Second Look
There have been reports recently about the passports of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia being stamped with “exit-only.” Whether or not this can be directly attributed to the “Saudization” program—Saudi Arabia’s program for encouraging the employment of jobless Saudi nationals—remains unclear, but the attention both the Philippine government and the media is directing on this series of events underscores the role of the OFW to our country.
How important are OFWs? From a macro perspective, OFWs help keep our country’s economy afloat through their remittances, and on a much smaller scale, many families depend on the remittances of OFWs to meet their basic needs. What makes the series of events in Saudi Arabia quite significant is that Saudi Arabia is second only to the United States in terms of number of OFWs currently employed, and consequently, the remittances of this particular group of OFWs is quite big.
The effects of a diminishing OFW population in Saudi Arabia can snowball into more potent economic repercussions for the Philippines. A lower OFW population in Saudi Arabia can lead to the Philippine economy not being able to stay as afloat as before, and the families that depend on OFW remittances for their basic needs suddenly will have to look for other means of income. Add to that the fact that the process of hiring OFWs can take a very long time, sometimes even months, and that means that we’re in the dark as to predicting how the economy will react. Looking forward, the big question here is that if this denying of entry for OFWs happens across the board, what can the Philippines do to address this problem?
Yes, this is an issue that the Philippine government should not turn a blind eye to, and protecting the job security of OFWs in Saudi Arabia is a high priority, but I think that an important point that should be taken into consideration as well is that perhaps we have to focus more on improving the attractiveness of jobs here in the country. The Philippines is one of the top exporters of overseas workers, but this also brings up the question of “why do so many Filipinos look for work abroad?”
For many Filipinos, one reason why they choose to apply for work abroad is because the opportunities of having a secure job in the Philippines “just aren’t there.” Many OFWs are actually skilled workers taking on unskilled jobs or jobs that do not utilize their particular skill set because of the lack of opportunity present in the Philippines.
If more OFWs start coming back, not just from Saudi Arabia but also from other countries, I think we will have to also look for ways to create the jobs that these returning OFWs, so sought after abroad for their productivity, can find locally. In a way, this sounds like our own “Saudization” program, but ultimately we do want our economy to not be too dependent on the rather unpredictable OFW remittances and the unsustainable labor-export in order to stay afloat.
