THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) believes overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will remain resilient amid concerns in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, two of the economies that host the most Filipino workers.
However, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia told reporters at the sidelines of the Fifth Annual Public Policy Conference (APPC) that should OFWs decide to come home and work here, the economy can give them jobs.
Pernia said the government needs more workers, particularly for the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program, its ambitious infrastructure initiative.
“[In Saudi], our Filipinos are nimble and agile. They are resilient so that’s not a problem,” Pernia said. “[In Hong Kong], I don’t think they are being affected. They are able to insulate and keep to themselves.”
While no Filipino workers were injured in the drone attacks on two of Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil facilities at the weekend, fears were raised that thousands of OFWs in the eastern province may need to be relocated if the situation worsens.
In Hong Kong, meanwhile, consulate officials have repeatedly advised OFWs to avoid areas where pro-democracy groups hold protests, to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Remittances sustained
Pernia said proof of OFW resilience is the steady rise in remittances. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a 7.5-percent rise in the country’s remittances in July, allaying fears of a slowdown in one of the country’s largest dollar sources.
Filipino migrant workers sent $2.581 billion in cash remittances in July alone, $180 million higher than the $2.401 billion sent home in the same month last year.
The 7.5-percent growth in remittances was a turnaround from June’s performance, where Filipino migrant workers sent less money back home. June’s 2.9-percent contraction marked the largest decline of OFWs cash transfers for 2019.
On a cumulative basis, cash remittances for the first seven months of the year hit $17.2 billion, 3.9 percent higher than the $16.6 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Broken down, cash remittances from land-based and sea-based workers increased by 2.5 percent to $13.4 billion and 8.9 percent to $3.8 billion, respectively.
‘OFW phenomenon to stay’
Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito said in his presentation at the APPC that the OFW phenomenon is here to stay given the sheer number of workers in the Philippines.
The Philippines still enjoys a healthy number of young workers who can support young and old Filipinos who may not have the strength, capability or qualifications to work, he said.
Habito said the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) is actually being renegotiated to consider not only the number of Filipino workers but also the aging Japanese population.
“You can see that the OFW phenomenon [will probably] be here to stay. We are likely to end up, like it or not, as exporters of human resources,” Habito said.
The strength of the Philippines when it comes to labor export, Habito said, is young Filipinos who are digital natives and “favor remote work” and being their own boss.
This, Habito said, will likely impact on laws, such as the Security of Tenure (SOT) law. He said Generation Z are likely to change jobs as many as 10 times between the ages of 18 and 34 years old.
With this, Habito said employers must adjust and accept the reality of having high turnover rates. They should also embrace and apply new technology.
Employers and the economy must also invest in developing soft skills, such as persuading and influencing; communicating articulately; managing conflict; and navigating policies, he said.
He added that employers must be more conscious about managing employee stress levels given the rise in suicides in recent years.
Meanwhile, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed majority or 82.6 percent of all OFWs are working in Asia. Over half of the workers or 54.9 percent are in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia hosts 24.3 percent of all OFWs in the world, the highest in any single economy followed by the United Arab Emirates at 15.7 percent.
Around 6.3 percent of OFWs, meanwhile, are working in Hong Kong. Around 18.7 percent of OFWs are working in East Asia.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza