Silent exodus

Speculation has turned to hard numbers as the first wave of jobless Overseas Filipino Workers from Canada has returned home to The Philippines.

While the situation in Taiwan remains most dire for OFWs, with 4,140 sent packing in recent weeks, Canada ranks No. 2 among countries that have sent migrant Filipino workers home, with 180 recently returning to The Philippines.

As of February 1, this year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has reported that there have been 5,221 displaced OFWs in 15 countries who have returned home since the global economic downturn worsened in September 2008.

The agency also listed more than 270 OFWs in five countries who are awaiting flights home because of establishment closures in their host countries.

While Filipino remittances – or overseas earnings sent home to family – increased by 14 per cent in 2008 to a total of $16.4 billion, a private think-tank in The Philippines this week released a report that said the country’s dependence on remittances makes The Philippines very vulnerable to the current global financial turmoil.

IBON Foundation said the situation that Filipino workers abroad are facing should be a wake-up call for government.

"While the administration has been criticized for its over dependence on remittances, it still places high hopes that the steady flow of OFW remittances will buffer the domestic economy. Such hopes may turn out misplaced as remittances and incomes of OFW households are at risk," IBON said.

Canada features as "major source" of Filipino remittances, according to a recent report from the Philippine central bank. Those remittances comprise 10.4 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

"The situation is a wake-up call for government which has mythologized overseas remittances as some kind of magic bullet for development," IBON said.

Taiwan is one of the hardest-hit export dependent countries in Asia and recently fired the bulk of some 5,404 OFWs.

South Korea, another export-dependent country which is bracing itself for a loss of as many as 200,000 jobs this year amid predictions of a two-percent contraction in the economy, initially laid off some 2,000 OFWs. But with assistance from the Philippine government, Seoul managed to find employment for the bulk of the redundant workers, with only 74 returning home to The Philippines.

Of the total number of retrenched workers, 4,140 came from Taiwan; 180 from Canada; 81 from Australia; and 74 from Korea.

Philippine recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani warned that Dubai, one of the top Filipino destinations in the United Arab Emirates, might be the next hotspot for massive lay-offs of migrant workers.

Geslani said that a US$582-billion construction project was suspended in the emirate following the economic crunch.

The Philippine government is scrambling to reintegrate these displaced workers in to the Philippine economy and has readied a C$180-million emergency fund to sustain employment opportunities for returning Filipinos for two years.

The Philippine press reported this week that 50 laid off OFWs have a new lease on life after being awarded loans by the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA).

OWWA chief Carmelita Dimzon said on Monday that the loans ranged from C$770 to C$1,300.

"We gave them the loans on condition that they would set up a business and become entrepreneurs," Dimzon said in an interview.

The loans would be paid within 24-months with a five per cent annual interest.

And the Philippine government is now reaching out to its workers overseas in downturn hotspots.

In South Korea, home to some 46,000 Filipinos, Philippine Ambassador Luis Cruz recently announced that his colleagues in Seoul will be conducting seminars on money management for all OFWs in the area as part of a financial education and job referral campaign.

The embassy is also in talks with the Central Bank of the Philippines for a possible program on migrant worker-centred financial services this year.

And the embassy has even invited a team from Manila specializing in "reintegration service" to provide skills training, livelihood orientation to displaced workers, and referrals for employment in other viable companies both in The Philippines and abroad.

They also provided counselling services, certificates for free training and information materials about job opportunities in Canada.