NCSB Filipinos Statistics on International Migration

8/6/2019 NCSB Filipinos Statistics on International Migration

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10th

National Convention on Statistics (NCS)EDSA Shangri-La Hotel

October 1-2, 2007

Statistics on Filipinos International Migration:Issues and Steps Towards Harmonizing the Databy

Jeremaiah M. Opiniano

For additional information, please contact:

Authors name : Jeremaiah M. OpinianoDesignation : Executive DirectorAffiliation : Institute for Migration and Development IssuesAddress : 653 Sanggumay ST., Mandaluyong CityTel. no. : (0632) 532-2519 / (063917) 823-8260

E-mail : [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Statistics on Filipinos International Migration:Issues and Steps Towards Harmonizing the Data

by

Jeremaiah M. Opiniano1

ABSTRACT

This policy paper is intended to present what is perhaps the state of internationalmigration statistics in the Philippines, with statistics on this overseas movement by Filipinoscurrently patchy and scattered. The paper also presents a snapshot of an integrated set ofstatistics on the international migration of Filipinos, that which has not been done before. Fromthere, some of the issues and concerns on the system of international migration statistics havebeen identified. This policy paper hopes to enlighten concerned stakeholders of the necessityto support efforts to improve the harmonization of international migration statistics. If thissituation happens, the Philippines will be ready to juxtapose international migration statisticswith usual Philippine socio-economic and demographic data so that steps can be determinedto harness the development potential of international migration.

I. Introduction

International migration is a very fluid phenomenon. In the case of the Philippines, the

fluidity of these cross-border population movements covers 193 countries and territories, as

well as ocean-plying vessels. These overseas migration movements by Filipinos are also

economic in nature, whether the movement is for overseas work (thus, temporary in nature),

permanent settlement, or unauthorized or clandestine migration. A publication on

demographic concepts2even mentions that migration (both internal and international) is a

demographic process that is difficult to measure because these movements are not

normally recorded. International migration is even more difficult to measure because most

countries do not have reliable data on foreigners and migration movements (Commission on

Population, undated). On a global level, the United Nations Statistics Division is

implementing measures to address the data gaps on international migration statistics.

The Philippines, though, is lucky: for having a well-placed government structure that

facilitates the international movement of people, statistics on Filipinos international migration

is fairly developed (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007a, 2007b). Gaps are expected from these, but

the basic socio-economic and demographic variables of these international migration

statistics are spelled out.

1It is to note that the author is not a demographer or a statistician by training. This paper is presented in the context that the

author is versed with international migration dynamics and movements in the Philippines, has ground-level experiences withFilipinos abroad and with their families in the Philippines, and has personally initiated efforts to put together internationalmigration statistics from various sources. He belongs to a nonprofit organization, the Institute for Migration and DevelopmentIssues (IMDI). It is a nonprofit thinktank that is involved in analyzing the development implications of Filipinos internationalmigration through research, advocacy, networking, and development journalism. Views of a data user prevail in this paper.2

Even within the field of demography, international migration is the least studied demographic process compared to fertility andmortality.


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As early as 1989, some international migration scholars have called for the

harmonization of international migration statistics (Benjamin Carino 1989). Now that Filipinos

abroad number to an estimated 8.2 million as of the year 2006, the clamor to harmonize

such datasets is all the more important. The pursuit of harmonization of international

migration statistics comes at a time when global development experts and international

migration analysts have noted the immense economic contributions of migrants, especially

to developing countries (World Bank 2003).

More than ever, this time necessitates the beginning of steps to harmonize

international migration statistics (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007b). In recent months,

stakeholders of the countrys international migration sector (especially government agencies)

have begun reflecting their data capturing mechanisms on international migration. The steps

at analyzing migration data are ongoing.

This policy research intends to basically outline the state of international migration

data collection in the Philippines, and present the gaps and issues in this periodic effort. The

general context here is that international migration is a phenomenon so difficult to track, that

relies on multiple sources (both in the Philippines and in host countries), and that is also a

fairly new statistical arena to be developed by people in the fields of demography and

statistics in the Philippines. This policy research is also an offshoot of previous work as

technical editor of a forthcoming government publication on the population and development

implications of Filipinos international labor migration3.

