Filipinos are one of the most sought-after workers around the world. And the reasons are simple – they’re hardworking, efficient, clean, orderly, with ample educational background, respectful, and other character adjectives. There is one “outstanding quality” which perhaps “differentiates” Filipinos from other nationalities, their being “patient” on given situations. But watch out, not everybody possess these qualities mentioned. There is a saying which goes more or less like this: “in a bag of apples, there is always a rotten one”. It holds true to any nationality and the Filipino is no exception.
According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas which is under the Office of the President, in its global mapping of overseas Filipinos emigrants as of 2010, the top 10 countries of destination of Filipinos are:
USA – 1,165,352
Canada– 284,663
Japan– 116, 748
Australia- 109,668
Italy– 17,085
New Zealand– 13,333
Germany– 12,585
United Kingdom– 10,241
Spain– 8,755
South Korea- 7,773
Total 1,773,045
To confirm veracity of these figures, please visit below link:
http://www.cfo.gov.ph/images/stories/pdf/by_major_country.pdf
Surely, these numbers are not exact, because you and I are conscious of the fact that Filipino “illegals” abroad may even be larger than the official figures show, and have not been included. But the issue here is not the number of Filipino emigrants, the issue here is “why do Filipinos continue to seek opportunities outside the Philippines?”. The answer is simple: they need money!. And the truth of the matter is, jobs back home are not good enough to sustain the needs of the population. Opportunities are far less in number from those demanding to work – and the immediate consequence is to seek better chances – and they are outside the country. My mind has been provoked by the thought that a Filipinos’ consciousness from birth has already began a virtual journey beyond the person’s environment, as “steps” have began to be taken towards conquering foreign frontiers.
A lot of Filipino professionals land on occupations way off from their qualifications. Most have ended up in households, a few lucky ones were at least able to find their career “usable”, while some have been taken in “white collar” employments.
The trend will remain the same, Filipinos will continue to emigrate at whatever cost it takes in “search of the greener pasture”, even if the pasture they expect to find is no longer as green and it once used to be.
To be continued…..Eric
P.S.
You might be interested in taking a look at the link below which concerns the Filipinos abroad. There is a bunch of useful information that could be learned from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas website. Information that do not usually reach Filipino expats but are worthy of attention.
—oOo—
FilipinosAround 