Why are there so many OFWs in the Philippines?

 

Bisaya

Proud Bisaya 

OFWs, or Overseas Filipino Workers, have become a significant part of the Philippines economy. They remit billions of dollars to the country annually, supporting families and fuelling local businesses. So why are there so many OFWs in the Philippines? One reason is that job opportunities are often limited at home. Many OFW Pinoy[1] has the skills and qualifications to work abroad, but there are not enough jobs. In addition, OFWs often earn higher wages than they would at home, which can be a significant incentive to leave family and friends behind in search of work. Finally, many Filipinos view working abroad as an opportunity to explore new cultures and gain new experiences. For many OFWs, the hope is that their time away from home will eventually lead to a better life for themselves and their families.

Footnotes

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EU wants to boost trade with PH

Romanian Ambassador Raduta Dana Matache gestures during a roundtable interview with The Manila Times Chairman and CEO Dante ‘Klink’ Ang 2nd on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. PHOTO BY JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

By Bernadette E. Tamayo, Manila Times

THE Philippines should take advantage of the "heightened interest" of the European Union to boost trade with the Philippines, the ambassador of Romania to Manila said.

"The whole of the EU is interested in the Philippines," Ambassador Raduta Dana Matache said on Thursday in a roundtable interview with The Manila Times Chairman Dante "Klink" Ang 2nd.

Matache started as Romania's envoy to the Philippines last December with a mandate from Romanian President Klaus Iohannis "to help re-launch relations" between Bucharest and Manila.

The Philippines and Romania celebrated half a century of diplomatic relations this year. The two countries established diplomatic ties on Feb. 29, 1972.

There are an estimated 1,300 Filipinos in the central European country.

Romania was the first country in the former socialist eastern European bloc with which the Philippines established diplomatic ties, at the initiative of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

Asked how she could put the Philippines on the "radar" of the Romanian people and the rest of the EU, Matache said Romania can serve as the Philippines' "springboard" to the European community.

"You should take advantage of this heightened interest and have this responsibility for enhanced cooperation [with EU]," she said.

The ambassador added that it "would help immensely" if the Philippines reopens its embassy in Bucharest which was closed in 2012 supposedly to cut costs.

Matache said her government is "interested in a strong, free democratic Philippines that is at peace with its neighbors."

"We are interested in freedom of navigation because in a globalized world, even if Romania is 10,000 kilometers away, [it] is affected by everything that happens here," she said.

The Philippines has some areas of development that interest Romania most, the envoy said. "You have a fantastic business process outsourcing sector. We have a lot of startups. We can help each other by putting together a competitive advantage," Matache said.

In a video message in June during a cultural event co-hosted by the Romanian embassy in Manila, Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu said his country is determined to strengthen its ties with the Philippines and jointly promote international order in the Indo-Pacific region.

Aurescu said Romania continues to be actively involved in the implementation of the EU Indo-Pacific strategy. "We advocate that a stable and developed Southeast Asia is central to a safe and prosperous world," Aurescu added. "All these as well as our common interests in ensuring and preserving peace and security and respect for human rights worldwide bring our two countries even closer."

"We look forward to expanding our bilateral, political and economic cooperation, trade investments and people to people exchanges," he said.

Davao City steps up school vaccinations

By Ruth Palo

THE Davao City government has intensified its school-based vaccinations as face-to-face classes have started in most schools in the city.

Covid-19 Task Force spokeswoman Dr. Michelle Schlosser, however, admitted that the vaccination rollout for 5 to 11 years old could turn out to be the most challenging should parents refuse to have their children vaccinated.

"We are intensifying the school-based vaccinations but the dilemma of our vaccination team is if parents refuse to have their children vaccinated. At the end of the day, no vaccinations will happen if there is no consent from the parents," Schlosser said in a radio program over Davao City Disaster Radio.

She urged parents to instill the importance of wearing masks in their children to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.

Personnel from the Safety and Security Cluster, she said, are deployed to the city's schools and are strictly implementing the wearing of masks as they continue to heighten monitoring of Covid-19 cases in the city.

Schlosser has continuously appealed to the parents of 5 to 11 years old to have their children vaccinated since infection among this age group is inevitably spread because most kids are not keen on adhering to minimum public health standards.

"We are still emphasizing the wearing of masks. You can teach your children to wear their masks every single time that they are in school. Have them vaccinated because we don't want them to suffer from the severity of the disease if they do get infected," she said.

Schlosser also urged teaching and nonteaching personnel to make sure their learners or students wear masks inside their classrooms and schools.

A spirituality adapted to the changing times

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

WE, of course, are told that nothing is new under the sun. (cfr. Ecc 1,9) But neither can we deny that times are changing, the world is evolving, developments continue to take place, and at these times, they come quite rapidly. And so, we also have to make certain adaptations in the way we keep and nourish our spiritual life. Otherwise, we would simply get lost or, at least, confused.

Obviously, the basics have to be retained. We need to pray always, have recourse to the sacraments, grow in the virtues, wage constant ascetical struggle, etc. But we have to find new ways of how to go about them. 

These should be ways that effectively address the new features of our times when we have easy access to the new and powerful technologies, when we are asked to expand our scope of concerns, when we have to grow more in our sense of solidarity and subsidiarity, etc.

Yes, we have to learn to be more flexible and versatile, more open to the new things without compromising the traditional basic things, more adept in keeping the proper focus as we cruise through rapidly varying circumstances and situations.

Of great importance in this regard is the need for upgrading our vigilance skills, since we will always have to contend with very smart and wily enemies of our soul and of God himself. We are reminded of this need in that parable of the 10 virgins. (cfr. Mt 25,1-13)

We should not take this need for granted. We have to continually update and upgrade our vigilance skills. Remember Christ telling his disciples: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life…Be vigilant at all times.” (Lk 21,34.36)

Truth is the many developments today, while giving us a lot of advantages and conveniences, can also easily lead us to bad things. They can foster complacency, self-indulgence, vanity, pride, greed, envy, discord, etc. They can turn us into materialistic monsters, totally insensitive to the spiritual and supernatural realities of our life and to God himself.

We should never underestimate the tricks and snares of the devil, the false allurements of the world, and the dynamic of our weakened and wounded flesh. These enemies of our soul will constantly make new guises to mislead and tempt us. To upgrade our vigilance skills is not a matter of paranoia. It is to be realistic. It is to be effectively prudent.

We should not be naïve to think that with our current skills at spiritual and moral vigilance, we are already okay. We have to sharpen our sense of purpose in life, seeing to it that its general goal is being consistently lived and reinforced in the many subsidiary purposes we have during the year, month, week, day, and even hour. 

With how things are now, we cannot simply rely on a generic sense of purpose. We have to learn how to be vigilant in all circumstances and situations in life, especially when we are tired, troubled, or when thrilled and excited.

Thus, it would be helpful that from time to time, we pause and examine how we are doing in our spiritual life. Do we still have the proper spiritual and supernatural bearing? Are there things to be corrected or modified? Are we aware of the state of our spiritual and moral resources?

We have to always find the answers to these questions!

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE),Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com