II. Framework

This paper will be guided by a framework on the interaction between population anddevelopment as a means to organize the presentation of existing datasets on Filipinos

international migration (see Figure 1). This population and development framework,

developed by Dr. Alejandro Herrin (in NEDA-IPDP, 1993), was a useful guide in segregating

these international migration statistics by type of overseas Filipino, and by identified socio-

economic and demographic variables.

3 This report, called the Fourth State of the Philippine Population Report, covers only one aspect of international migration labor migration that pertains to one type of overseas Filipino in temporary contract workers. These temporary contract workersare also prominently referred to as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).


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The PopDev framework basically shows how the three demographic processes

(fertility, mortality, and migration) lead to population outcomes such population size, the

distribution of the population by age and sex, that all affect various development processes

in many ways (NEDA-IPDP, 1993). The end result here is the enumeration of development

outcomes and how these affect the population, as well as determining the extent to which

the country achieves its development objectives. These outcomes are expressed in terms of

measures such as income distribution, levels of employment, education, health and

nutritional status, among others. In turn, these socio-economic outcomes also affect the very

processes of fertility, mortality, and migration (NEDA-IPDP, 1993; see Figure 1).

The framework for this paper also serves as a jump-off point to analyze the gaps in the

current system of international migration statistics and data capturing.

Figure 1: Framework on population and development inter-relationships

(NEDA-IPDP, 1993)

III. Terminologies and available statistics

Types of overseas economic migration by Filipinos. This paper begins with

distinguishing the types of Filipinos going abroad. Filipinos emigrating overseas are, in the

majority, land- workers and residents. But contract workers who ply ocean-going vessels

otherwise called as seafarers are considered overseas workers. This classification system

comes from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, a government agency that releases an

annual stock estimates on overseas Filipinos.


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Filipinos abroad are primarily classified into three when pertaining to their immigration status.

This classification is what an inter-agency government group is using when determining

annual stock estimates of the Filipino presence abroad (in Commission on Filipinos

Overseas, 2006):

Permanent migrants These refer to Filipino migrants and legal permanent residents

abroad. Permanent migrants may be Filipinos who are Filipino citizens, who are

Philippine passport holders, or who have been naturalized citizens in the host country.

Popular labels to these kinds of migrants are immigrants and emigrants;

Temporary migrants These refer to Filipinos whose stay overseas, while regular

and properly documented, is temporary. This is owed to the employment-related

nature of their status in the host country. Temporary migrants include contract

workers, intra-company transferees, students, trainees, entrepreneurs, businessmen,

traders, and others whose stay abroad is six months or more, as well as their

accompanying. These migrants are popularly referred to as overseas contract

workers (OCWs) or overseas Filipino workers (OFWs); and

Irregular migrants These are migrants whose stay abroad is not properly

documented. They also do not have valid residence and work permits; they can also

be overstaying workers or tourists in a foreign country. These migrants falling into

this category shall have been in such status for six months or more. A non-discriminatory label for these migrants is undocumented migrants. In Filipino

international migration parlance, these migrants are called TNTs (tago ng tago or

always in hiding).

This classification system is relevant for international migration statistics in the

Philippines since these reflect the types of overseas migration movements by Filipinos. We

can say that almost all international migration movements by Filipinos are economic innature, unlike in other countries where there are refugee movements and asylum seeking

situations.

One should also take note that many of the socio-economic consequences of

Filipinos international migration overlap with the types of overseas migration movements.

Ground-level experiences with overseas Filipinos and their families in the Philippines reveal

such observation, even as studies and literature on international migration have documented

much the consequences of temporary migration or international labor migration (which


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remains the popular mode of overseas migration movement, especially given the demand for

unskilled and skilled Filipino workers by developed and developing countries). An example of

an overlapping consequence that covers all these types of overseas migration movements

by Filipinos is remittances. Bank data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have no way of

determining that this money (which is sent as a deposit to a recipients account) comes from

which type of overseas Filipino4.

It is thus relevant that data capturing agencies and analysts of international migration

analysts should always look at this broader picture of international migration movements by

Filipinos. It is difficult to focus on just one type of migration movement and isolate the rest.

For example, migration stock estimates by CFO will reveal the rising number of Filipinos

permanently settling in overseas countries, with some of them first becoming temporary

contract workers then they availed of immigration and citizenship opportunities of the host

countries. Unfortunately, seeing existing studies on Filipinos international migration, the

emphasis has been more on temporary migration and there is some tendency to generalize

that international labor migration is international migration per se. A look at international

migration statistics should not disregard other types of migration flows especially if these

other types of migration bring forth positive and negative socio-economic consequences to

the Philippines. Pertaining to remittances, a rural banker himself said Filipinos abroad may

have become American, German, or Australian but the money they send comes from the

Filipino pocket.

