Migration experts call for focus on OFWs in Gulf region

A migration specialist has challenged the Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Administration to come up with in-depth scholarly research studies regarding the evolution of Filipino contract workers in the Gulf.

Froilan Malit Jr. was among four panelists at the “Bridging Generations, Building Futures: A Forum on Philippine Migration and Diaspora Policy,” which the Philippine Consulate General-Dubai hosted in conjunction with the 127th Philippine Independence Day celebrations on June 12.

The forum was attended by a mix of Filipino and half-Filipino third culture university students from around the country, a big number of whom were born-and-raised in the UAE. It was to help them understand their history and future in the Gulf.

The keynote speakers were Ambassador to the UAE Alfonso Ferdinand Ver (“Overview of Filipino Migration to the UAE”), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)-Office of Migrant Affairs Assistant Secretary Robert Ferrer Jr. (“Philippine Migration Policy”), and Migrant Workers Office-Dubai head Labour Attache in Dubai and the Northern Emirates John Rio Bautista (“Government Protection Mechanisms for Overseas Filipino Workers.”)

Malit discussed “Filipino Diaspora Contributions in the Gulf Region.” Former Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See and UAE Grace Relucio-Princesa, Abrahamic Family House-Research and Publication head Dr. William Gueraiche, and Bayt.com founder/Chief Technology officer Akram Assaf gave their observations and insights respectively on “Filipino Women and Their Historical Significance in the Diaspora,” “Migration Politics in the UAE-Philippine Corridor,” and “Labour Market Trends in the Gulf: Implications for Migrant Workers.”

Malit comes from a clan of OFWs. So, his intense interest in labour migration. Within 15 years, he had transitioned from a Middle East migration researcher to policy consultant for regional and international bodies such as the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, International Labour Organisation, International Organisation on Migration, and the World Bank.

Malit told Gulf Today: “The Gulf is one of the most exceptional regional hosts for temporary migrants. The migration has increasingly grown over the last two decades. However, there has been less research specifically addressing Philippine migration and diaspora, particularly regarding the evolving challenges faced by second and third generations who have lived and worked in the Gulf and intend to make it their ‘second’ home in the long term.”

At the forum, Ver, the Philippines’ top diplomat in Bahrain 10 years back and former DFA-Office of the Middle East and African Affairs Assistant Secretary, narrated how migration and labour strategies and policies shift. He expressed support to the “compendium on the Filipino narratives in the Gulf” project.

Gueraiche, also a University of Wollongong-Dubai associate professor, interested in Geopolitics of Asia and the Middle East, Peace & Conflict Studies, Political History & Colonisation, supported Malit’s claim.

Gueraiche, grateful to the One Philippines Team invitation, said: “We need you and the other institutions to go deeper in our research. I study different layers of migration. Filipinos have been elsewhere. The next Philippine leader may come from the UAE. Filipinos have helped shape the history, progress and development of other nations. But, they have been invisible other than in the social media. We must elaborate and work deeper on research.”

Malit cited that even as migration policies particularly on the protection and welfare of OFWs worldwide, are agreed upon bilaterally, only “migrant victimisation narratives” abound.

To illustrate, domestic workers, many of whom are at least bachelor degree holders, have helped nations “achieve gender equality.”

Malit referred to what DFA Assistant Secretary Ferrer had pointed out: “The presence of Filipino migrant labour has demonstrably raised the gross domestic product (GDP) of migrant and labour-receiving countries. For example in Rome, Italy. There, because of Filipino nannies, locals and expatriates are able to secure a full-time paying job of up to 5,000 Euros a month. If they do not have a Filipino nanny, they would remain to be a single-income family. There is a World Bank study that demonstrates that the presence of Filipino workers increases the GDP per capita by a measurable amount.”

“There is a critical need to develop stronger research collaboration between sending and Gulf countries to better understand migration policy issues and best practices that can be practically adopted on the ground,” Malit said, adding that this was recommended in the past with “few results.”