Milan (AsiaNews) – The latest data indicate that Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are increasingly on demand around the world, while meeting a significant need in their home country.
As the year comes to an end, it is time to take stock of the situation, to reflect upon the uncomfortable or risky conditions OFWs face, above all in areas of crises, and the response Philippine authorities can offer to their predicament.
Mary Jane Veloso, who was repatriated after 14 years in an Indonesian prison on death row for drug trafficking caused by her naivety and needs, barely avoided the fate of another Filipino, who was executed in October in Saudi Arabia on charges of murdering a Saudi national.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the sudden changes in Syria have also been minefields for Filipino migrants, some of whom lost their life.
Referred for decades as "new heroes" for their contributions to the country and their families at home, OFWs need not only legal protection, which can only come from closer relations between the Philippine and foreign governments, but also prevention and support given the various situations of risk or need they may encounter, including effective repatriation plans wherever the situation requires it.
This calls for greater cooperation among the government’s various agencies responsible for preparing, sending, assisting and protecting OFWs.
While demand for Filipino workers is growing because of greater foreign recruitment needs, it also depends on the good reputation OFWs have built over time, not to mention their good knowledge of English.
According to the Philippines’ Department for Migrant Workers, Europe remains a primary destination (including, at the top, 165,000 in Italy), with countries like Czechia doubling the number of visas for OFWs, Croatia opening to more Filipinos in the healthcare and the hospitality industries, and Austria set to allow up to 200,000 Filipinos in the coming years.
For many countries, including the United States, health and long-term care sectors are now driving demand.
Emigration is thus bound to grow, both in terms of numbers (2.16 million Filipinos emigrated last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority for a total estimate of 15 million) as well as remittances (a record of US$ 37.2 billion in 2023, or 8.5 per cent of GDP, according to the central bank), with the largest amounts coming from the United States, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, more and more Filipinos are settling permanently in receiving countries out of desire or need.
This trend offers fresh opportunities as well as new challenges but Filipinos are better placed than other groups with a strong migratory track record because of their cultural, social and religious characteristics.