Statistics available. International migration statistics in the Philippines, generally speaking,

come from the home country and fro host countries. It has been challenging to make sense

of these statistics coming from various sources:

Home country

1. One data source is the actual registers of people migrating overseas (including those

migrating once again), especially if these people pass through the relevant

government agencies that process their overseas migration. This is the major source

4Revisions to the reporting of migrants remittances data in the countrys Balance of Payments (which summarizes a countrys

financial transactions with the rest of the world) were made in 2005. Nevertheless, even if the flows of money are juxtaposed tothe countries where overseas Filipinos are, there is no way that Balance of Payments data can determine that these moniescome from temporary migrants and permanent residents. If by undocumented migrants, these monies pass through non-banking channels.

For example, Bangko Sentral data show that the United States is the top source of remittances and it is the countrywith the most number of permanent residents, though with some tens of thousands of temporary migrants and undocumentedmigrants. However, BSPs monthly public updating of remittance figures reveals that these monies are labeled as OFWremittances, with reference to temporary contract workers or temporary migrants. This example reveals the overlaps ininternational migration statistics, which are difficult to untangle.


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of statistics for overseas Filipinos, although one should take note of Filipinos who

have migrated either legally or illegally, and who did not pass through these

government agencies in the home country;

2. Another source is surveys done by the countrys official statisticians. The Philippines

has also developed a means in which its five- or ten-year census of the population

covers households with dependents or relatives overseas, as well as the Filipinos

abroad who have not given up their Filipino citizenship; and

3. A special dataset in the countrys international migration statistics system covers

bank receipts, reflecting the flows of remittances to the country. These data on

money flows cannot be segregated by socio-demographic variables (especially by

gender) that usual data capturing instruments do. At the same time, the countrys

Bank Secrecy Law prohibits the revelation of the details of these remittance flows

even as banks follow strict know-your-customer (KYC) policies when dealing with

customers such as remitters.

Host countries

In general, international migration statistics in host countries come from population

registers, immigration and/or border statistics, and residence permits (United Nations

Statistics Division 2006). For undocumented migration, some host countries have

surveys or reports designed to determine the number of these undocumented (or

what host countries call illegal) migrants. The Philippiness 86 embassies and

consulates have been tasked by the homeland government to annually get data from

these sources so that they will be able to provide an annual estimate of how many

documented and undocumented Filipinos are in the said host country or countries.

Tables 1 to 3 outline existing international migration statistics, and the sources ofthese data. The data have been segregated by type of migration movement or type of

overseas Filipino since the dynamics of each type of movement differ, and are presented in

accordance with the PopDev framework of Alejandro Herrin (NEDA-IPDP 1993). Noticeably,

most of the data available cover temporary migrants, with the data reinforced by surveys by

the National Statistics Office (of which the respondents are predominantly temporary

migrants or what it calls overseas Filipino workers).

Remittances data are part of the international migration statistical compendium in the

Philippines. However, Table 4 here reflects the purposive segregating of these datasets, and


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not linking these to any type of overseas Filipino. This is owing to the difficulty of

ascertaining which type of overseas Filipino is responsible for such flows of money.

Nevertheless, tables 1 to 4 (updated as of September 2007) represent what is

perhaps an attempt at a harmonized set of international migration statistics coming from

various data capturing sources. This attempt at harmonization can give us ideas of what

variables are missing from the existing data capturing mechanisms. This harmonized set of

statistics is packaged into a Migration and Development Databank5 which the Institute for

Migration and Development Issues (IMDI), a nonprofit thinktank, put together.

5This Migration and Development Databank is available at the Philippine Diaspora Philanthropy Portal

(www.filipinodiasporagiving.org), an online resource center about philanthropy and development aid by overseas Filipinos.


