Alliance of Filipino Migrant Organizations
The migration of Filipinos abroad is a product of extreme poverty
and joblessness in the country that is brought about the decrepit
social system perpetuated by US neocolonialism. The deepening economic
crisis in the Philippines has simultaneously aggravated the migration
of Filipinos abroad to gargantuan proportion. More than 2,000 migrant
Filipinos leave the country each day and approximately one-third
of these are composed of unskilled workers. They can be found in
182 countries worldwide.
Filipinos are driven abroad since the government cannot provide
them work. This is not surprising since the Philippine economy is
backward, agrarian, and without basic industries. Hence, it cannot
generate enough employment for Filipinos. Millions of workers are
being thrown out of their regular jobs as foreign and domestic capitalists
resort to contractualization and downsizing so as to maintain and
generate more profits. Thus, Filipinolippines, indeed, is a rich
source of cheap labor by developed countries.
Migrant Filipinos contribute a lot to the economy through their
remittances. From 1990 to 1995, remittances of migrant Filipinos
were registered at US$14.543 billion. In 1999 alone, it registered
a high of US$6.9 billion. The government recognizes this contribution.
In fact, they are hailed as "new economic heroes."
Migrant Filipinos are an exploited lot. The Philippine government
extracts exorbitant fees from them as requisite to their deployment
abroad. Government rakes in millions daily in the processing of
their papers alone. These include payments for passports, NBI and
medical clearances, administrative fees, forced contributions and
a litany of other expenses.
The abuses and exploitation they experience in their place of work
are prevalent. These range from contract violations, rape, sexual
harassment, mysterious deaths, among others. Yearly, hundreds of
thousand of Filipinos are reported to have suffered various forms
of abuse and exploitation in the hands of their employers. Women
migrant workers in particular are most vulnerable to abuses and
maltreatment. They are subjected to sexual and physical abuses,
as in the case of domestic helpers, while many become victims of
Nothing can pronounce the exploitation and abuses committed against
migrant Filipinos than those inflicted to Flor Contemplacion and
Sarah Balabagan. Their cases opened the eyes of the entire Filipino
people and the international community on the hapless plight of
The anguish and ordeal of migrant Filipinos continue. The conditions
that confront them necessitate the continued organizing, education
and mobilization work among their ranks in their struggle for their
rights and welfare, and for genuine freedom and democracy.