A Probe into the Filipino Migration Culture: What Is There to Learn for Policy Intervention?

Abstract

For many migrant workers, labor migration is not just a one-time, temporary means of livelihood, it has become the way of life. This is illustrated by the fact that among the 1.4 million land-based migrants in 2015, two-thirds comprise of re-hires. The number of new-hires has been increasing as well. In fact, the trend of migrant deployment shows a continuous upward trend except during periods of crises and tight government control. It is quite unlikely that the deployment will peak soon, at least in the medium term. From a public policy standpoint, this requires constant vigilance and informed decision-making with regards to designing policies and programs that look after the welfare of migrant workers. Some argue that while the government administers the deployment and implement strategies to promote the welfare of migrant workers, it also needs to design more clearly as to what really the long-term thrust should be when it comes to labor migration. The non-negligible number of cases of abuse, maltreatment, and even crimes committed against Filipino migrant workers calls for the development of a more defined policy that is less dependent on labor migration and more towards developing local job opportunities. Designing such would require a deeper understanding on why people migrate in the first place. Unfortunately, empirical studies that look at Filipino’s motivations and intentions are rare. This paper seeks to address this gap in the literature by examining migration intentions of individuals from a high-emigration rural village in the Philippines. The results provide evidence of a culture of migration among the villagers as shown by the high proportion (at 44% of a sample of 572) of those having plans to leave for overseas work. The motivations for wanting to migrate are largely economic in nature. Earning high income is also the most common basis for choosing the destination. Nevertheless, the study shows that given more local job opportunities, a non-negligible proportion would opt to stay and be with their loved-ones. Interestingly, the desired amount of compensation abroad which roughly represents people’s willingness to stay, is not much. The analysis also reveals that migration intentions do not exhibit a simple leave-or-stay dichotomy. Understanding the nuances is essential if policymakers want to shape people’s migration-related behavior in its policy interventions.