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Pinoy Abroad

Labor recruiter sees decline in OFW deployment, remittances


Countries with brewing economic crises may soon reduce their demand for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), a former migrant worker and now recruiter of overseas workers said on Thursday. However, a trade official and business leader think otherwise.   During a forum on exchange rate management at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Loreto Soriano, CEO of LBS Recruitment Solutions, said the government should lessen its dependence on migrants’ remittances and prepare for a “substantial downturn in demand for OFWs.”   “It is only a matter of time before downsizing migration and declining remittances become apparent or has started,” Soriano explained in a paper distributed during the forum.   He cited the mix of situations in various countries that could adversely curb demand for OFWs. Among the factors he cited are the economic woes in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia, poltical upheavals in the Middle East, and efforts of some states to “nationalize” employment.   Vulnerable OFWs   Citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Soriano said “the so-called ‘recession-proof’ healthcare industry” employed only an annual average of 11,000 nurses from 2001 to 2010, comprising merely four percent of all new hires.   He also noted that highly skilled workers and professionals comprised only 12 percent of new-hire OFWs in 2010. This figure has registered a steady decline through the years, to 41,835 in 2010 from 97,448 in 2001.   “Trends already demonstrate that the higher income skilled jobs will diminish further and that the future OFW workforce will be predominantly made up of female household workers, ‘entertainers,’ and factory workers with many, if not most, outside the government-regulated channels of deployment,” Soriano said.   “Hindi ‘yun ang kagustuhan ng ating society, eh, na ‘yung mga graduate nating kababaihan – graduate ng college – magtratrabaho ng domestic helper,” he said in an interview with GMA News Online after the forum.   Soriano explained that the problem with this setup is that it exposes women to jobs that exploit their vulnerabilities. Growing remittances   The government, however, remains optimistic about OFW remittances, said Trade Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio in his reaction to the series of talks at the UP School of Economics.   “Inspite of the conflagration of the world economy, it is surprising that our remittances continue to trickle, and not just trickle, but I think they continue to flow healthily,” Panlilio said.   In particular, he cited OFW remittances in June that reached a new monthly record of $1.737 billion, according to data that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released in August.     Panlilio said, “We are poised to break that record.”   Earlier this month, businessman Jose Ma. Concepcion also projected that the economic crisis in the United States, Europe, and parts of the Middle East will hardly hit the Philippines due to OFW remittances.   “Unless there would be more turmoil and strife in the Middle East, and a political crisis in China and in the country, our economy can surpass the economic crunch now being experienced by the Western world,” Concepcion explained. —ELR/KG, GMA News