Working abroad: A choice, not a necessity

Promises that working abroad would become an option and not a necessity for Filipinos have long been a fixture in Philippine election rhetoric. In campaign sorties, politicians assure citizens that economic growth and job creation at home would eventually diminish the need to work abroad. These promises keep cropping up, but decades later, Filipinos continue to seek jobs overseas, with about a million Filipinos leaving the country from 2006 to 2019. Preliminary figures for 2024 record some 2.47 million Filipinos leaving for better work opportunities abroad.

There’s no arguing that overseas jobs have brought significant improvements in the lives of Filipino families. I know many family members and friends who have gone overseas and cannot blame them for their decision to work abroad. It is well within a person’s right to pursue whatever opportunity comes to them so they can provide a better life and future for their family. It is not their fault that such opportunities rarely exist in the Philippines, nor is it their responsibility to create those opportunities. That responsibility lies with the government.

I am not against the policies that have led to the export of our labor force, nor am I criticizing it because I understand and acknowledge its practical necessity back then and at present. It may be recalled that this outflow of Filipino workers was the result of the economic crisis during the early ’70s. This policy was put in place in 1974 to mitigate widespread joblessness and poverty, while reaping economic gains from the dollar remittances of migrant workers. This was intended to be a temporary solution, but the country’s dire economic situation turned what was meant to be a transition policy into its institutionalization as a key strategy and pillar for development.

Over several decades, the policy has proven effective, with remittances from overseas Filipinos reaching $3.6 billion in 2023, or around 8.5 percent of our country’s gross domestic product. These remittances have helped boost household income and domestic consumption, and supported investments in education, housing, and small businesses. It has helped families escape poverty through better living standards, and slowly built up a middle class which is key to achieving upper middle-income country (UMIC) status. This, in turn, would lead to the Philippines being recognized as a more developed economy, thus attracting greater confidence from investors and international institutions.

It’s now 50 years since this policy began, and its significant contribution to our country’s economic growth places us on the verge of achieving UMIC status, possibly in the next two to three years. The Philippine Institute for Development Studies notes that if the country can sustain its growth trajectory, this milestone can be achieved. They also note that consistent remittances from overseas Filipino workers will be among the factors for this sustained economic growth.

However, it’s one thing to hit the targets to be considered a UMIC, and another matter entirely to sustain that status to be able to reap the socioeconomic and political benefits that come with it. While our overseas labor policies have many benefits, they are not without challenges and issues. Among these issues are brain drain, the social costs to families, and an overreliance on remittances that can invariably weaken the impetus to develop local industries that could provide high paying jobs and sustain economic development.

While they may help the country’s aspirations to achieve UMIC status, current overseas labor policies need to wean our dependency on labor export and invest more on domestic industries to achieve and maintain UMIC status. This doesn’t mean that our present labor export policy should be scrapped. It only means that a strategic balance that leverages remittances while developing local opportunities is crucial in this effort.

So what should be done so that the Philippines and its people get to benefit and prosper, both in their individual lives and in the economic prospects of our country? The answer lies in simply fulfilling those campaign promises made over the years: that working abroad should be a choice and not a necessity. When that finally becomes a reality, the means and the efforts needed to make that happen will also be what’s needed to sustain our economic growth and improve our lives.

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Moira G. Gallaga has served three Philippine presidents as presidential protocol officer, and held diplomatic posts at the Philippine Consulate General, LA, and the Philippine Embassy in Washington.