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[av_heading heading=’EDITORIAL | Creating opportunities at home’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Wednesday, April 5, 2017
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DURING a short visit to Thailand last week of March, President Duterte told his Filipino audience that working abroad may soon be an option only.
“In about 10 years, hindi na kayo lalabas (you won’t go abroad to work),” he told close to 2,000 overseas Filipino workers. It drew cheers from OFWs.
The Philippine economy has been relying heavily on the remittances of Filipinos working abroad to keep the economy afloat. These overseas Filipinos are forced to work away from home and family because of widespread poverty in the country.
Generating jobs back home – this is what the government needs to do. It must reinforce the creation of employment opportunities and ease the onslaught of price hikes that could help stop forced labor migration. The overseas Filipino workers and their families need the government in times like this to implement reforms that would deviate from the government’s labor export policy. If necessary changes would be implemented by the Duterte government, it would help end the exploitation of Filipinos here and abroad. Poverty should be addressed as it pushes Filipinos to work abroad, where they are placed in vulnerable positions as they seek to augment their income.
The challenge to the Duterte administration is to work and push for the building of a self-reliant economy to stop labor export and promote social equity and justice for the advancement of genuine national development.
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