The OFW program is undoubtedly a brain drain program which robs the Philippines of its best and brightest. No rational nation would encourage its workers to leave the nation. But all is not as it seems as the DFA recently made clear.
Diaspora, or the spreading of Filipinos across the globe along with the Filipino culture, is the country's “soft power”, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.
In diplomacy, soft power is the ability of a nation to influence other nations through attraction and persuasion instead of force or intimidation.
"We send our people or they themselves go without government intervention or support. We deploy our workers, beginning 1973 in the oil crisis, caused by the conflict between Israel and their cousin, the Arabs but not just as workers," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during his speech at a multi-stakeholder symposium.
He said these Filipinos sent abroad are instruments of the country's foreign policy.
"Oftentimes, especially after Republic Act 8042, our diaspora drives our foreign policy," he added.
According to DFA's latest report to Congress, there are 10,854,592 Filipinos abroad. The Americas host 49.04 percent of the tally; the Asia-Pacific, 22.83 percent; the Middle East, 21.88 percent; Europe 6.03 percent and Africa, 1 percent.
Filipinos experience disasters, calamities, famine, war and pandemic happening in their host countries.
While the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ensure the welfare of Filipinos abroad, the DFA sees their potential to be leaders -- their capability to be rescuers instead of being only rescuees.
"In such manner, our diaspora becomes not only a group of Filipinos who seek employment abroad, but more than that: they are a great gift of the Filipino nation to all peoples on earth, and our contribution to world peace and harmony," he added.
To establish a framework of the RA 9148 implementation abroad, de Vega said the DFA could work with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the DMW, Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of National Defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency.
That is an absolutely incredible admission. It should not be forgotten that Philippine citizenship is by blood or "jus sanguis." That means the children of OFWs born abroad are Filipino citizens and are "are instruments of the country's foreign policy." It's a ridiculous policy as anyone related to a Filipino citizen can become a Filipino citizen despite never having set foot in the Philippines.
So, how exactly does this soft power manifest? RA 8042 says:
SEC. 2. Declaration Of Policies—
(a) In the pursuit of an independent foreign policy and while considering national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination paramount in its relations with other states, the State shall, at all times, uphold the dignity of its citizens whether in country or overseas, in general, and Filipino migrant workers, in particular.
(c) While recognizing the significant contribution of Filipino migrant workers to the national economy through their foreign exchange remittances, the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. The existence of the overseas employment program rests solely on the assurance that the dignity and fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Filipino citizens shall not, at any time, be compromised or violated. The State, therefore, shall continuously create local employment opportunities and promote the equitable distribution of wealth and the benefits of development.
These words are very clear that "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. That cannot be any clearer yet what do we see in reality but OFWs sustaining economic growth!? Nay, as a PILLAR of economic growth!
Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue to fuel consumption and boost the Philippines’ economic resilience, according to British banking giant HSBC.
Aris Dacanay, economist for ASEAN at HSBC, said OFWs are among the Philippines’ strongest “exports,” providing services and manpower to the rest of the world.
“In return, OFWs earn incomes that are usually better than what they could get back home, and a substantial portion of these incomes is remitted to their households to cover their daily expenses,” he said.
Dacanay said OFW remittances remain a pillar of Philippine economic growth.
“This cycle has strengthened the country’s current account, supported the peso, and fueled consumption to the point where consumption became the economy’s pillar for growth,” he said.
According to Dacanay, remittances have represented around 20 percent of the economy’s current account receipts and around nine percent of gross domestic product (GDP) since 2006.
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed personal remittances grew by 2.8 percent to $27.24 billion from January to September versus last year’s $23.82 billion.
Of the total, cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 2.8 percent to $24.49 billion from $23.82 billion.
Remittances are the LIFEBLOOD of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy.
Remittances are considered the lifeblood of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. Money sent home by overseas Filipinos augment their families’ income here.
https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/11/15/2223976/remittances-sustain-growth-expats-help-ease-inflations-sting
Now, those are not official government pronouncements but if the rest of the world can see what is so obvious you can bet your bottom dollar or peso the Philippine government knows the score. The government is not seeking to retain workers by raising wages and working conditions. They are elated that more OFWs are leaving the country post-pandemic. In fact, they encourage it by partnering with other countries to ship off healthcare workers among others.
