Brain Drain in the Philippines

Article by: Phoebe Carios

Visual by: CJ Limjap

According to Investopedia, brain drain, also known as the human capital flight, is the slang term used to define the phenomenon that indicates the emigration or migration of individuals. This can be beyond looking for job opportunities; it could also mean pursuing an education overseas or choosing to permanently reside overseas. Here in the Philippines, brain drain is a very common occurrence amongst skilled Filipino workers. They are who we commonly refer to as our OFWs, or Overseas FIlipino Workers. The Philippines is one of the largest labour exporting countries in the world, sending about 500,000 temporary workers overseas every year. The Philippine Statistics Agency records that currently, there are about 2.2 million OFWs working abroad which makes up about 22 percent of the total Filipinos who reside overseas.

There are many reasons why Filipinos choose to work abroad. Brain drain typically occurs due to current turmoil in one’s own country, promising offers overseas, or the aspiration to have a higher-quality life. Here in the Philippines, it is usually because of the last two reasons. Lack of job opportunities and low pay are some of the biggest factors that drove 10 percent of our population to go abroad, and this has become one of the biggest problems for the Philippines. Filipino workers are often offered job opportunities abroad with better benefits, often in more developed countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan where most of the OFW population are. And with the growing instability with our economy, there is an increase with Filipino workers choosing to work abroad, making brain drain a very big issue here. The high demand for talented Filipinos abroad causes us to lose them to other countries. Highly skilled workers are very prominent with the making and strengthening of a good economy so the lack of a skilled manpower prevents this from happening. Instead, their work abroad causes them to contribute to their host country. This has become a cycle overtime, where the skills and contributions of highly workers from still developing countries go to developed countries, with their labor playing a big part in further advancing developed countries. This consequently creates a gap between developing and developed nations which continues to widen to this day.

Works Cited

• Sep, Co. “Analysis of Brain Drain in the Philippines: The Case of Professionals.” Www.academia.edu, www.academia.edu/27933826/Analysis_of_Brain_Drain_in_the_Philippines_The_Case_of_Professionals.

• “The Economic Impact of Brain Drain.” Investopedia, 2019, www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brain_drain.asp.

• “Total Number of OFWs Estimated at 2.2 Million | Philippine Statistics Authority.” Psa.gov.ph, psa.gov.ph/content/total-number-ofws-estimated-22-million.