Overseas Filipinos Worldwide’s Open Letter to President-Elect of the Philippines Highlights Recommendations for Addressing Migration and Development Issues

Overseas Filipinos Worldwide’s Open Letter to President-Elect of the Philippines

Highlights Recommendations for Addressing Migration and Development Issues

KOWLOON, Hong Kong – May, 25, 2010 – A network, composed of overseas Filipinos worldwide based in many countries and in the Philippines, recently wrote an open letter to Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, president-elect of the Republic of the Philippines. The open letter highlights the perspectives unique to migrant Filipinos and offers solutions that could impact transformational, positive changes in policy making. After many years of collaboration and cooperation, the group, which represents various organizations implementing projects in the Philippines and in their host countries, offers a starting reference point for the incoming administration, led by President-Elect Aquino, to more effectively harness the Philippines’ migration gains into mechanisms for the development of the Philippines and its hometown communities.

The open letter points out several key economic points, among them:

§  Migration gains are mainly remittances by overseas Filipinos to their family members, approximately USD17 billion, and are the primary source of livelihood for millions of Philippine households.

§  At 10.8% of the country’s GDP, migration gains are also the third biggest source of the country’s foreign currency reserves, acting as the primary driver of the Philippine economy, thus shielding the country from bankruptcy during the current economic meltdown and the 1997 financial crisis.

§  The Filipino diaspora, estimated currently at about 10 million Filipinos working or residing in 239 countries and territories worldwide, have sent donations to the Philippines for various humanitarian causes, such as disaster relief, medical missions, school houses, and other infrastructure. These contributions have supplemented local and national Philippine government deficits and, as of 2003, have already amounted to USD218 million, per central bank figures in that year. Not included are other investments made by OFWs in real estate, education, and health care for their family members, and consumer goods and services.

The group emphasizes the urgent need to push for genuine poverty alleviation after 30-plus years of heavy reliance on labor export, and as thousands of Filipinos continue to leave every day for overseas jobs or contracts. Although the “Philippine model of overseas migration” is considered an ideal model for other migrant-origin countries to emulate and copy, the group believes that social costs that migration has incurred have not been successfully addressed by past administrations. They cite examples of countries such as South Korea, Ireland, and Italy, once considered labor-exporting countries, that evolved from their “migration hump” by taking advantage of their workers’ remittances, investing them to develop local infrastructure, shipyards, factories, and other industries. As a result, a “brain gain” occurred. Many of these expatriates left their high-paying jobs abroad, convinced that their home countries’ governments were effective and that they could trust their country’s inspired leadership.

The open letter frankly addresses Senator Aquino:  “Shall we continue to send out our people and rely on remittances and without any development objectives in sight? Conversely, don’t we have the talent to formulate a road map toward self-sufficiency over a period of time, in order that the hemorrhage of talents could be stopped, that a crisis in our dysfunctional families and society at large could be averted, and so that our people do not have to take migration as a forced option? If long-term migration goals are set now, the government could, in the meantime, work on some basic but urgent deployment and migration issues in order to clear the way toward having a genuine and serious program on translating migration gains for use in human development.”

The authors of the letter suggest that the new president  consider the following:

§  The government must send clear and strong signals that migration and remittances are only temporary measures to help the government prepare for a longer-term goal of self-sufficiency, in which Filipinos no longer look at migration as a forced option. A suggestion is for these signals to be integrated in the NEDA-formulated Medium-Term Development Plans.

§  Create a position for a Special Presidential Adviser on Migration and Development, who will work with a consultative technical working group (TWG) composed of qualified individuals who have a background in migration and development, including knowledgeable and committed migrant leaders. The TWG’s work, which does not supplant the work of government migration agencies, could evolve into a draft legislation for study by Congress’s standing committee on OFWs or form the basis for an Executive or Administrative Order, whichever is appropriate or achievable.