This is not merely a private working relationship between employer and employee. The government is deeply involved in promoting overseas jobs.
The rest of the RA 8042 is mostly about protecting workers.
SEC. 4. Deployment of Migrant Workers – The State shall deploy overseas Filipino workers only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.
SEC. 5. TERMINATION ORBANONDEPLOYMENT – Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 hereof, the government, in pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires, may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.
SEC. 23. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. – The following government agencies shall perform the following to promote the welfare and protect the rights of migrant workers and, as far as applicable, all overseas Filipinos:
(a) Department of Foreign Affairs. – The Department, through its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action or make representation with the foreign authority concerned to protect the rights of migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos and extend immediate assistance including the repatriation of distressed or beleaguered migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos;
That whole section is outrageous. Filipinos are regularly deployed to countries where they are raped and murdered by their employees. This happens with alarming frequency in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Employment bans on those countries should be permanent but they never are. It is only when a particular case is amplified and causes outrage that the DFA does anything and only for a month or two when the commotion dies down. If they really cared about protecting migrant workers no Filipino would be allowed into countries where they are routinely killed.
This final section contradicts Section 2 Paragraph c which says "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to...achieve national development."
SEC. 31. INCENTIVES TO PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER HIGHLY-SKILLED FILIPINOS ABROAD. – Pursuant to the objective of encouraging professionals and other highly-skilled Filipinos abroad especially in the field of science and technology to participate in, and contribute to national development, the government shall provide proper and adequate incentives and programs so as to secure their services in priority development areas of the public and private sectors.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1995/06/07/republic-act-no-8042-2/
This section says that the government does encourage highly-skilled OFWs to "contribute to national development" by providing them with proper incentives to "secure their services!" That means the government is encouraging workers to go abroad, hone their skills, and return to the Philippines to participate in national development!
I mentioned that people not born in the Philippines but born to Philippine citizens have Philippine citizenship by right of blood. That is VERY important. This is where the real soft power of the Philippines could come into play. Here is a recent example.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the appointment of 16 Superior Court judges, including three Filipino Americans in Southern California.
Appointed as Superior Court judges in Los Angeles County were Cristina Legaspi, a principal deputy county counsel for the Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel, and Lowrie Mendoza, assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Bryan Clavecilla, a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court, was named Superior Court judge in the County.
Mendoza has been assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2023 and has served in several roles there since 2005.
She was a law clerk at the Law Offices of Enrico Mendoza from 2004 to 2005 and at Yuhl, Rhames, Yuhl & Atkinson in 2003.
Mendoza earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Terry A. Green.
Legaspi has served as senior deputy county counsel in the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office since 1999 and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law since 2022.
She was an associate at Weissman and Associates from 1998 to 1999 and at Ivie, McNeil and Wyatt in 1998.
Legaspi earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Monica Bachner.
Clavecilla has served as a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court and a senior deputy district attorney and assistant head of court at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Central Justice Center.
Clavecilla earned a Juris Doctor degree from Chapman Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Linda Marks.
Legaspi, Mendoza and Clavecilla have been active as leaders in the Fil-Am community.
Legaspi has served on the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA) and the UCLA Pilipino Pipeline Project.
Mendoza is PABA Foundation director and Clavecilla is a PABA lifetime member.
Founded more than 40 years ago, PABA is the largest local association of Filipino American lawyers in the United States.
Late last year, Gov. Newsom also appointed accomplished Fil-Am lawyer Christine Gonong as a judge in the LA County Superior Court.
As children of Filipino immigrants these people are all Philippine citizens. This is how Philippine soft power is really working through OFWs. They migrate for economic reasons, raise children who are born citizens of the host country and yet retain their Filipino identity and citizenship, and work their way into the higher echelons of power in a foreign land.
And the Philippine government wants it this way. Rather than build up the Philippines as an industrial and technological powerhouse with livable wages and safe working conditions the fat cats in charge would rather plunder the national coffers, drive away the best and brightest so they can send back dollars and euros to prop up the economy, and let the masses eat cake pretending they are so happy and resilient. But the DFA did not need to tell us this is what they are doing. It is rather obvious to anyone who cares to look.