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Table 1: Available statisticstemporary contract workers or temporary migrants

PopDev framework

element

Data available Data source

Population Outcomes

Population size Deployed overseas contract workers (1984 to 2005) POEAAge structure Median age of overseas workers, (2000 Census) NSO

Annual Survey on Overseas Filipinos NSO

OFWs by age group (1988 to 2004), Labor Force Survey NSO

(cited by an ILO study)

Sex structure / gender 2000 Census NSO

Survey on Overseas Filipinos NSO

Deployment of newly-hired temporary contract workers, 1992-2005 POEA

Share of OFWs, by sex (1988-2004), Labor Force Survey NSO


Marital status Share of OFWs, by marital status (1988-2004), Labor Force Survey NSO


Spatial distribution

Philippines

Overseas workers regional origins, 2000 Census NSO

Regional origins of deployed temporary contract workers, 1998-2002 POEA


Number of OFWs, 2000 Census (regional and per municipality [the latter if

purposively processed])

NSO


overseas

Countries with most number of temporary migrants, Stock Estimates on

Overseas Filipinos

CFO

Total deployed contract workers, 1988-2005 POEA

Seafarers deployed, 1984-2005 POEA



migrant households

based in the Philippines

Households with overseas workers, 2000 Census NSO

Households with overseas dependents, 2000 Family Income and

Expenditures Survey

NSO

Number of OFW households, 2000 Census (regional and per municipality

[the latter if purposively processed])

NSO

OFWs by relationship to household head (1988-2004), Labor Force Survey NSO


Development processes

Occupations abroad Deployment of newly-hired contract workers per skill category, 1992-2005 POEA

No. of OFWs by occupation, Annual Survey on Overseas Filipinos NSO

Remittances Annual Survey on Overseas Filipinos NSO

Survey of Filipino Remitters and Households Receiving Remittances Asian Development

Bank study, 2005

Household amenities and ownership of durables, 2000 Census NSO

Development outcomes

Domestic employment

and overseas migration

Employment, unemployment, underemployment, and overseas migration

data (temporary contract workers and immigrants)

NSOs Labor Force

Survey, POEA


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deployment data, CFO

emigrants data

Educational attainment Educational attainment of temporary contract workers and emigrants

(though these are 1995 data)

Processed by an ILO

study, with data coming

from NSO, POEA and

CFO

Share of OFWs by educational attainment (1988-2004), Labor Force Survey NSO


Household per capita

income

Share of OFWs by household per capita income (19989, 1992, 1995, 1998,

2001, 2004), citing the Labor Force Survey and the Family Income and

Expenditures Survey

NSO


Labor force participation Labor Force Participation Rate of OFWs in domestic employment NSO


Unemployment Unemployment rate, to include OFWs among employed (1988-2004), labor

Force Survey

NSO


Unemployed by reason of unemployment of the households with OFWs

(1988-2004), Labor Force Survey

NSO


Table 2: Available statisticspermanent residents or permanent migrants

PopDev framework

element


Population Outcomes

Population size Registered Filipino emigrants (1981 to 2005) CFO

Age structure Filipino emigrants by age, 1988-2005 CFO

Sex structure / gender Registered Filipino emigrants, 1981-2005 CFO

Civil status Registered Filipino emigrants CFO

Registered Filipino/a spouses of foreigners (also segregated by age,

sex, education, employment at the time of their departure, and countries

of destination)

CFO


Philippines

Regional origins of emigrants and permanent residents CFO


overseas

Destination countries of permanent residents, Stock Estimates on

Overseas Filipinos

CFO


migrant households

based overseas

Census data of host countries Host countries

(e.g. United States

Census)


Occupations prior to

migration

Registered emigrants (the employed and unemployed prior to migration) CFO


Bank study, 2005

Development outcomes


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Domestic employment

and overseas

migration

Employment, unemployment, underemployment, and overseas

migration data (temporary contract workers and immigrants)

NSOs Labor Force

Survey, POEA

deployment data, CFO

emigrants data

Educational attainmentof overseas Filipinos

Educational attainment of temporary contract workers and emigrants(though these are 1995 data)

Processed by an ILOstudy, with data

coming from NSO,

POEA and CFO

Table 3: Available statisticsundocumented migrants

PopDev framework

element


Population Outcomes


overseas

Countries with most undocumented migrants, Stock estimates on

overseas Filipinos

CFO

Table 4: Statistics on remittances

PopDev framework

element



Remittances Remittances through formal banking channels (1975-2005) and informal

banking channels (2001-2005)