§  Conduct a comprehensive review and monitoring of the performance of government agencies in charge of migrant workers, such as the POEA, OWWA, CFO, and Department of Foreign Affairs. The goal is to strengthen these vital institutions toward efficiency and effectiveness.

§  Reforms within OWWA are necessary to promote transparency and accountability regarding departing OFWs’ contributions of USD25 each, a requirement for departure and membership in OWWA and entitlement of welfare benefits. The group suggests possible solutions on how to address mismanagement and audits.

§  The work of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NCRO) needs to be addressed so they are given the appropriate level of funding, resources, and support. These two agencies are doing important work in mobilizing diaspora contributions for development and assistance to OFWs who are reintegrating to Philippine society after working abroad.

§  An institutionalized nationwide program on financial literacy for OFWs and their families is necessary to encourage a savings or investment mind-set and to deter excessive spending on non-essentials. The  Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) , the lead government agency that has been conducting financial literacy programs for migrant workers and their families since 2006 in more than 30 Philippine cities and 10 cities overseas, could be improved and expanded. A recommendation for the involvement of the Department of Education, Culture, & Sports (DECS) to include financial literacy and migration as part of the school curriculum is also proposed.

Although the open letter focuses on recommendations for specific OFW issues, the network of overseas Filipinos  are hopeful of the president-elect’s electoral campaign promises, which includes good governance, better access to health, education, employment and livelihood, and business opportunities for everyone. The group closes the open letter with apparent goodwill and optimism:  “The (proposed government) programs are all in the right track, constitute the basic elements for self-sufficiency, and provide viable options to our citizens to remain in the country and to devote their talents and resources to developing the homeland.”

The copy of the Open Letter is available at

Developing Nations Benefit From Migration To England

The final report of a four-year research project, involving field work in seven countries, shows that people who migrate from developing countries greatly increase their own income and bring many benefits to their families and communities back home. 

The project by the Global Development Network (GDN), an international organization headquartered in India, and the UK think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) also found that negative impacts on development such as ‘brain drain’ are usually counter-balanced by other positive impacts. Read more

Diaspora monies boost Dar's external account

Tanzanians may lack a savings culture at home, but it has now emerged that its citizens abroad annually send home $200 million.

Meanwhile, despite the recent global financial crisis, which took its toll on the country’s export earnings, foreign exchange-denominated deposits held with commercial banks by Tanzania residents amount to $1.5 billion — equivalent to two months’ worth of imports of goods and services.

Foreign exchange-denominated assets held by commercial banks add another half a month to this stock.

By the end of March, the country’s gross official foreign exchange reserves stood at $3,498.2 million, sufficient to cover 5.4 months of imports of goods and services.

Foreign exchange is crucial for Tanzania’s net import economy as it eases the dollar demand pressure at the inter-bank foreign market, where the shilling has lost over 5 per cent against the dollar since January, falling to Tsh1,367. Read more

Euro zone debt crisis worrying Filipino seamen

MANILA, Philippines - Money sent home by Filipino seamen in the first quarter grew by 11% from a year ago to $888.95 million, but a prolonged economic crisis in Europe could hurt future remittances, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said on Sunday.
From January to March,  remittances by seamen outpaced the nearly 6% growth in money sent by land-based overseas workers to their families in the Philippines.
"We remain bullish overall about the potential growth in remittances from Filipino sailors in the months ahead," said former Senator Ernesto Herrera, who is now secretary-general of the TUCP.
He said that remittances from seamen based in Greece, the center of Europe's brewing financial crisis, still rose by 18% in the first quarter to $34.7 million compared to $29.3 million a year ago. 
TUCP  however, noted that remittances from Filipino sailors based in Norway, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden declined by nearly 21% in the first quarter.

