The three biggest shopping malls in the world are located in Metro Manila. Malling (not to be confused with shopping) has become the national pastime. Why do malls thrive in a poor country like the Philippines? One reason is the emergence of the overseas Filipino workers, or OFWs, and their families as reliable customers of shopping malls.
BY MONG PALATINO
Peripheries/UPI Asia
COMMENTARY
Posted by Bulatlat
The three biggest shopping malls in the world are located in Metro Manila. Malling (not to be confused with shopping) has become the national pastime. Why do malls thrive in a poor country like the Philippines? One reason is the emergence of the overseas Filipino workers, or OFWs, and their families as reliable customers of shopping malls.
Overseas workers send home more than US$1 billion a month to their families in the Philippines. The bulk of this amount is spent on consumer products. OFW money has made mall owners among the richest Filipinos today. Unlike in neighboring countries where economic growth is investment-driven, consumer spending has sustained the Philippine economy.
The government has been urging overseas workers to invest or save their hard-earned income. Many have been lured to buy properties in different parts of the country, which has boosted the real estate market. But most OFWs continue to spend big money on consumer items. Mall owners have responded by making shopping an enjoyable experience for overseas workers and their loved ones.
OFW parents tend to pamper their children with material goods, triggered by feelings of guilt at being away from home for long periods. Young Filipinos grew up believing that they could acquire luxury items by working abroad. Now we have new graduates who want to leave the country by all means and at all cost.
Emigration may have increased the purchasing power of Filipinos, but this was accomplished at the expense of family cohesion. Emigration has led to the break-up of many families. The traditional Filipino family is now being redefined because of the huge number of parents who are physically detached from their children.
There are cases of OFWs who couldn’t endure the separation from their families and ended up committing suicide. There are children of OFWs who are raised by strangers. Parental roles are changing, since more than half of the workers who leave the country every year are young women. Men are assuming the roles of father/mother and househusbands.
Emigration has become a norm in Philippine society. Everyone has a relative or friend who is working abroad or has emigrated to other countries. Almost all institutions have adopted programs in response to this massive emigration. Schooling has become a process to train English-speaking OFWs in the future. Curricular changes were made to meet specific labor needs of foreign countries. The Catholic Church has condoned the issue of migration. Corporate-dominated media continue to regale OFWs as “modern day heroes.”
It is not only the government that is raking in money from overseas workers. Wicked individuals, sometimes backed by the official bureaucracy, have profited from the flesh trade. Philippine emigration, despite the rhetoric of promoting the workers’ welfare, is also characterized by the trafficking of women and children into sexual slavery. Thousands of Filipinos have become victims of illegal recruitment, invalid job contracts and discriminatory practices.
The benefits and costs of emigration, as well as OFW woes, are amply documented in the mainstream media. Measures to protect overseas workers are advocated in proper government agencies. But there is a need to articulate an imminent crisis involving the return of such workers.
Imagine if half of the 8 million overseas workers decided to return home tomorrow, what would be the impact on the country? Could the Philippines provide jobs for the returning workers? The first wave of large-scale emigration began in the 1970s. Let us assume that the workers who left the country during this period are already retiring and will return soon. Since an average overseas worker has little or no savings, we can imagine the economic hardships that would befall their families. Decades of hard work would be rendered meaningless.
The Philippine government must step up its reintegration and retraining programs for returned overseas workers. Retirement villages must be established where OFWs and even local workers can invest their money. Social protection benefits must be expanded. Alternative livelihood programs must be pursued. The skills, experience and know-how in new technologies acquired by overseas workers must be tapped to propel domestic industries. Incentives must be given workers who will invest in rural development.
The government needs to act fast. Thousands of young and computer literate Filipinos are preparing their employment visas everyday. Older workers abroad will be replaced and they will soon head home. Posted by Bulatlat.com
(Mong Palatino, 27, is a Filipino youth activist and correspondent for Global Voices. He can be reached at mongpalatino@gmail.com; his Web site is www.mongpalatino.motime.com.)