BSP

Annual Survey on Overseas Filipinos NSO


Bank study, 2005

Household amenities and ownership of durables, 2000 Census NSO

It will be interesting to find out how statisticians and demographers treat the migration data

that are available. In the context of demography for example, the type of migration

movement is linked to migrating Filipinos continued count in the Philippiness population

system. In this case, temporary migrants (even those who stay for over 10 years as if their

stay seems permanent already) remain part of the Philippine population system 6 while

permanent residents have thus been part of the counts of host countries population

6 Maruja Asis (in United Nations Population Fund, 2005) explains that since many host countries have policies that do notwelcome family reunification, the foreign worker is thus a temporary migrant. The foreign worker, thus, will be forced to return tothe Philippines and remit earnings to the family left behind and these circumstances substantiate their being temporarymigrants. Asis even thinks policies make this kind of migration movement temporary.


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registers. But given the transnational nature of international migration movements, and even

circular migration movements by both temporary and permanent migrants to their home and

host countries, these developments will challenge how international migration is looked at by

demographers and by statisticians. Permanent residents, for example, remit money

periodically (though less in number than temporary migrants). Yet the Philippine System of

National Accounts only includes remittances from sea- and land-based Filipino migrant

workers (thus temporary migrants). The recording system for the PSNA is still being

improved, although a proposed framework for overseas Filipinos (see Figure 2) shows that

the stress is more on temporary migrants. The annual stock estimates on overseas Filipinos

shows that permanent residents are increasing in number (see Table 5).

Figure 2: Proposed framework for overseas Filipinos (Raymundo Talento 2004)

Table 5: Stock estimates of overseas Filipinos (multiple years)

Year Permanent Temporary Irregular TotalGap between permanent

and temporary migrants

2006 3,556,035 3,802,345 874,792 8,233,172 246,310

2005 3,391,338 3,651,727 881,123 7,924,188 260,389

2004 3,187,586 3,599,257 1,297,005 8,083,848 411,671

2003 2,865,412 3,385,001 1,512,765 7,763,178 519,589

2002 2,807,356 3,167,978 1,607,170 7,582,504 360,622

2001 2,736,528 3,049,622 1,625,936 7,412,086 313,094

2000 2,551,549 2,991,125 1,840,448 7,383,122 438,576

1999 2,482,470 2,981,529 1,828,990 7,292,989 499,059


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1998 2,333,843 2,961,254 1,913,941 7,209,038 627,411

1997 2,153,967 2,940,082 1,880,016 6,974,065 786,115

Source: Commission on Filipinos Overseas, 2006

Data capturing agencies (in Jeremaiah Opiniano, 2007a). There are agencies

responsible for facilitating Filipinos overseas migration, and these are also the countrys

major data capturing agencies on international migration. The government bodies involved

are part of the countrys bureaucracy in the management of overseas migration flows.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is one of these agencies, and

under its aegis is the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Temporary

contract workers (both newly-hired and re-hired, in the case of overseas workers who

returned to the motherland) are the jurisdiction of the two agencies. A related agency, the

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA, the welfare-focused agency for

temporary contract workers), has some databases of temporary contract workers who paid

their per-contract membership fee of US$25. Meanwhile, the Commission on Filipinos

Overseas (an attached agency under the Office of the President) handles and registers

permanent residents and immigrants leaving the country (including Filipino spouses of

foreigners). CFO is also responsible for the release of the annual stock estimates of

overseas Filipinos, covering all the types of overseas Filipinos mentioned earlier. Both POEA

and CFO have detailed statistics on the profiles of the temporary contract workers and

permanent residents who registered with their respective agencies prior to overseas

departure.

The Department of Foreign Affairs plays a crucial role in the gathering of international

migration statistics. This function is done through the 86 embassies and consulates

overseas since these diplomatic offices gather data on the number of Filipinos in the said

host countries7. These pieces of information are then sent to DFA headquarters and to the

CFO.

Another agency, the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID), handles records

of Filipinos and foreigners who pass through Philippine air and sea ports. Some government

officials involved in harmonizing international migration data have mentioned that BID cannot

use embarkation and disembarkation cards to record the number of exiting and returning

Filipinos (especially in airports). But raw data on departing and returning foreigners and

7 Some of these host countries, especially developed countries, have sophisticated Census datasets and data ferretingsoftware. The websites of the United States Census and Statistics Denmark website are good examples. Among the variablessuch websites have is the number of foreigners (e.g. foreign workers, foreign-born population, the population born to families ofmixed races). (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007).


