An Unnoticed Modern Exodus from the Philippines
A commentary by Edmond Macaraeg
United Church of God pastor, the Philippines
At the turn
of the 20th century, a significant movement of peoples began to flow
towards the "first-world nations" and has continued unabated
to this day. Two stimulating factors have been war—for example,
the massive exodus of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees from their homeland—and
economic conditions that govern the supply-and-demand dynamics of world
labor markets.
My focus now is on the little-known, labor-related exodus from my country,
the Philippines. Able, qualified, and willing Filipino workers must go
abroad to find employment. Seeing little hope in our country's
current political and economic situation, a recent Pulse Asia Survey revealed
that Filipinos who expressed an intention to migrate rose from 26% to
33% just between July and October of last year. Visually corroborating
this data is the perennial long queues of hopeful visa applicants at
Western embassies in Manila.
The Philippines (pop. about 80 million) is one of the world's
largest suppliers of a diverse assortment of exported workers. They range
from doctors, engineers, nurses, teachers, technicians and entertainers
to caregivers and domestic workers. It sometimes has been said that if
every Filipino seaman were pulled from every sailing ship, the world's
maritime industry would come to a halt.
On the supply side of the labor market, the Philippines produce thousands
of graduates every year with no local employment opportunities. The scarcity
of the new employment opportunities is so desperate that practicing medical
doctors now re-train to be registered nurses because of the
greater demand for them abroad.
In a recent issue of the Philippine STAR (a national daily
newspaper), columnist Alejandro R. Roces lamented this exodus of Filipino
doctors to the United States. One article titled "Doctors' Exodus
Continues" said at least 2,215 doctors went abroad as nurses in
the year 2004 alone. Patricia Sto. Tomas, the Philippine Labor Secretary,
adds that an average of 5,000 nurses leave the country monthly. In the
first 10 months of last year alone the total number deployed abroad reached
58,759!
Adding it all up, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency estimates
the total number of Filipino workers deployed abroad last year was over
one million, an increase of almost 10 percent over the previous year.
Based on accumulated government data available at the end of December
2004, the total number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) has now reached
more than eight million (8,083,815). This figure represents more than
10% of the total Philippine population!
While this great mass of OFW is generating income equal to 10% of the
Philippine economy, it is also causing an alarming "brain drain" from
our nation. Filipino workers are in high demand due to their proficiency
in the English language, their training in Western standards of education,
their reputation as hardworking, resourceful, adaptable, and patient
employees with a willingness to accept a lower pay rate and, as a bonus
to some employers, their adherence to some basic Christian values.
This migration of Filipino workers from their own country is merely
one example of this type of exodus of peoples from their native lands.
It involves other Asian nationals as well.
A case in point is the stream of Chinese immigrants entering western
Canada. I was recently on a direct flight from Manila to Vancouver which
was filled with Chinese nationals. Since this has been going on continuously
and cumulatively for many decades, Vancouver has come to the point—though
unknown to many—that it can now in part be considered Canada's
New Hong Kong!
Apart from obvious cause-and-effect economic factors, are there other
reasons why these events are happening before our eyes? The Bible reveals
that Noah prophesied—after the destruction of all people except
his immediate family by a worldwide flood—how certain segments
of the descendants of his three sons would ultimately relate to one another.
Only Noah's son Shem followed his example of showing respect for
God's instructions. Especially significant is Noah's statement, "Blessed
be the Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant. May God
enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem" (Genesis
9:26-27).
Shem was the ethnic ancestor of the Semitic and Anglo-Saxon people of
today. Japheth was the ethnic ancestor of most Asiatic and Pacific Rim
peoples. The descendants of Canaan, a son of Noah's third son Ham,
settled in what is modern Palestine and consistently opposed people of
Israel.
  The massive ethnic migrations today are consistent with Noah's
prophecy. Learn more about how the Anglo Saxon and Jewish people are
the central focus of end time prophecy. Request or download now your
free copies of The United States and Britain
in Bible Prophecy and You
Can Understand Bible Prophecy.
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