This report analyses all aspects of migration from, through and to the Philippines to provide a comprehensive roadmap for policy makers to ensure that migration is for the benefit of all.
The report was produced under the International Organization for Migration initiative – Migration Profile Development Project for the Philippines – and is the result of a series of consultations, which included technical working group meetings, meetings of six thematic clusters, national workshops and conferences and numerous one-on-one institutional meetings involving more than 30 government agencies, civil society organizations and private sector representatives over a period of nearly 20 months. The methodology involved analysing migration data and statistics.
The report examines both regular and irregular migration flows and stocks. In spite of the comprehensive regulation of overseas labour, irregular migrants are estimated to represent approximately 10 percent of the total stock of Filipinos abroad. Irregular migrants from the Philippines are mostly present in Malaysia, especially in the disputed territory of Sabah, which has traditional ties with the southern Philippines and which remains in an unresolved international dispute concerning sovereignty. The report finds that the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines appears to be a prominent source of irregular migrants, particularly females, to Malaysia and the Middle East. The lack of or weak implementation of overseas employment regulation by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which has a separate autonomous government and executive agencies, considerably contributes to this pattern. Other factors also include the aspiration of Muslim Filipinos to fulfil their pilgrimage to Mecca via overseas employment; movements driven by conflict, poverty and climate change disturbances; and the facilitation by informal brokers who are usually known to prospective migrants and their families, relatives and community peers.
The United States, Singapore and some European countries have sizable populations of irregular Filipino migrants. In the case of Malaysia, France and Syria, irregular migrants outnumber legal ones. Some irregular migrants from the Philippines have been illegally recruited and trafficked.
Although the Philippines has established a system to regulate labour migration, irregularities still occur, and migrants frequently suffer as a result of unscrupulous practices. At pre-departure, the most common violation is the excessive placement fee demanded by recruitment agencies. Illegal recruitment and scams can victimize aspiring migrants and derail their dreams of working abroad and set them back with debts, or they may be able to work abroad, but under precarious conditions and without safety nets. In the country of employment, migrants can encounter contract substitution, delayed, underpayment or non-payment of wages, or they may be stranded. In addition to difficult work conditions, migrants may suffer prejudice and discrimination in the destination society and face occupational safety and health risks.
The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations for the Government, including the necessity to implement and build on existing policy arrangements, especially policies aimed at the protection of irregular migrants.
The report makes a contribution to the body of knowledge on irregular migration through its extensive analysis of mixed data on irregular migration from, through and to the Philippines. It provides valuable statistical evidence of the extent of irregular migration from the Philippines and provides insights into the push-and-pull factors for irregular migration from the Philippines to other regions of the world.
