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Migrante says OFWs earn meager salary

BAGUIO CITY (Nov. 9) — That overseas Filipino workers (OFW) earn much abroad is a myth. Migrante-Cordillera claims that most OFWs’ earnings are not enough to feed their respective families here.

Migrante Spokesperson Flora Belinan said that the salaries of OFWs are not enough, given the increasing cost of living in the country. She said that OFWs need to look for extra income through part time jobs. Furthermore, the implementation of the expanded value added tax (EVAT) would worsen the situation of OFWs.

Belinan said that most OFWs come home broke and confronted with social cost of migration that includes marital differences and problematic children.

As one example, Migrante cited Jennifer’s (not her real name) case.

In 1995, Jennifer, a resident of Baguio City, was the sole breadwinner of the family. She was laid off at the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) here and was then forced to go abroad.

She had been separated from her husband then that she could only opt to leave her children with her mother.

Jennifer spent P40,000 for placement fee alone. Other miscellaneous expenses prompted her to borrow. To pay for her debts, she turned to a lending institution in Hong Kong. Most of her salary during her first year went to loan repayments.

Jennifer earned HK$3,270, or P13,080 in 1995. However, she could not afford to send family all the money she earns because she also has personal needs (pocket money for day offs, own supplies, and a loan to pay). She was then sending HK$1,900 (P7,600) monthly to her family.

After paying her loan, she needed to loan again. It was for building their own house because the apartment rent consumed most of what she sends. This time she paid a higher interest monthly rate, her family received lesser amount. And with the increasing cost of living, the money she was sending was no longer enough for her family. So she borrowed money from some friends also working in Hong Kong. Her situation worsens; she had to loan again from other lending agencies to pay for her previous debts.

Aside from all her financial burdens, Jennifer is also having problems with her children. Even if she wanted to stay home and take care of her own children, she could not do so because there is no job waiting for her here.

A decade has passed since Jennifer worked abroad. Up to now, she could not break free. Her earnings abroad is still not enough to keep with the increasing cost of living here. # Kim Quitasol for NORDIS

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