Think tank: Immigration beats aid in reducing world poverty

A cap on annual migration and no amnesty for illegal immigrants is one of the clearest policy stances of the new coalition government. The Conservatives have got their way and the Liberal Democrats have caved in: this administration has pledged to reduce immigration levels. At the same time the coalition is also committed to reducing global poverty: the aid budget will be protected. The new government wants to be tough and compassionate.
But is it? A new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows that migration may be a far better way of helping the world’s poor than aid. The report, based on 10,000 household surveys in seven countries, suggests that migrants working overseas deliver tangible benefits in ways that aid and foreign investment just can’t. Read more

MALAYSIA: PBS against increase on foreign worker levy.

By Queville To

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has warned the federal government that its decision to increase the levy on foreign workers could backfire and open the door to more illegal workers.
The Sabah Barisan Nasional component party is instead backing a legalisation exercise as a solution to the illegal foreign worker problem in Sabah.

“It is better to regularise these workers officially,” said PBS information chief Johnny Mositun in a statement issued yesterday.

Mositun, who is also a state assembly deputy speaker, was commenting on the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin that the levy on foreign workers would be increased next year.
He stressed that PBS' call to regularise foreign workers already in Sabah should not be construed as welcoming illegal immigrants.

“Obviously, we do not need the illegal immigrants. Read more

Asia structurally dependent on labor migration –analysts

PASIG CITY - Analysts claim the movement of workers from home countries in Asia already reached a level wherein their economies are now “structurally dependent” on migration.

Labor migration for Asia is “not a mom-and-pop story anymore,” Ma. Alcestis Mangahas of the International Labor Organization (ILO) told migration analysts and stakeholders at a recent forum here.
Mangahas, ILO senior migration specialist, said the advancement of labor migration to such level occurred independent of the recent global financial crisis, natural disasters, and political strife that hit Asia in the past three years.  Read more

Dahabshiil CEO Calls for Support From International Community to Help Somalis

LONDON, May 24, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The CEO of Dahabshiil, the largest international remittance business in the Horn of Africa, has called for support from the international community to work with the private sector in Somalia.

Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil, also says external recognition is required to support the private sector in the reconstruction and development of the region.

Speaking at the United Nations Political, Security and Reconstruction Conference for Somalia, in Istanbul, Mr. Duale highlighted the constraints facing Somali businesses and called for reforms to support the private sector.
The conference, co-hosted by the Turkish government and UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, was attended by foreign ministers, business leaders, and leading financial institutions, including the World Bank, African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank. Read more

Use workers’ remittances to start new industries, Noynoy told

Monday, 24 May 2010 23:08

FILIPINOS lobbying for migrant workers’ rights says presidential front-runner Sen. Benigno Aquino III can wield the trust given by overseas Filipino workers to him to help the country ride over a “migration hump.”

Citing experiences of former labor-exporting countries, the group Overseas Filipinos Worldwide said the incoming Aquino administration can consciously harness migrant workers’ remittances and invest these to develop local infrastructure, shipyards, factories and other industries.

“Other nations like South Korea, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Taiwan, which once were labor-exporting countries, have been able to get over their migration hump,” the group said in its open letter to Aquino.

Led by Leila Rispens-Noel of the Hong Kong-based Wimler Partnership for Social Progress, the group said migrant workers of these countries were “convinced of the effectiveness of government programs and [were] also trustful of their leaders’ sincerity.” Read more

Some S. Fla. day laborers say economy is improving

Some South Florida day laborers say the economy may be improving because more people are willing to hire them.

Cesar Jimenez, 35, a Mexican migrant worker from Guanajuato, Mexico, leans against the wall of a convenience store in Homestead while he and other day laborers wait for prospective employers.

