Managing Philippine labor migration: government and NGO interventions for the protection of Filipino migrant workers.

Abstract

At present, there is no denying that labor migration has become an enduring feature of the Philippine economy. The government, albeit in denial of its labor export policy, explicitly acclaims migration as an engine of economic growth through remittances. However, while the economic consequences of labor outflow has come to be viewed as positive, Philippine labor migration has become a far complex phenomenon, one that entails a variety of issues and concerns that continue to pose unprecedented challenges for the government. Of primary concern in managing this phenomenon is that of ensuring the welfare of migrant workers on-site in their destination countries.

This study looks at the on-site situation of Filipino migrant welfare and protection, an aspect of migration often overlooked in the larger studies of Philippine labor outflow. Drawing from interviews with key government officials and the accounts of NGOs engaged in migrant affairs in the Middle East and Hong Kong, the study presents an evaluation of state mechanisms and NGO services for migrant protection. Results of the study highlight, first, the gaps in the implementation of service delivery provisions as indicated in the legal framework and, second, the increasing importance of NGO interventions in these aspects.

The study also looks at the emerging discourse which situates the role of the state in managing labor migration. Focusing on the increasingly aggressive role of the government in the promotion of overseas employment and the conflict that this ensues with the state’s capability to genuinely pursue migrant welfare and protection, the study finds that this deployment-protection conundrum, particularly in this era of global financial and economic difficulties, presents a serious policy issue that has both critical social and economic implications and can greatly undermine protection of Filipino migrant workers.