Institute for Migration and Development Issues - IMDI

A July 18-19 conference will reflect on the last 50 years of Filipinos' international migration and on the Philippines' future beside the exodus.

March remittances post slight increase | Reine Juvierre S. Alberto The flow of cash remittances from overseas Filipinos registered a slight increase in March, latest data from the Bangko Sentral indicate. Cash remittances in March this year amounted to $2.74 billion, a 2.5 percent increase from March 2023’s $2.67 billion. Cash remittances coursed through banks fr...

A Generation of Crisis-Responsive Reintegration in Migration Management: Reflections from the Philippines Migrant-origin country Philippines will enter the fifth decade of organized migration management in 2024. It is only in the last two decades, however, that return migration is being institutionalized as a response to address the needs of the Philippines’...

Remittances rise, but savings static—BSP | Cai U. Ordinario REMITTANCES sent home by overseas Filipinos abroad continued to increase in February 2024 but their savings and investments remained at pandemic levels, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). BSP data showed cash remittances rose to $2.65 billion in February 2024 fr...

Revenge migration? not really. | Sheila May Balagan, Jilliane Rae Manuel, Christine Nicole Montojo, Claire Sofia Pascual, Ziannen Francine Santos & Jeremaiah Opiniano | OFW Journalism Consortium ENDURING slashed incomes for nearly two years bit hard on 37-year-old single mother Veniel (not her real name) and her family. She boarded that June 2020 mercy flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, while the first variant of SARS-CoV-2 lurked. Upon her return, she received P20,000 from government...

Historic 2023 OFW deployment moves Philippines' labor migration forward from pandemic Fresh data from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) showed that the Philippines had deployed 2,330,720 land- and sea-based migrant workers in 2023, higher compared to the 2,156,742 OFWs deployed in pre-pandemic 2019.

On the 20th anniversary of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) this 2024, we keep watch of issues affecting overseas Filipinos.

Foreign remittances from Filipinos abroad have soared to a historic high over a 49-year period. But should it be time for the Philippines to write a 'new story' on the development impacts of remittances, especially on the lives of families with breadwinners abroad?

Remittances hit $33.5 billion; new strategy pushed | Cai U. Ordinario AMID the steady growth of the country’s remittances, a migration expert called for structural reforms that would allow the Philippines to chart a new employment path for Filipinos. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances sent by Filipinos overseas reached $33.5 bill...

On the 20th anniversary of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) this 2024, we keep watch of issues affecting overseas Filipinos.

An example is cash remittances, where Filipinos abroad are trying to move on from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Remittances soar to record-high MANILA, Philippines —Money sent home by Filipinos abroad hit a record-high in 2023, thanks to a stronger peso that bloated the value of remittances which, in turn, helped households stay afloat

The Philippines’ Landmark Labor Export and Development Policy Enters the Next Generation Fifty years after the birth of the Philippines' strategy to use emigration as a tool for development, the government is doubling down on labor migration. While deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the government and civil society pivoting to assis...

The Challenges Faced by Former Foreign Domestic Workers After years working as “maids” abroad, many returnees struggle with physical injury, psychological trauma, or difficulty finding employment.

Should I stay or should I go? Analysing returnee overseas Filipino workers’ reintegration measures given the COVID-19 pandemic The paper sought to determine if the varied forms of assistance to returnee overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) during this COVID-19 pandemic prompt them to stay home or return overseas. This mixed me...

https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/11/18/2312428/ofw-savers-declining-last-14-years

OFW savers declining in last 14 years The number of overseas Filipino workers who save amounts from their foreign remittance incomes has been plummeting for the last 14 years, according to the data of an annual government survey.

OFW deployment still below prepandemic levels MANILA -The number of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFW) had yet to return to prepandemic level as of 2022, as labor markets around the world cautiously reopened their borders to migrant

Study: OFWs reintegration weakest link in PHL policy | Samuel P. Medenilla ORGANIZATIONAL challenges, fragmented programs, and lack of data continue to hamper the reintegration services of the government, making it the “weakest link” in the country’s migration governance, according to a new study from Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The 22-page paper, entitled Post-Pan...

9-month remittances up 2.8% to nearly $25 billion | Jasper Y. Arcalas CASH remittances from Filipinos abroad in the nine months to September rose by 2.8 percent year-on-year to nearly $25 billion on the back of weaker peso-dollar exchange rates. Latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed that cash remittances from January to September reached $24.49 billion,...