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overseas Filipinos are available at the BID (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007a), even as the agency

has yet to systematize its data on departing and returning overseas Filipinos.

The National Statistics Office is the main agency under the National Economic and

Development Authority (NEDA) that gathers relevant data on overseas Filipinos. NSO uses

three sets of household and income surveys related to Filipinos abroad: the quarterly Labor

Force Survey or LFS, the annual Survey on Overseas Filipinos or the SOF (which is a rider

to the October round of the LFS), and the triennial Family Income and Expenditures Survey

or FIES. The SOF is the most important survey instrument for NSO in regard to getting data

on overseas Filipinos, data particularly on their demographic information and remittance

behavior. The SOF is perhaps the only survey directly covering overseas migration by

Filipinos, even if it stresses on international labor migration largely. The strength of the SOF

is that it is done annually, even as the period of coverage is from April to September.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the main regulator for the countrys financial sector,

records the flows of remittances from overseas Filipinos. It releases monthly remittance

figures for public consumption. These remittance data, in addition, are being monitored in

accordance with certain reporting regulations in the Balance of Payments (BoP), which

summarizes the countrys financial transactions with the rest of the world. These data also

represent actual cash flows from overseas Filipinos, particularly those that pass through the

countrys formal banking system. At the same time, these remittances are also being

monitored vis--vis the gross international reserves (GIR) of the country. The GIR is an

indicator of the countrys ability to make credit payments based on its reserve of foreign

currencies and gold (the former largely buoyed by migrants remittances).

Other related agencies are also part of the system of international migration statistics.

One is the Philippine Retirement Authority, which records the number of returning Filipinos

who have availed of what are called the special retirement retirees visa. Another relevantagency is the Department of Tourism, which records foreigner and overseas Filipino tourists

arriving in the country and in the countrys different regions.

The National Statistical Coordination Board or NSCB convenes the migration data

capturing agencies as an inter-agency network. NSCB is even lead convenor of a Task

Force on Overseas Filipinos Statistics that which provides a framework and a set of

indicators to determine those belonging to the statistical measurement8 of overseas Filipinos

8 The following types of overseas Filipinos are part of the proposed NSCB framework on international migration statistics: a)migrant workers; b) Permanent residents or immigrants; c) Former Filipino citizens; d) Holders of non-immigrant visas liketourists, visitors, students, medical patients, those on official missions, and others; e) Descendants of Filipino nationalsoverseas; and f) Undocumented Filipinos (Lina Castro 2006).


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(Lina Castro 2006). In regard to overseas Filipino statistics, the NSCB also includes migrant

workers (thus, referring to temporary contract workers) in the Philippine System of National

Accounts (Raymund Talento 2004). While this measurement system of migrant workers in

the PSNA is currently being improved, this endeavor is important especially in terms of

determining the contribution of overseas Filipino workers to the net factor income from

abroad, which is one part of the gross national product. Remittances are among those that

are part of NFIA, which is being added up to the gross domestic product figure to come up

with the GNP.

Compared to other countries, the Philippines has the machinery of these government

agencies involved in international migration statistics and is a global model of such

(Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007b). At the same time, government agencies involved in the

systematic capturing of international migration statistics ought to be lauded for their efforts,

even if some observe the Philippines has proxy international migration data (Jeremaiah

Opiniano 2006).

IV. Issues and recommendations

This paper, while not statistical and mathematical in nature, is an attempt to survey the

system of international migration statistics in the Philippines. Given the exercise done, we

outline the following issues:

There are technical issues involved in the statistics themselves. Perhaps the most

important of these covers definitions: who is the overseas Filipino? There has been

much loose usage of the phrase overseas Filipino workers (and the acronym

OFWs) in the public realm, and this influences the way stakeholders view who these

overseas Filipinos are. To be fair with the government data capturing agencies, they

are addressing such concerns with regard to terminologies. In this regard, theyshould consider the international migration situation of the Philippines, as well as how

statistics and migration management agencies worldwide are formulating a

framework to set standards on international migration statistics. This pursuit of so-

called standards on international migration statistics attempt to cover all types of

international migration movements.


