Introduction

This past summer, I conducted some preliminary research for my senior thesis on migration and development in the Philippines. Thanks to two research grants from Duke, I delved a bit into the historical trends in Philippine overseas employment and explored the current governmental framework for labor migration.

Most Filipinos will recognize overseas labor migration as a quintessential aspect of our society. Today, nearly every family in the Philippines will have at least one relative working as an Overseas Filipino Worker, commonly termed as an OFW. OFWs are labor migrants, which means that they go abroad to fulfill time-specific contracts with foreign employers. Some migrants eventually apply for citizenship in their destination country, but the general understanding (and what usually happens) is that being an OFW means being abroad only temporarily and solely for employment.

This phenomenon of Filipinos seeking greener pastures outside the country actually began in the early 1900s, with workers from the northern portions of the Philippines working in farms and fisheries in the United States, but it wasn’t until 1974 when then president (and later dictator) Ferdinand Marcos Sr. announced a national labor migration program for two reasons (Tigno, 2005). First, the Philippines was experiencing a surge in unemployment and underemployment due to investments in higher education in the first half of the 20th century. This was seen especially among the younger educated Filipinos, who were starting to voice their dissent against Marcos Sr.’s politics (Maca, 2018). Second, after the Middle Eastern oil boom and modern industrialization, other regions in the world were suddenly finding themselves in need of more workers than their domestic workforce could supply (Ruiz, 2014). Thus, Marcos Sr. set up the Overseas Employment Development Board and the National Seamen Board, government agencies that matched Philippine citizens with jobs abroad. Crucially, his administration saw overseas labor migration as a panacea for disgruntled young Filipinos and short-term imbalances in global labor demand and supply.

At the time, Filipino workers were sought after in the fields of construction and healthcare, particularly nurses. Through the next several decades, female Philippine citizens began to work as domestic helpers within foreign households, while male Philippine citizens boarded ships as crew members and engineers. Though overseas employment was initially meant as a non-permanent program, the country continued to churn out OFWs at a steady rate as more Filipinos realized that they could earn more working the same job abroad than they did at home––and not only that, but lower-skilled jobs outside the country sometimes paid even better than higher-skilled jobs in the Philippines. This persisting wage premium and lack of comparable opportunities for economic mobility in the Philippines have resulted in a contemporary narrative painting OFWs as “modern-day heroes” who sacrifice years of their lives away from their children, family, and community, all so that they could better support their loved ones financially (Manalo, 2022). It is estimated that two million OFWs go abroad for work every year and that the remittances that they send back home to their family comprise 10% of national GDP.

Click the > arrow below to open each section.

1. The Occupations of OFWs Throughout the Years

2. The Governmental Framework for Philippine Overseas Employment

Resources and Further Reading List

Thank you to Duke Libraries and the Duke Undergraduate Research Support Office for the opportunity to conduct this research! Thank you also to the office of Rep. Ron Salo (Kabayan Partylist) for allowing me to intern with you this summer, helping me to realize that meaningful work requires both feet on the ground. Lastly, thank you to my research mentors (Prof. Eddy Malesky, Prof. Lawrence David, and Rukimani PV) for helping me think through and refine this project :)