Condolences to the family of the late Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Ma. Susana Ople. This UST Communication Arts alumna (batch 1985) had advocated for reforms to alleviate the plight of overseas Filipino workers. May you rest in peace, Secretary T***s.

Halos apat na dekada na ang tungkulin ng pamahalaan para sa mga umuwing Pilipinong manggagawa sa labas ng bansa. Inabutan na ng pandemya, na marami sa kanila ang natulungan. May mga pagbabago ba na kailangan nang gawin?

A generation of OFW reintegration needs reinvigoration Two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine government has capped off its efforts to put together the most extensive array of economic and psycho-social assistance for returning overseas Filipino workers in history.

As the prices of goods soared worldwide, Filipinos abroad still try to wire more money home. But is their remitted amount enough for the days ahead beside rising inflation?

‘Buying power of OFW families still strong’ | Cai U. Ordinario Despite the slowdown in the growth of cash sent by overseas Filipinos to their families, their foreign exchange gains continue to outpace the increase in commodity prices, according to a local economist. On Tuesday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that cash remittances sent by Filipin...

As economies recover given more allowable movements by people, remittances from overseas Filipinos rise as of the first eight months of the year.

OFW remittances rise 4.3% to $2.72B in August | Cai Ordinario FILIPINOS abroad sent $2.72 billion in cash remittances in August, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The Central Bank said this represented an increase of 4.3 percent from the $2.61 billion posted in the same period last year. Cash remittances reached $20.99 bi...

[English] With the peso weakening and inflation still high, are more dollars from Filipinos abroad advantageous?

[Filipino] Kung mahina ang piso sa dolyar at tila mataas pa rin ang inflation rate, llyamado ba ang pagpapadala ng mas maraming dolyar sa Pilipinas mula sa mga Pinoy abroad?

Remittances slow in July as migrants take advantage of weak peso Money sent home by Filipinos overseas grew at a slower pace in July, as better exchange rates as a result of a weak peso allows expats to reduce the dollars they send to their families.

Cash remittances prove strong despite Omicron variant snag in March In the first quarter, cash remittances amounted to $7.77 billion.

Three letters: DMW. Overseas Filipino workers will soon be accustomed to calling that newly-created government agency as DMW. Will this 'new Philippine formula' to address OFWs' needs help?

[OPINION] The ‘new’ formula to handle the overseas Pinoy exodus Will the Department of Migrant Workers work out?

Amid a row last week over implementing the provisions creating the new Department of Migrant Workers, the Philippines will now pilot a new approach to handling the overseas migration of Filipino workers.

The ‘new’ formula to handle the overseas Pinoy exodus The Philippines began setting up a “mega” department that will explicitly handle the welfare, rights and employment conditions of Filipino migrant workers.

Philippines tries new tack in handling migrant worker exodus [published by Newscore in Malolos City]

The ‘new’ formula to handle the overseas Pinoy exodus - News Core Bulacan by JEREMAIAH M. OPINIANO Institute for Migration and Development Issues The Philippines on Monday began setting up a “mega” department that will explicitly handle the welfare, rights and employment conditions of Filipino migrant workers. Thanks to Republic Act 11641 (signed just last 30 Decembe...

What happened to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who returned home during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Migration and COVID-19 pandemic: Hard lessons two years on for OFWs, their homeland In a few weeks, the Philippines enters a new era of managing the overseas exodus of Filipinos.

On International Women's Day, protecting women OFWs an ongoing mission.

Women make up most of OFW ranks, but can only send home less | Cai Ordinario WOMEN Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) may comprise the majority of the Filipino diaspora but their remittances account for less than half the total inflows that reach Philippine shores—a proportion traced to the fact that many of them are in low-salary jobs. Data from the Survey on Overseas Filip...

How the pandemic slowed down overseas migration by Filipinos

Showing limits of labor migration, pandemic cut OFW deployment in 2020 The number of overseas Filipino workers contracted by nearly a fifth in 2020, demonstrating the pandemic’s damage on global job markets that, an analyst said, may take long to be fixed.

[PLS. SHARE] The Philippines has registered a record-high amount of cash remittances —US$31.4 billion— from overseas Filipinos, including overseas Filipino workers, in 2021 says the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Does this mean OFWs have bounced back from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Yet some OFWs who returned because of the pandemic brought home some little savings, showing that saving is not automatic. That tale came from 11 women OFWs who were interviewed for a qualitative study done by the Development Action for Women Network (DAWN). See that study, as well as the tales of 11 women returnees, here https://tinyurl.com/2p94t8f3

DAWN FMA Policy Case Study on Women Migrant Returnees.pdf