There’s about 107 million of us now. Opportunities in this country however, not that many. Our economy is not something to be proud of either.
One of our official languages is English and we were educated on it from primary school, making most of us proficient in it.
Armed with the ability to communicate with most of the world, and the desperation to provide better lives to our families, a lot of Filipinos take their chances abroad to make a living. Most, if not all, succeed in their efforts to provide for their families, so it has become some sort of trend to do this for a lot of us.
Imagine, in Metro Manila (our capital), the minimum daily wage as of 2018 is 475 Philippine Pesos (Php). That is about 9 US dollars. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe this might be the minimum hourly rate in the US now. Quite the difference.
Apart from that, we’re known to be highly resilient and hardworking. We don’t mind doing grunt work or blue collar jobs, as long as we’re making a decent living. There’s a shortage of workers for these types of jobs in most first world countries and we’re more than happy to fill the gap.
Being away from people we love may make us depressed but it is overcome by the fact that we are making it possible for them to live fuller and more comfortable lives.
Say Hi to the Filipino if you see them, I’m sure they’d be happy to chat and tell you the story of how they came to whatever country you found them in.
