Philippines' price of an economic exodus

Sturdy houses with concrete foundations now replace the thatched huts of a generation ago. There are new cars, washing machines, children attending private schools and former sharecroppers who have purchased the farms where they once worked as lowly laborers.

Such economic progress has come from remittances, the staggering US$1 billion sent to families nationwide each month by Filipinos working overseas in an attempt to overcome extreme poverty and joblessness in their native land.

Since they began leaving their island nation in droves in the early 1980s, Philippine workers have become a staple in other nations worldwide, with the money they send home in many cases remaining steady despite the worldwide financial crisis.

Filipinos sent a record US$1.5 billion home in June as more sought work abroad. Remittances for the first six months of 2009 reached nearly US$8.5 billion, a 2.9 percent increase over the same period last year.

In her annual state of the nation address in July, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hailed remittances as a driving force behind the economy. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque separately described the remittance system as a source of pride.

“The flow of overseas worker money in an unstable global economy demonstrates the resiliency of the Filipino people,” Roque said. “Under the worst circumstances, our workers are getting jobs and sending home more money than ever.

They are keeping the boat stable.” But some critics say the money comes at a continued social cost. The poverty-stricken nation of 90 million has seen 10 million workers — more than 10 percent of its population — join the overseas labor force.

The exodus of trained teachers, health professionals and engineers, some say, has done the Philippines more harm than good as those much-needed services go elsewhere.

There are also distinct social problems that arise when heads of households leave for greener economic pastures, officials say.

Although Noble, the police chief, praises the financial boost remittances give his town, he said the system is draining the Philippines of a prized resource: its people. Many Santa Barbara residents realize they must leave their isolated town to achieve a better life.

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