ROBERTO KOLTUN / EL NUEVO HERALD STAFF

• Photo

By ALFONSO CHARDY

achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com

Just when day laborer César Jiménez thought he would be returning home empty-handed, he got lucky.
A red van drove up and picked up Jiménez, a Mexican migrant worker and a fellow day laborer for a day's work filling buckets with tomatoes at a nearby Homestead farm.
That Jiménez got work at all is perhaps symbolic of the optimism felt by some that the economy is slowly coming back, at least for day labor.
Recent surveys show that remittances to families in Latin America are stabilizing after severe declines last year and orders of construction materials are increasing

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/15/1631842/some-s-fla-day-laborers-say-economy.html#ixzz0o8O5JouQ

Campaigns in the Philippines fail diaspora

An outsider could easily be forgiven for confusing Philippine elections with a daytime soap opera or worse, a political circus. Among the 85,000 candidates vying for 17,000 positions in today’s voting are a world-champion boxer (Manny Pacquiao), a film star and deposed president (Joseph Estrada) and an archetypal Asian dragon lady legendary for her love of shoes (Imelda Marcos).

Unfortunately, what was not part of the melodrama leading up to today’s voting was any discussion and debate on the future of the Philippines economy – more specifically, its dependence on remittances from Filipino workers overseas.

Up to 11 million Filipinos now work abroad, remitting some $16 billion (Dh59 billion) back home each year. Contrary to the argument that such a remittance economy was temporary and necessary only until a “take-off” point was reached, the grandsons and granddaughters of Filipino overseas workers are now becoming overseas workers themselves. So accustomed are Filipinos to this fact of life that overseas foreign workers are referred to in the local media simply as “OFWs”. Read more

Gulf remittances leave some Indian families in the dust

It is a muggy Monday morning in a small town in Kerala, India. The local bank is about to open. Outside its doors, under the shade of a coconut palm, sit a dozen customers waiting to withdraw funds from their NRI (non-resident Indian) bank accounts.

These accounts, kept jointly with their children in the Gulf, are replenished at regular intervals. With this money, these customers will pay for many of their household expenses.

This scene can be replicated, with minor variations, across Kerala and beyond. If all these instances are amalgamated, the cash withdrawn equals 3 per cent of India’s current GDP. It is a staggering figure, one that sheds light on how important foreign remittances are to India’s everyday functioning.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the southern state of Kerala. Earlier this decade, foreign remittances, most of which originated in Gulf countries, constituted 22 per cent of the state’s economy.  Read more

Latinos sending money home: essential to Latin America

Remittances, the funds sent by foreign-based Latin American workers to their families back home (also called migradollars in Mexico where they constitute the third highest source of income after oil exports and tourism), represent one of the major economic trends shaping Latin America’s recent development. They are considerably more important than official development assistance (ODA) and equal the foreign direct investment (FDI) volume for the region. In some of the poorest countries of the hemisphere (Haiti, Guyana and Honduras, to name a few) they account for more than 10% of the GDP, and, in several Latin American countries, remittances per capita readings are higher than the GDP per capita of the poorest 40% of the population. Read more

Private remittances to Armenia totaled $261.7mln in first quarter of 2010

PanARMENIAN.Net - $261.7mln was transferred to individuals through the Armenian banking system in January-March 2010. According to the RA Central Bank’s monthly bulletin, 0.03% or $86,000 drop was recorded as compared with the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, Russia keeps the biggest share of remittances to Armenia - $162.8mln, followed by the US - $29.5mln and Germany - $4.7mln. The amount of remittances from Turkey amounted to $665,000.
Besides, the amount of remittances from Armenia totaled $138.6mln in January-March 2009 that is 5.4% higher as compared with the same period of 2009. During the reported period, the net cash inflow decreased by 5.5% amounting to $123.1mln against $130.3mln in January-March 2009. Source

'73 pc, non-resident Bangladeshis send remittance throu' legal channel'

Seventy-three percent Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) send their remittances to the country through the legal channel, said a survey report here on Wednesday.

The first-ever survey on remittance at the national level was conducted by International Migration Organisation (IMO) with the assistance of DFID. Mitra and Associate also extended cooperation in this regard.

The report of the survey was made public at a function here with Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman attending as the chief guest. Secretary of the Ministry for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan was present as the special guest.

