From xxxxxx <[email protected]>
Subject Returning ‘Heroes’: Filipino Migrant Workers Afloat in a Devastated Economy
Date January 10, 2021 1:00 AM
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[The Philippines has long relied on the remittances of its more
than 2 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), without concerning
itself with their reintegration. Now COVID-19 has exposed the
deep-seated cracks in its labor export-based economy. ]
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RETURNING ‘HEROES’: FILIPINO MIGRANT WORKERS AFLOAT IN A
DEVASTATED ECONOMY  
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Sophie Henderson
January 5, 2021
OpenDemocracy
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_ The Philippines has long relied on the remittances of its more than
2 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), without concerning itself
with their reintegration. Now COVID-19 has exposed the deep-seated
cracks in its labor export-based economy. _

Returning overseas Filipino workers line up at Manila’s Ninoy
Aquino International Airport to return to their provinces after
finishing the mandatory 14-day quarantine., KD Madrilejos/Rappler

 

Filipino healthcare workers have found themselves thrust to the
frontlines of the pandemic to care for the most vulnerable across the
globe. The Philippines is one of the world’s leading labor-sending
countries, facilitating the migration of an estimated 2.2 million
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)
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the period April to September 2019. OFWs are often valorized as
‘_bagong bayani_’ (modern-day heroes) for sustaining the national
economy with their remittances, which reached an all-time high
of US$33.5 billion in 2019
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However, while promoting labor export as a development strategy, the
government has long overlooked the reintegration of migrant workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed major gaps in protection for
returnees, particularly in times of crisis.

As of October 2020, over 230,000 OFWs have been repatriated
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the pandemic began, representing about one-tenth of workers overseas.
Yet, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III revealed that there are
still 13,000 OFWs waiting to be repatriated, while 70,647 remain
stranded
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predominantly across West Asia. Alarmingly, the Department of Foreign
Affairs recently warned of depleting funds
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sustain its efforts in repatriating OFWs and assisting distressed
returnees.

Repatriated OFWs face further hardship upon returning to the
Philippines. The post-arrival phase, involving returnees
undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantine
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being transported to their home communities, has highlighted the
country’s weak repatriation procedures and limited testing capacity
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Delays in testing and medical clearances have left quarantine
facilities overcrowded
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with returnees complaining of poor lodging conditions
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government officers and personnel.

Once they are cleared to leave quarantine, a lack of coordination and
conflict between national agencies and local government units has
caused further delays and distress with some units banning the return
of OFWs
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fear that they might be carriers of COVID-19. This only serves to
stigmatize returnees and increase their risk of infection. At one
point, thousands of locally stranded OFWs were crammed into a
baseball stadium
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Manila while waiting to be transported back to their home provinces.

"THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TO SPIKE TO 17.7%
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MORE THAN TRIPLE THE RATE RECORDED IN 2019"

Alongside immediate repatriation pressures, the Philippine government
is grappling with the daunting challenge of supporting millions of
newly unemployed Filipinos and migrant families dependent
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lost remittances. The latest National Migration Survey reports that
approximately 12% of Filipino households
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a member who is or has been an OFW. Therefore, such families will be
the hardest hit financially by the loss of income, which may be enough
to pull families below the poverty line. The pandemic has caused the
unemployment rate to spike to 17.7%
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more than triple the rate recorded in 2019.

To buffer the economic impact, the government initially allocated
US$52 million for displaced OFWs, including a one-time emergency cash
aid
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US$200 for each worker displaced by the pandemic under the _Abot
Kamay ang Pagtulong_ programme. The Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration also launched its project _EASE,_ which
provides educational assistance worth US$8 million
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college-level dependents of OFWs affected by COVID-19. In August, the
government signed into law the _Bayanihan to Recover as One Act_,
providing a recovery package worth US$3.5 billion
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Of this, US$17 million is for the repatriation of OFWs, medical
assistance, and shipment of remains for those who die of COVID-19.

While such cash assistance is helpful as a stop-gap measure, the
government’s COVID-19 recovery package for OFWs is insufficient to
contain the socio-economic impact of the crisis long-term. Similarly,
job creation schemes such as the _Development Outreach for Labor,
Livelihood and Advancement of Resources_ programme offering 70,000
jobs to repatriated OFWs
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the _Build, Build, Build_ programme creating jobs in the
construction sector
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fail to meet the overwhelming demand of unemployed Filipinos across
the country.

The time for the government to scale-up and strengthen its preexisting
economic and social reintegration programmes is long overdue.
Providing OFWs with sustainable and appropriate local employment
opportunities will require a government mechanism to systematically
collect detailed data on returnees. Such data will help to inform
strategies and formulate programmes that match the different
circumstances, individual needs and skillsets of returnees.

It is crucial that government agencies share this data at the national
level, along with local government units and civil society
organisations to develop a coordinated action plan. The use
of digital technology
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including social media platforms, to communicate with and disseminate
information to repatriated migrant workers is also proving key in
extending the government’s reach.

The Philippines’ return and reintegration policies have long been
the weakest component of its labor migration governance, which stems
in large part from the state’s greater focus on institutionalizing a
comprehensive system of labor export. The pandemic has exposed
deep-seated cracks in its export-based and remittance-dependent
economy. The Philippine government is finally being forced to
reevaluate its policy agenda and confront neglected reforms, by
investing in the creation of decent local jobs and developing
reintegration programmes that tailor to the needs of returning
Filipino migrant workers.

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