A Case study of the OFW as returned teachers in the Philippines and assessing the reintegration program of the Philippines

Abstract

The Philippines, as an underdeveloped country, is experiencing multitudes of economic and social problems—poverty, inflation, and unemployment. The rise of unemployment and the lack of opportunity in the Philippines pushed the Filipino citizens to look for opportunities overseas. This has led to the dependency of Philippine society on labor migration. Furthermore, the Philippine economy has been reliant on the remittances sent by the OFWs. The Philippine government utilized the remittances as an aid for the debts of the country instead of generating opportunities for the Filipino citizens. However, despite the dependency of the Philippines in the labor migration, the country's government initiated a program that will allow the return of the migrant workers in the Philippines. The research pondered on these returned migrant workers and the program initiated by the Philippine government. The research revolved around the concept of reintegration, specifically in the region of the Philippines. The researcher conducted a case study on the returned overseas Filipino workers that are also Licensed Examination for Teachers (LET) passers in Luzon under the "Sa Pinas Ika'y Ma'am at Sir" program—a reintegration program initiated by DOLE-NRCO (National Reintegration Center for OFWs) and DepEd (Department of Education). The said program provided teaching 1 plantilla item position to the returned migrant workers to the country’s public education sector. Furthermore, the research also assessed the efficacy of the SPIMS program in light of the situation of the overseas Filipino workers benefactors of the program. In addition, the research discussed the overall situation of the labor export in the Philippines, the cause of migration, of the teachers, the long-term plans of NRCO, and recommendations for the program.