Eminent migration expert Dr Manuel Orojko presented the keynote paper while IMO Regional Representative Rabab Fatema delivered the introductory speech.

DFID Senior Programme Manager Jim Machalpine, Remittance and Payment Partnership (RPP) Project Manager Robert Smith, and Mitra and Associates Director Fuyad Pasha also spoke on the occasion.

During the survey, a total of 10,585 families were interviewed to collect information on the migrant, the channel of sending remittance and the types of expenditures of the remittances.

The survey reveals that 98.3 percent of the migrants are male and their average age is 32 years.

Ninety percent of the migrants send remittances to the country and 70 percent of them use the formal channels, including money transfer operators and banking institutions.

Twenty percent of the migrants have bank accounts while more than 50 percent of the remittance recipient families maintain bank accounts.

According to the survey report, most of the recipient families take good food and have scopes to get education. Source

Columbians abroad send less money home in 2010

A report released by Colombia's Banco de la Republica shows that remittances sent by foreign banks to the Andean nation are down 17.7% for the first three months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009.
In the period from January to March in 2009, the amount of remittances, or money sent by Colombian emigrants to people in their home country, added up to $1.095 billion, while the 2010 total for those three months dipped to $901.2 million.
The report explained the decline was due to a number of factors, including the increasing weakness of the Euro against the Colombian Peso, which affected the value of the remittances sent from countries like Spain, France, and Italy.
Also cited by the report was the increasing number of Colombian foreign workers who are returning home, thanks to a Spanish plan that offers legal immigrants without work an advance on their unemployment benefits if they return to their countries of origin for a period of several years while Spain weathers its recession.
The departments of Quindio and Caldas, in Colombia's coffee region, have been hardest hit by the reduction in remittances. About a fifth of all remittances going to Colombia are sent to this region, which means an estimated $15 million decline in revenue for that part of the country alone. Source

MoneyGram International Adds Croatia to its Global Money Transfer Network

MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 28, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- MoneyGram International /quotes/comstock/13*!mgi/quotes/nls/mgi (MGI 3.30, -0.05, -1.46%) , a leading global money transfer company, announced its return to Croatia today as Volksbank added MoneyGram's services to 28 countrywide locations. MoneyGram's return to Croatia follows MoneyGram's alliance with Volksbank in Serbia in 2008 and the opening of 33 MoneyGram-owned retail locations in Germany since 2006.

"MoneyGram is pleased to be back in Croatia with Volksbank, providing the country's 4.5 million people a new choice and a better value for money transfer services," said Massimo Canovi, MoneyGram International's senior regional director for Southern Europe and the Balkans. "Volksbank is a leading financial institution across Southeastern Europe and has been a valued MoneyGram agent in Serbia since 2008. The Volksbank locations are available today to assist Croatians with their money transfer needs." Read more

Remittances, vital to Serbia GDP, grew in crisis

* Serbian remittances grew 10 pct in 2009 despite crisis

* Remittances vital to economies across region

By Aleksandar Vasovic

 

BELGRADE, April 28, (Reuters) - Foreign currency sent home by Serbians working abroad -- an important part of overall GDP in the Balkan country -- rose by 10 percent in 2009 despite the global financial downturn, an official said on Wednesday.

 

Last year, the roughly four million Serbians living abroad, mainly in the European Union, the United States and Australia, sent home about $5.5 billion, or about 15 percent of gross domestic, Srdjan Sreckovic, the diaspora minister told a panel discussion in Belgrade.

 

"Despite the International Monetary Fund's expectations that remittances to Eastern Europe would fall during the crisis, in Serbia they rose by 10 percent in 2009," Sreckovic said. Read more

Remittance flows to developing countries remained resilient in 2009, expected to recover during 2010-11

We have just released Migration and Development Brief 12 reporting the latest estimates of remittance flows for 2008-09 and forecasts for 2010-11.  Officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries reached $316 billion in 2009, down 6 percent from $336 billion in 2008. With improved prospects for the global economy, remittance flows to developing countries are expected to increase at 6.2% in 2010 and 7.1% in 2011, a faster pace of recovery in 2010 than our earlier forecasts.