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Nimfa Ogena and Josefa Zafra (1998), in their paper9 during the 1998 National

Convention on Statistics, have made an observation regarding migration statistics (to

include internal migration10) that remains relevant today: A general holistic scheme

for the optimal collection of population and migration data is critically needed; this

observation includes internal migration, which is a demographic process that has

patchy data available. The outdated data is also an issue to contend with, especially

for internal migration, since it will be difficult then to determine the net migration rate 11

of a certain area (province, city, town) this covering both internal and international

migration movements by Filipinos. Determining the net migration rate of areas in the

country is a prospect for the future, especially if our data are updated (which is why

there is anticipation over the results of the ongoing Census of the Population).

Nevertheless, the general holistic scheme for population and migration data

collection remains wanting; meanwhile, international migration statistics also need to

understand that holistic look at the various datasets, and also consider how Filipinos

migrate overseas. Then the careful examination of data collection and methods, as

well as the management of data quality concerns, of international migration statistics

will follow.

It also makes sense that a resources-supported NSO finally conduct a National

Migration Survey (also in Nimfa Ogena and Josefa Zafra 1998), that survey

representing an effort to systematically and regularly monitor the internal and

international migration movements of Filipinos. The regular conduct of this survey will

hopefully address the scanty migration data of the Philippines (Ogena and Zafra

1998). This survey may also finally determine more socio-economic and

demographic characteristics of these people on the move, including overseas

Filipinos. Unfortunately, governments policy-makers and budget managers have yet

to realize the importance of this kind of a survey given that Filipinos have a strong

migration culture.

The technical issues surrounding international migration data will, hopefully,

understand the fluidity of international migration movements. These movements are

one-way (from the Philippines to overseas countries) and two-way (to include return

9The paper of Ogena and Zafra looked at both internal and international migration, as they sensed there seems to be

underestimation from the data. The two demographers also looked at how the National Statistics Office defines householdmembers in its five-year or ten-year censuses. As for international migration, data from the POEA were analyzed.10

Internal migration remains a demographic process that is difficult to track down and record. There have been some attempts,such as by the Population Commission when it released a report titled Filipinos on the Move: Who are They?The data source

for such is the 2000 Censuss 10 percent sample data.11Net migration rate shows the net effect of in-migration and out-migration on an areas population, expressed in an increase

or decrease per 1,000 population of the area in a given year (Population Commission, undated).The formula to compute NMR is as follows:

NMR = Number of in-migrants number of out-migrants for two periodsPopulation at end of period (in-migrants out-migrants) 0.5 x 1,000


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migration or circular migration that covers overseas Filipinos who go home to the

Philippines for a vacation).

The growing permanent residency of Filipinos vis--vis international migration

statistics is an issue that represents such fluidity of international migration

movements. Permanent settlement overseas will, all the more, blur international

migration data capturing mechanisms, making it difficult to track down the

international migration path of the overseas Filipino. Permanent settlement might

even be the next wave of increased overseas migration by Filipinos in the next

decade. There are some countries that need workers and are willing to offer

immigration opportunities so as to address the labor shortfalls and aging populations

of their countries. At the same time, marriage migration is steadily rising

(Commission on Filipinos Overseas 2006).

The changing citizenship of the Filipino overseas will also become an issue for

demographers and statisticians. As an international migration scholar, Dr. Filomeno

Aguilar, observes, demography has no established theory on international migration.

Demography has yet to determine how it can handle, in the population count,

Filipinos who have become nationals 12 of other countries, and yet they still

contribute 13 to the economy of the Philippines through their remittances. The

remittances that permanent migrants send also include payments to investments in

the Philippines, since companies such as real estate firms and insurance companies

are luring temporary contract workers andpermanent residents for investments.

What also prevails is transnationalism, and foreigners abroad can easily go back to

the home country and to the host country (some overseas Filipinos may even think of

Germany or Canada as their home country). Given these trends in international

migration, demography cannot just set aside these realities. Even existing datagathering instruments should also find out how the households of permanent

residents, while lesser in number than the temporary migrants or the overseas

Filipino workers, be covered and included in surveys such as the Labor Force Survey,

the Survey on Overseas Filipinos, and the Family Income and Expenditures Survey.

12By virtue that foreigners have become nationals of host countries, thus the host countrys population office includes them in

its population count. When the United States had reached 300 million people in September 2006, immigration was a major

factor for such.13The contribution of permanent residents to the Philippine economy does not only cover remittances, but also donations.

