The Rise of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

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Many Filipinos leave their home country Philippines to find temporary work

abroad or live permanently in another country. According to Santos (2014) that

throughout history up to the present, Filipinos have been the primary source of labor

migrants across countries. These people are called Overseas Filipino Workers, or OFW

for short. Most Filipinos that go abroad tend to find a job because, as observed in the

Philippines, our country’s unemployment rate is high. In addition, the salary and income

that Filipinos gain from abroad are higher than in our country Philippines, giving them

more immense opportunities to provide enough money to fulfill the family’s basic needs.

Filipinos migrate to other countries for work because of the high unemployment

rate and discrimination in job hiring here in the Philippines. The article by Pinoy OFW

(2022) stated that unemployment is one of the major problems here in the Philippines.

In addition, many companies are now seeking young or fresh graduates, leading adult

and elderly job applicants not to be accepted. This means that companies prefer to seek

fresh graduates than other job applicants with talent and skills suitable for what the

company is looking for. This problem causes Filipinos to choose to work abroad as they

cannot find jobs here in the Philippines.

Another reason Filipinos migrate is that the income or salary and the benefits

they receive from other foreign countries are higher than those they receive in our home

country Philippines. As of today, demands are higher, and so the prices will also

increase, leading families to acquire much money to buy their needs. According to

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Calacat (2021), Filipinos migrate to other countries because other countries have higher

incomes and give benefits when working in another country, which is usually more than

we earn here in the Philippines.

When it comes to saving money, working abroad is more viable. As I said earlier,

working abroad has a higher income or salary than here in our country. Filipinos migrate

because they are trying to earn money and send it to their families to fulfill their basic

needs, such as food, sanitation, and education. As stated by Calacat (2021), working

abroad is a path to gain a faster fortune than working in our home country, the

Philippines. Working overseas is much better than working here in the Philippines to

earn money as it gives its workers a higher salary when working for them or in their

company.

To sum it all up, there are many reasons Filipino workers work abroad, and these

problems, such as the high unemployment rate, higher salaries in foreign countries, and

better opportunities to save money, are just some reasons why they choose to work in

another country than our home country. The unstable economic situation of our country

causes all these reasons. From the previous module, the economy is the most crucial

aspect of a country as it livens up one country for development. Sometimes, this is also

the cause of why our country does not develop, which leads our fellow Filipino citizens

to find better ways to have a better life, including working abroad.