2001

www.poea.gov.ph

Marcos‘64-’86

Cory‘86-’92

Ramos‘92-’98

Erap‘98-’00

Gloria‘00-’10

Y-2004 Y-2005 Y-2006 Y-2007 Y-2008 Y-2009 Y-20100

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1400000

1600000

Deployment Trend of OFWs2004 - 2010

Gloria‘00-10

Nonoy‘10-16

www.poea.gov.ph

280,80825,69615,448

48,185

684,060

25,207

44,272

347,150

2010 Deployment of OFWs

www.poea.gov.phTotal: 1,470,826

2010 daily deployment average of Landbased OFWs

a

3,303* daily!

1,164 new hire; 2,139 rehires

*Figures do not include Sea-based workers

www.poea.gov.ph

2010 Top Ten OFW Destinations(Landbased, New Hires & Rehires)

Countries No. of Departures

Saudi Arabia 293,049

U. Arab Emirates 201,214

Hong Kong 101,340

Qatar 87,813

Singapore 70,251

Kuwait 53,010

Taiwan 36,866

Italy 25,595

Bahrain 15,434

Canada 13,885

TOTAL 1,123,676http://www.poea.gov.ph/about/hiring.htm


2010 OFW Deployment by Major Occupational Category

Countries Number of Departures

Professional Medical, Technical & Related Workers

41,836

Administrative & Managerial Workers

1,439

Clerical Workers 10,706

Sales Workers 7,242

Service Workers 154,536

Agricultural Workers 1,122

Production Workers 120,647

Others 2,753

TOTAL 340,279http://www.poea.gov.ph/about/hiring.htm

(Land-based, New Hires & Rehires)


2010 Top Ten OFW Deployment by OccupationalCategories and Gender (New Hires)

Occupation Male Female Total

Household Service Workers 1,703 94,880 96,583

Charworkers, Cleaners & Related Workers

2,612 9,521 12,133

Nurses Professional 1,828 10,254 12,082

Caregivers & Caretakers 543 8,750 9,293

Waiters, Bartenders & Related Workers

4,393 4,396 8,789

Wiremen & Electrical Workers 8,576 30 8,606

Plumbers and Pipe Fitters 8,391 16 8,407

Welders & Flame-Cutters 5,037 22 5,059

Housekeeping & Related Service Workers

701 4,098 4,799

Bricklayers, Stonemasons, & Tile Setters

4,478 29 4,507

TOTALS 154,677

185,602

340,279



2.

The Irregular Migrants

Irregular migrants people who have fled their homes for reasons similar to refugees, but who remain within their own national territory and are subject to the laws of that state.

Irregular migrants are a hidden population of people thus difficult to know their exact number. They avoid identification for fear of arrest and deportation. Irregular migrants are everywhere but a significant number of them are in East Malaysia.

http://www.irregularmigration.info/2010/11/why-not-bilog-filipino-irregular.html



Definition: This entry includes those persons residing in a country as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs). The definition of a refugee according to a United Nations Convention is "a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution

The term "internally displaced person" is not specifically covered in the UN Convention; it is used to describe

Fillipino refugees in Borneo, Malaysia

•Since 2008, sporadic attacks by the militants have forced more than 400,000 Muslim to flee their homes in Mindanao.

•About 100,000 fled to Malaysia joining others who have settled there over the past four decades of war in Mindanao.

•"Many have become stateless

•Scores of refugee camps dot the coastline of Malaysia's Sabah state, on the tip of Borneo island. The camps are poor and squalid.

•Many of them have been in the camps so long that they no longer identify with their own country. Many also are second and third generation and sometimes even fourth generation who no longer have any form of identity or knowledge of the Philippines.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Aid-Workers-Urge-Philippines-Government-to-Address-Needs-of-Filipino-refugees.html



3.

The Internal Migrants

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

With the continued tension between government troops and Muslim militants and NPA, many Filipinos are displaced.

4.

The Foreign Migrants and Tourists in the

Philippines

2010 total number of visitors in

the Philippines:

3.5 million

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/quickstat/qs1107tb.pdf



Foreign Nationals in the Philippines

Over the past few years there’s been a growing number of foreign nationals living in the Philippines. Most of those migrating to the Philippines are Americans, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians and Europeans.

For several reasons Married to Filipinas, To invest in businesses, To study, To live here because of the low cost of living and To retire. The government is also marketing the Philippines

as a retirement haven for foreign nationals.

http://EzineArticles.com/4699354

South Koreans in the Philippines

Total Population: 115,400 (2009)

Most live in:

Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Cagayan de Oro.

Indians in the Philippines

Approximately 38,000 Indians and Indian Filipinos

Most of them are Sindhi and Punjabi, but there is also a large Tamil population as well. Many Indians have intermarried with Filipinos,

Most live in:

Manila, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non resident_Indian_and_Person_of_Indian_Origin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-resident_Indian_and_Person_of_Indian_Origin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-resident_Indian_and_Person_of_Indian_Origin

Foreign Students in the PhilippinesBureau of Immigration 2010 statistics:

26,823 Koreans 3,395 Chinese nationals, 2,980 Iranians 1,004 Americans.

http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php/news/national/1324-south-koreans-top-list-of-foreign-studes-in-ph




Critical Issues of Philippine Diaspora

The weakening the Filipino family. The increased number of parents now working abroad has resulted in prolonged separation of families. This has led to a radical change in the family structure: the emergence of single-parents and female-headed households, and households headed by older children of OFWs.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20061117-33105/Migration_weakening_Filipino_family_--_DSWD




“Feminization” of migration. Female new hires, mostly mothers, comprised 72 percent of total deployment in 2005. Mothers are perceived as the first teachers of Filipino children and play a crucial role in their formation and transition to adulthood. Millions of Filipino children grow up without their mothers and the psychological support and guidance from their parents.





Threat to national development. As more and more skilled workers and professionals opt to work abroad to support their families, the country is left with fewer skilled workers and professionals to help with nation-building.





Increasing number of irregular migrants. Mostly under-aged and low-skilled to become service workers.

Disturbance in the Middle East. Many workers had to return home in the Philippines with no jobs and little or no financial resources.

Host Government Policy. E.g. Saudi Arabia will impliment “Saudinization” of low-skilled workers. This will mean many people will return home.

Philippine Government Policy. For financial reasons, the Philippine government are aggressive marketing Filipino workers but with very little regard for the workers’ welfare and the left-behind.

The Evangelical Churches’ Response. Although there are efforts to minister to Filipino migrants and their families as well as to the foreigners, many evangelical churches are still not responding to the challenge of diaspora ministry.

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Philippine Diaspora