“Filipino Migrant Visibilities in Social Media and Films”

Narrative Report

I. Introduction:
Over the last few years, the role of migrant workers has been recognized in the Philippines and in
the international community. More than 8.1 million Filipinos (nearly 10% of the country's 85 million
people) were working or living in nearly 200 countries and territories. A "culture of migration" has
emerged in the Philippines, with millions of Filipinos willing to work in other countries despite the risks
and vulnerabilities they'll face. In a 2002 national survey of 1,200 adult respondents, one in five Filipinos
expressed an interest in immigration. In a more recent poll, the number of adults who agree with the
following statement: "If it were only possible, I would migrate to another country and live there." rose to
33%. Adults don't seem to be the only ones who want to leave the country. In the national survey of
young people aged 10 to 12, 47% stated that they wished to work in another country someday, and 60%
of the children of foreign workers are working abroad. The institutionalization of immigrants has
significantly promoted the development of the Philippine immigration culture. The officials and
governments are in favor of migration and offer protection to OFWs. The contributions of migrant
workers have been recognized in the Philippines and throughout the international community because it
helps the Philippine economy, including exchange rates, foreign reserves, the balance of payments, and
household income. Employee remittances have become a great impact on the country's economy and are
beneficial to the country’s foreign exchange earnings. These remittances have helped to improve the
country's balance of payments condition by preserving current account surpluses by increasing foreign
exchange receipts. The remittances provided by overseas employees contributed to the macroeconomic
health of the family finances and the Philippine economy, as it is difficult to leave their family and loved
ones for better-paying jobs overseas.
Despite this great "success", there are challenges that immigrants face while working abroad. Migrant
workers come to other countries in search of agricultural work or as domestic workers. They face these
issues that local workers do not have. Coercion is one of the biggest problems for immigrants. Many of
these people continue to face threats of deportation because they do not have the necessary documents to
stay legally. Migrant workers who are undocumented are afraid to report injuries for fear of being
reported to the immigration authorities or losing their job, which would result in not being able to find
another employer. In addition to that, another problem that migrant workers face is a lack of benefits.
Immigrant workers do not receive any company benefits such as pensions and insurance. They don't
receive any state unemployment, disability, or SSS benefits. Measures regarding rest, overtime, sickness
pay, or minimum wage may not be implemented because workers cannot ask for help. Moreover, cultural
differences are also one of the biggest problems that immigrant workers face. Locals may discriminate
against migrant workers or resent the fact that they find work within the area. Most of the migrant
workers don't speak or cannot speak the same language, so they tend to isolate themselves from their
neighbors, as they usually shop in ethnic stores. Language barriers can also make legal documents such as
leases and tax forms difficult to grasp. Also, if you plan to reside in another nation, you should learn the
global language, English. If you don't speak their language, you should be able to communicate with them
in English so that you can understand each other. The impact of immigration on communities is
multidimensional and various studies show that different outcomes occur due to different socio-economic
factors and policies. Due to their reluctance to see the benefits of migration, Filipinos will see their
attitudes harden in some areas, because people only view migration as a positive factor when it involves
highly skilled workers. Highly talented people, on the other hand, are more likely to arrive, settle, and
then be hired overseas. The long-term approach is to offer immediate assistance to those who are in need.
The advantage of that is their children will be successful and these children will raise the next generation
of workers, thus increasing the prosperity of nations.

II. Main body:

The three Filipino migrant speakers are living well and living a good life in their respective countries,
especially Ms. Rona, who is married to a South Korean. Ms. Rona is happy living with her husband in
South Korea and working as a content creator. She mentioned on the webinar that she is doing vlogs and
her YouTube channel is "iRona TV." As I watched her vlogs, I could see how happy she is and how much
she enjoys her life living in South Korea. As they live in different countries, the common factor that they
faced and the most challenging thing that they went through was language. The very common aspect that
you need when you have to go to another country is to learn English. Like what it said in the webinar,
"communication is the key" for you to survive in a different country. It is very difficult to learn English,
as you need to construct the perfect sentence for other people to understand what you're saying. It is easy
for other people who have a degree and graduated from university, but for some who don't, it is very
difficult for them. Language is one of the most difficult things to learn, and as migrant workers, the
struggles that they have been through are particularly linked with their cultural identity, which is the
language. In addition, another reason that was considered a challenge by migrants was that their
designated country or some other countries are very private when it comes to their ethics and values,
especially Korea, according to Ms. Rona.
Migrant workers were able to be identified because of social media, especially given the situation we
are facing right now that we utilize it in our everyday lives. It was extremely beneficial to migrating
workers or speakers. For Mr. Sid, for example, he is an actor or extra in certain K-dramas or K-movies,
and we utilize social media in our everyday lives. We can help him become popular in this sector by just
viewing these dramas or movies and recommending them to others. There are so many benefits to using
social media, including that it can help migrants connect with their loved ones, provide a method of
contact with weak relationships that are important when organizing the migration and regulatory process,
the use of social media can even create a replacement infrastructure of latent ties, and social media may
be a rich source of unofficial information about migration. Its main conclusion is that social media plays a
very important role in integrating immigrants with host populations because it facilitates their interactions
and, therefore, the sharing of important information about a couple of types of topics, including their
rights and freedoms, as well as the activities of various non-governmental organizations.

