Global Pinoys: The Archipelago of Migration

Abstract

The Republic of the Philippines is one of the top exporters of migrant labor throughout the world. Millions of Filipino overseas workers can be found in North America, the Middle East, Western Europe, Australia and Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, Malaysia). Since the 1970s, the Philippine government has encouraged labor migration as a way to alleviate unemployment at home and to gather remittances used to boost spending in the domestic economy. The government’s Philippine Overseas Employment Agency manages the implementation of labor agreements with partner countries and exerts some control on the myriad of private agencies recruiting Philippine labor for foreign jobs. Many expatriate Filipino women are employed as domestic workers or nurses, while many men are hired to man ships on the world seas, both in the cargo business and on cruise ships. There are also many expatriate Filipino entertainers and technicians. Migration brings remittances for the families and the country’s economy, but critics deplore the brain drain suffered by the country, the disruptions of family life and the persistence of the image of the Philippines as a servant, even a “slave” nation.