Migrant philanthropy is a multi-million dollar philanthropic resource US$218 million in cash, according to 2003 data of the oldBalance of Payments which comes from both temporary contract workers and permanent residents (Association ofFoundations 2005). These permanent residents may have become American or German citizens, but their philanthropicdonations are for the Philippines owing to their ties to the country of birth.


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The situation thus goes back to the definition of which type of overseas Filipino is

covered.

But as there is the drive to improve the system of capturing international migration

data, resource limitations of these migration data capturing agencies come up as a

crucial issue. NSO, for example, cannot conduct a full-blown National Migration

Survey even as the lobbying to conduct such a survey is over three-decades old

already. Meanwhile, Republic Act 8042 (or the Migrant Workers and Overseas

Filipinos Act) mandates the government to set up a Shared Government Information

System on Migration (SGISM). No thanks to lack of funds, this shared system never

flew off at a time that this is most needed.

Individual migration data capturing agencies also have their own resource challenges.

A study (Donna Leceta 2002) directed at the POEA found that there is an

overwhelming mismatch between the number of Filipinos applying for overseas work

and the number of personnel recording their applications14. Supporting the work of

records collection departments is crucial to improving the system of international

migration data capturing and recoding.

Policymakers should be made aware that since the countrys economy is largelysupported by overseas Filipinos, and the Philippines is in a position to harness these

supplementary resources from international migration for domestic economic

development (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2004), supporting the system of capturing,

processing, and harmonizing international migration statistics is necessary.

With these at hand, the following next steps can be pursued:

It makes sense that a body of migration data actors (whether formal or informal, andcoming from various disciplines) will regularly discuss and act upon how this holistic

look at international migration data can be improved, and the improvements

operationalized. Such a loose coalition of migration data gatherers, analysts, and

users will seek resources to painstakingly improve international migration data

capturing, harmonization, and public access. This effort is also aimed at regularly

updating these international migration statistics.

14 Donna Leceta (2002) made a simple ratio of the number of personnel in POEAs central records division and the number oftemporary contract workers who passed through POEA. Her 2001 data showed that the ratio is 1 is to 562,814 records. Thedata they record also cover previous years applicants for overseas work, as well as returning overseas working re-applying foroverseas employment.


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With resources being a problem, this loose coalition of migration data gatherers,

analysts, and users can find resources to perhaps bankroll the countrys international

migration statistical system. The World Bank, for example, has grants for statistical

capacity building which can be a possible resource that will help to improve our

international migration statistics.

The late demographer Aurora Perez (1997) recommended that a better

understanding of migration as a process necessarily entails an interdisciplinary

approach among scholars of different disciplines(since there is) a yawning gap in

interdisciplinary studies on migration in the Philippines. The same perspective can

be applied to international migration statistics. Collaboration between government,

non-government groups, and academics from various disciplines (economics,

psychology, sociology and anthropology, business, among others) will be helpful so

that harmonized statistical datasets on international migration understand the

technical ramifications of data capturing vis--vis disciplinary theories and the

ground-level experiences and realities surrounding the international migration

phenomenon.

In the next few years, when the country will have a new president, the Philippines

should be prepared to use international migration statistics in national developmentplans, and juxtapose international migration statistics with socio-economic datasets.

Doing this is an initial step to purposively integrate international migration and its

development potential in the countrys next six-year Medium-Term Philippine

Development Plan (MTPDP).

With the data that are available, and since there is much discussion and studies on

how international migration has improved Filipinos socio-economic conditions, it is

interesting to find out how overseas migration has improved or not the Philippinesshuman development standing. Thus, an example of an interesting endeavor will be to

produce an edition of the Philippine Human Development Report whose theme is

international migration and Filipino human development.

V. Conclusion

A June 2007 conference by the Philippine Statistical Association and the Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas carried the theme OFWs: Ilan ba Talaga Kayo? (How many you really

are?). The major data capturing government agencies explained the means they gather


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international migration data. It also opened the doors to begin next steps toward

collaboration (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007b).

Statistics can only compile so much, especially with a fluid phenomenon such as

international migration. At the very least, the Philippines existing international migration

statistics can help us see trends on immigration flows and conditions, remittances, and other

demographic characteristics of these overseas Filipinos (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007a). There

is much room to improve the system surrounding international migration statistics, and doing

so will be a big help to strategize how international migration can be a supplementary, not a

primary, input to Philippine economic development (Jeremaiah Opiniano 2007c).


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Documents

NCSB Filipinos Statistics on International Migration