The decline in remittance flows to Latin America that began with the onset of financial crisis in the United States appears to have bottomed out since the last quarter of 2009. Remittance flows to South Asia (and to a smaller extent, East Asia) continued to grow in 2009 although at markedly slower pace than in the pre-crisis years. Flows to Europe & Central Asia and Middle-East and North Africa fell more than expected in 2009.

Read more

GHANA: New trend in money transfers

Some Ghanaians living abroad have found other means of remitting money to their relations and friends back home without using the traditional money transfer agencies.

They have resorted to the use of electronic cards to remit because they find it more economical.

For instance, the money transfer agencies charge averagely US$10 to transfer funds between US$100 and US$500 to Ghana, while US$17 is charged for a transfer of above US$500.

However, it costs only US$2.0 to effect a transaction by using the electronic visa card, which is cheaper compared to the use of money transfer agency.

Private inward remittances to individuals in the country have been dropping over the last three years, which some financial analysts have attributed to the global financial crisis. Read more

Remittances on the Rise in El Salvador

For the first time since October 2008, remittances from Salvadorans living abroad are on the rise. The Salvadoran Central Bank reports that Salvadorans in the U.S. and other countries sent family members $343.2 million in March 2010, up 8.7% from March 2009.  In the first quarter of 2010, remittances totaled $848.4 million, up 0.60% from the same period last year.

The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that 240,000 Salvadorans live and work under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and send money to their families back home. Another 2.25 million undocumented Salvadorans live and work in the U.S. and contribute to the family finances. Read more

Bangladesh Post Office introduces mobile money transfer April 19

Bangladesh Post Office launches mobile money transfer in the country on April 19 in a move aimed at revolutionising the country's money transfer system and thus providing the much-needed booster to the moribund postal department.
Initially on April 19, around 600 post offices in Dhaka and Chittagong divisions including those at the district and upazila levels will come under the network.
The post offices at the district and upazila levels of the two divisions and the key post offices will be brought under the network, said M Mobasherur Rahman, Director General of Bangladesh Post Office (BPO).
Read more

Indian expats' remittances up by over $1 billion

Remittances by Indian expatriates rose by over $1 billion to $27.51 billion (about 1,22,420 crore) during April-September 2009, unfazed by theglobal financial meltdown, a Reserve Bank of India [ Get Quote ] survey has said.

The remittances increased from $26.37 billion duringthe same period in the previous year, as India provided much better returns.

". . .inward remittances in India have not been impactedsignificantly by the global economic crisis," RBI said in its latest monthly bulletin.

It further said the rise in remittances may beattributed to a number of factors, including depreciation of rupee resulting in the rise in inflows through rupee denominated non-resident Indians' accounts to take advantage of the depreciation and hike in interest rate ceilings on NRI deposits since September 2008. Read more

Saudi Arabia and Qatar lead job creation in the Gulf

Expatriates are more likely to secure a new job in Saudi Arabia than in any other country in the GCC, according to the latest employment data released today by GulfTalent.com, the leading Middle East online recruitment firm.

The number of expatriate employees in the Kingdom rose by an estimated 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009, followed by Qatar with a 2.2% increase. Oman also showed a marginal rise, with a 0.3% growth. Read more

Orascom's Bangladesh unit offers mobile remittance

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Bangladeshi unit of Egyptian operator Orascom Telecom said on Monday it is offering mobile remittance services to tap a large unbanked population.

Under the service, banks will offer mobile wallet accounts through Banglalink, the country's second largest mobile operator, Orascom said in a statement.

Dhaka Bank Eastern Bank partnered with Bangalink to offer the mobile remittance services, the southern Asian nation's first.

Remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas are key sources of foreign exchange for the impoverished south Asian country of 150 million people. Read more