Korean media, particularly mainstream media, has been working hard to create content that can show
domestic viewers about other countries and people outside of Korea, as well as other people within
Korean society. Dr. Kyung mentioned that there are other shows and channels like NBC and KBS, where
many foreign residents who live in Korea accidentally have a chance to act and become celebrities as well
and also made an interesting initiative in the past decades to feature non-Korean lives in Korea and show
how their lives really are and how they are living together with Koreans. There are quite a few occasions
when foreigners who are mostly migrant workers or married migrants in Korea were given leading roles
in dramas or movies, such as the first Philippine-born naturalized Korean actress, Jasmine Bacurnay Lee.
The more interesting thing is that the Philippines is mentioned in many Korean dramas and movies that
are usually associated with crimes or casinos. According to them, Philippines is the best hideaway place
for Koreans. We can really see what characters or roles Filipinos or Southeast Asians have in Korean
movies and how the Philippines is portrayed in the Korean media. It is certainly evident that the
marginalized are at the age of society, and it describes how real human beings may feel when facing
unpleasant circumstances in other countries, including Korea. As Ms. Crisel mentioned, correcting
misconceptions and educating people by reclaiming their own narratives is crucial to eradicating deeply
rooted racism and discrimination, which Mr. Sid and Ms. Crisel experienced. Social media is a brave new
world for Filipinos abroad, where they can really freely share experiences and express their emotions,
especially during this pandemic. It became an unexpected yet fortunate time that they could make use of
virtual space to interact with random viewers and followers, where sometimes mainstream media also pay
attention and feature them on TV or radio. Through presenting their first-hand and first-person
perspectives, their narratives tell us who they are, and their own identity is visible and not labelled as like
a migrant worker or a domestic helper or a marriage migrant. Those terms were usually used to define
Filipinos outside the Philippines, like Ms. Rona. Meanwhile, Ms. Rona's colorful and vibrant YouTube
channel has been a great help for host country citizens in better understanding foreigners and their lives,
where diversity will be genuinely achieved. It is amazing to see how this cultural content that Ms. Rona
developed is unique and different from other existing information. Also, she mentioned that she tries to
feature some less-spoken topics like social issues and what she really goes through each day. We can see
how social media assists them in a variety of ways, as they are able to express themselves and educate
more people about the wonderful things that exist in their motherland.

In addition to that, according to Dr. Jason, it is very important for many migrants to at least make an
appearance in the mainstream media, and it is quite an achievement for them. As we are living in a world
now where everything is highly mediated, especially if we live in urbanized societies like Manila and
Seoul, a lot of our understanding of our culture comes from the media, and it is quite a positive step that
we are beginning to see Filipinos on international stages. Social media is a new opening for migrants
including Filipino migrants, to tell different stories and not necessarily be constrained by the demands of
mainstream media for marketability and audience reach. All of these things that they are considering are
because of the commercial enterprise that the mainstream media often is. Social media serves as a very
interesting avenue for many Filipino migrants. Different kinds of struggles that migrants can face is
diverse and one of that is the very little appearance they make in the media. It is important that Filipinos
are beginning to have a voice like Ms. Crisel and Ms. Rona, who tell us how they begin to have a good
platform for their voice, which is the social media. Through the help of social media, migrant labor would
gradually be acknowledged or recognized in worldwide societies.

III. Conclusion:
The presence of migrant workers in virtual spaces such as social media and films is one way to learn
more about their experiences and to make them more recognized in international communities. Some
people particularly Filipinos, believed that if one member of their family was a migrant worker, they
would be wealthy and able to obtain everything they desired in life. However, they were unaware of the
difficulties and sacrifices that immigrants face. One of the main reasons why social media platforms,
films, and webinars are crucial is because they are a way to show us their own stories, achievements, and
lessons faced as migrant workers, just like in Filipino diaspora films and just like the speakers do when
sharing their very own experiences with us. As a family member with migrant workers and as someone
with a lot of friends who have migrant workers, I wholeheartedly agree with all the terms and
conversation mentioned in the webinar. I can tell you and I know how tough and difficult it is for them to
adjust to adapt to a new environment, learn another culture, and learn new things they are not accustomed
to doing. Migrant workers are also human beings who face difficult times and have feelings of exhaustion
when they encounter negative vibes at work, and to be able to protect them, government officials should
take the step to be more considerate, attentive, and concerned about the condition of migrant workers as
they help the economic growth of the country and reconsider their unfavorable working conditions and
experiences in order to guarantee their excellent health and better employment as they suffer in different
circumstances.
Moreover, as migrant workers are often represented as marginalized, under-represented, and invisible
sectors of society abroad, I would like to recommend letting the migrant workers freely choose which
country they would like to work in comfortably, safely, and depending on their own expectations. In
addition to that, I would also like to recommend that officials consider the skills of migrant workers and
help them to find a country where their abilities are suitable for them. I strongly believe that migrant
workers should be prioritized because they help businesses grow where they work. Without migrant
workers, they would not be able to pursue their greatest ambitions. I strongly suggest that the government
should take care of them as they're the greatest credit to our country and as they boost the economic
growth of the country. As per the country where they are in, they should look on the bright side and view
migrant workers as being highly beneficial to them as they also help them in various ways. Countries
should create a world where equality and equity are evaluated and emphasized to promote fairness to
migrant workers. They should accept and recognize migrant workers as citizens of their country, because
as they work, migrants grow to love their country and consider it a second home, and they deserve to be
appreciated for it.

IV. References:

How social media facilitate migration - migrationinstitute.org. (n.d.). Retrieved December 19, 2021, from
https://www.migrationinstitute.org/publications/wp-64-12/@@download/file

Nichols, L. (2016, November 9). Osha Teen Worker Safety. Work. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from
https://work.chron.com/osha-teen-worker-safety-13777.html

Maruja M.B. Asis Maruja M.B. Asis. (2019, July 19). The Philippines' culture of migration.
migrationpolicy.org. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/philippines-culture-migration