| Home| Personal BLog| Compositions| Health Avenue| Places| UnEditedMe| Philippines| Monk|

Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Philippine Brain Drain


This is one of the fatal cancers happening in the Philippines aside from graft and corruption. We can say that all the best have ran away to other parts of the world to find better lives. I know it is not easy to be away from home, thus, most of the Filipinos abroad opt to live there, either looking for a better half in the country where he/she works (if single) or if they have families in the Philippines,  they are petitioning and/or sponsoring them to go after. This can be one reason why the country is suffering from too much loss and poverty and Why the Philippines is Poor. But who can be blamed? Even the government itself is promoting people to go abroad! Is it a joke huh! But yes, we even have this "Bagong Bayani" for those overseas Filipino workers, yes, Filipinos call them "Modern Heroes" for serving other countries than serving Philippines.

I have read one of the latest brain drain articles at The Philippine Chess Chronicles highlighting the country's latest loss of remarkable player to Singapore. Take this an an example of the country's "Brain Drain".

I am Counted
Yes, you read it right. I am out of the country. I am here for work because of the dissatisfaction of many things when I was still in the Philippines. I have a bachelor of science degree and even the Filipino people have paid for my education. Yes, I was counted as one of the "Iskolars ng Bayan" (the Nations Scholar) from the University of the Philippines. All right now you can say "Shame on you" to me but I am not alone. You know that! Not only I have this degree but I also have a good, in fact very good qualification as our felow Filipinos may consider, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) title.

(After I got that scolding and cursing from you) I want to tell how I worked like a carabao in my Makati office. I was given the basic salary plus the fact that the amount of charged overtime was controlled. I worked even in weekends and most of the time, I was still in office at midnight or even at five in the morning. I slept under the table to relax my back from too much sitting and work when I could not hold my tiredness and sleepiness anymore. I ate late lunch when I had to finish something, yes I experienced it. The boss came and told me to finish something and I was eating that time. I never had a choice but to cover my lunch box and start working. See how I worked? And the worse side is, my salary is just enough. Not enough to compensate all the sleepless nights and restless moments that I had.

Now that I am away, I still receive e-mails from my previous co-workers clamouring about their situation. They tell me how lucky I am to have gotten away. Indeed Philippines is poor, not only on the monetary side but the way Filipinos are treated - it is the modern slavery!

Champion in the Brain Drain Contest
Among the Asian countries, Philippines ranks first in the "Brain Drain"tally. Aproximately, there are 730,000 (recently) migrants most of which are having college education. It is not only these days but rooted back since the time of the President Marcos, or even before for accounts of Ilocanos who worked as planters in Hawaii. It has become a major source of dollar for the Philippines growing to the level that there is one among the ten Filipinos are working abroad. Yes, nine million (9,000,000) so far. Daily, there are more than three thousand Filipinos (3, 000) going out to work abroad.

Satisfaction of the Slave

Those who work abroad are all literarate in English. Yes, because they are hired on that basis, to understand and to be understood. Also, to be resourceful and have initiative in work. Filipino seafarers occupy a big part and quantity in cargo ships of the world. Moreover, multinational corporations in the Southeast Asia have got their picks on Filipino professionals for their middle management teams. The worst part of the story is, teachers become domestic helpers or household assistants. Nurses became housemaids and waitresses. Engineers have become construction workers, while tourism graduates has become entertainers and dancers.

Who like to go out and be treated as slave? No one! But the circumstances leading to this fact is very strong, thus poor OFWs suffer. Who is to blame? Not only the government, not only the government officials, it is the whole nation with the wrong mind set. To tell you the truth, it is bad to be enslaved! But how do we stop this? How to stop Filipinos from thinking that progress can only be obtained by being a slave abroad? It is not overnight. Help me think how.   Click here for more info on the "Brain Drain" Issue

19 comments:

  1. True indeed!..that's why i returned to our country coz nobody wants to be enslaved...life abroad isn't a bed of roses...

    ReplyDelete
  2. our government officials shoul act on this very serious problem that we are suffring

    ReplyDelete
  3. Even Jose Rizal spent most of his time abroad before coming home to be executed. While it's true that "No one can love his native land and stay away from it."

    If Philippine economy is still run by the likes of Padre Damaso and Padre Salve, why should Ibarra return?

    Today many Ibarra's become OFW's to support their Maria Claras.

    There are just few opportunities for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ...your statement is true indeed..
    ..i'll be using it as a reference for my thesis project..brain drain syndrome in the philippines..

    ReplyDelete
  5. can u post more on the brain drain issue of the phil..tnx..

    ReplyDelete
  6. ..all we know that here in our country, there is a very low and poor employment especially for those professionals out there..what they do then, instead of sitting and feelings so bored--they intend to go abroad-- it is just because Abroad earnings could fill all what they need in the Philippines. there is no wrong to be slaved as long as you do it heartily and with a good PURPOSE.

    ReplyDelete
  7. syempre sobrang hirap na kaya dito............

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pakipose naman poh ng ibang issue on brain drainn kailagan ko lang po sa case study ko...tnx

    ReplyDelete
  9. paki POST hindi pakiPOSE baka hindi ka mapasama sa brain drain nyan hehehe!

    ReplyDelete
  10. here in the Philippines we also experience brain drain di ba? nakaka tuyo ng utak kasi, pag pagod na pagod ka na di ba? wala ka namang magawa kasi nga pamilyado ka kailangan mong kumita kaya yes boss nalang ng yes boss...

    yun ang totoong brain drain, you don't just drain your brain for other country you also get your brain drained in our own country!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. wala naman tayong magagawa e? kahit pa anong mangyari tinadhana n yata talaga an pinoy mging alipin ng ibang bansa.. :((

    ReplyDelete
  12. hey......ya!i agree!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. nothing is impossible nga daw diba..act NOW!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. totoo yan, no wonder na balang araw ang philippines ay maging ghost country o hindi kaya basurahan dahil lahat gusto mangibang bayan dahil sa nawalan ng pag-asa sa pilippinas...

    WAG MAWALAN ng PAG-ASA

    Pilipino ang dapat magmahal sa Pilipinas

    patunayan natin yun sa pamamagitan ng paglilingkod sa sarili nating Bayan lalo na sa mga aral dahil mas kailangan kayo ng bayan ngaun!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. ok. brain drain talaga?

    ReplyDelete
  16. what were your sources?

    ReplyDelete
  17. nangi2bang bansa cla tapoz anu ang mangyayari saknila kpag umuwi ulit cla sa pilipinas,.uo nga nka ipon cla pero hanggang saan lang ang dala nilang pera? maaari nmn taung umunlad sa sarili nating bayan kung may sipag at tiyaga lang tau dba! khit na mhrap ang buhay dito sa pilipinas bzta may tiyaga at sipag lang tau!

    ReplyDelete

Leave your comment and I will get back to you. I suggest if you want me to comment back on a specific post of yours, use the "name/URL" option and put your exact link so that I will be on that post and I can share my views through your comment form immediately.

Don't forget that unrelated or irrelevant comment to any post will not be publish.

Check the following out as well:
My original writings as both an author and a poet
Some of my travel logs
Just trying to be healthy
Be a Webbie individual: check this out
Personal Site
Photo WebSite