Implications of the Middle East Conflict on OFWs | Talakayan sa Pamantasan

[music] Attorney Angelo Himenez. Today we will be discussing the implications of the Middle East conflict on our overseas Filipino workers. There are more than 2.4 million Filipinos living and working in the Middle East, making it one of the largest concentrations of overseas Filipino workers worldwide. These workers financially support millions of Filipino household through remittances which continue to sustain families across the Philippines for over half a century now ongoing conflicts of Middle East and approximately 6.5 billion remittance. You have to remember one important point almost the total remittances of OFWs almost composed 10% of our gross domestic product. So these remittances are so critical for our external balance of payment and current accounts. Uh it is actually an anchor of our macroeconomic financial stability. So this is very critical. Security concerns around 80 to 85% former dean up school of labor industrializations at former adex secretary Secretary of the Department of Labor unemployment s Dr. Renee Opreno sir [applause] he will help us better understand the situation of our OFWs and the government's response as well. Forew expert consultant International Organization for Migration. So, Middle East. The short answer is this is not the first time we have a war in the Middle East that has affected our people there. As a matter of fact, uh, in 2003, I was the task force commanders in Kuwait, the front line when in that so-called operation Iraqi freedom or the second Gulf War and uh, I was assigned to Iraq as well together with Kuwait right after the fall of Saddam in 2003 and I stayed there for two years and at the same time when I was already the deputy administrator of OA, I was the chair of the crisis committee of the department of labor cluster. on the crisis during the Israeli Hezbollah war in 2006. So I can say this expected direct hits. So they will come east on and off on and off. So many times we have offered in several crisis in the past offered free free repatriation home but many of them will stay off assistance. So but depend the Middle East has always been crisis prone first of course 1970s and before the 1970s latest recover fully after the fall of Gaddafi Syria has fallen as well there's a new government in Syria and the conflict between Hezbollah that and Israel, Lebanon and and Israel has always been there. The conflict between Israel in the Palestinian authority and then of course the conflict with Israel and Iran and the United States on particularly centered on nuclear uh the development of nuclear weapons weapons of master shock in Iran. anytime they can be directly affected. US by Monday. Yes sir. ceasefire Monday. Who knows? Expected, but not like this. No, conflict can exist in the Middle East at any time, >> except that most of the time specific areas uncovered. This is the first time neighboring countries from Iran >> usually localized Iraq even no matter how bad the war is when Iraq it was contained there in Syria is what contained there of course break out a few a few uh violence across the borders but it has been contained in specific regions so you know where to escape where to run of course is the uncertainty this is the new this is the new element right now no where they will strike Iran, hit Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar. No, and this is where most Filipinos are. Of course, the critical state of Hormus where like almost 20% of oil from all over the world passed through. No, not very critical. So, right now, um it's really unstable. It's going to be on, it could be off. He need predict. The point is nobody can afford an extended closure of the street of Hormos. Maybe wars can go on in those areas country but the entire world and strategy Iran to make sure that they can pressure the world to pressure the United States to stop the blockade or stop from attacking Iran further. We don't have to to cover the entire Iran US conflict and concern FWS. So weaponize Iraq Iran pressure economic pain by the world experienced by the world today and we exp we all experience high rising gas prices which affects prices of all basic commodities. So Iran is trying to weaponize it. So this is an asymmetric kind of battle using its control not it not it control but using its power to harass ships going there. Usually insurance right now no insurer will insure any ship passing through the gate of Hormos it's considered uninsurable that's what makes it different today so weapon this is the war as warfare looking back to prepare our Filipinos to protect the Filipinos we can do shortterm medium-term and longterm we just have to go there 9,000 since May having been there for almost a decade. Yeah. 9,000 repented is a drop in the bucket. That's not even 2.4 although I believe 2.4 million entire Middle East UAE 1 million Saudi about 1.1 or 1.2 two 600 300 Kuwait 600 3 million but even if you put it at 2.4 million today and 9,000 return this is around 3.6%. And there is a regular outflow and inflow of workers there. So at any rate, what you can do is really assist them. There are contingency plans since 20 years ago that can be activated personnel at labor offices to protect Filipinos there. Of course, you cannot protect those that can be directly hit. No, that's the first step. Go there, assist them, organize them, and make sure they know what to do when it when a particular crisis. It's very, very specific. ready for over 20 years. The second one of course is to prepare to absorb them for jobs here and that is where the big problem is unemployment they will add to the unemployment in the country. So it's going to be a big challenge because um competition are fresh graduates or or new hires experience. Remember my experience and these new hires they're competing with in the Philippines are willing to accept lower pay. That's medium term. Prepare them for jobs, place them in jobs or train them for new jobs or support efforts at making them entrepreneurs and livelihood which is very small portion. The long-term talaga is how to stop the further outflow in large scale of Filipino workers going abroad and that requires rearranging our industrial system. We must be able to create strong industries here so that we will we will end our dependence on foreign employment because we cannot provide decent jobs to our people here. So short-term, medium-term, long-term dependence, migration at remittances abroad, migration hore 197 Middle East 1990s South Korea became a labor receiving rather than a labor sending country. That's right. transformation. Well, before you go back though, uh just a little bit of historical perspective, we started our overseas employment program in the mid70s right in the middle of two great oil crisis. The 1973 uh >> Yes. >> Uh war in Israel. >> Yes. Yes. Uh the uh and then the 1979 >> oil Iran Iraq war. No, those are two crisis in between during this period prices of oil and the effect was a transfer of wealth from the industrial west to the oil producing Middle East countries construction activities went there and our overseas employment program was essentially meant as a stop gap measure. There was no intention to make it longterm. Billions are coming into the country, dollars, hard currencies. So that we need to really develop a strong industry that will prevent or that will give the Filipinos a better option of staying in home at home to work. >> Yes. And then now we failed example indry another because of AI so dangerous for employment opportunities or employment generation initiatives will always be there external shock that is beyond our affected and affecting the other prices possible displacement of a big sector 9 billion six 6.5 billion worth of dollars that's that's very important to our macroeconomic stability now I mean we need to be able to come out with a long-term plan to establish industries in the Philippines to be able to absorb or our labor force our excess labor force right now we don't have it and there is no way of saying simply we just simply have to put it up and that I would leave to the expert to industrial policy strategy but the point is we must make overseas employment a choice and not a necessity perhaps industrial policy and political will how narrow the industrial base in the Philippines is industrial base migration remittances 35 billion a year uh racisms Europe and America and then crisis Middle East. The other leg of the economy BO sector and then Automate School of Labor segments or sector upgrade industrial domestic as well as export industry. Talented Creative well initiative creative industries. >> Yes. Yes. Filipino artist evenipino writers. So designers and so on. So yes, but before I I go into mention South Korea, they were also a labor country. Yes. >> And then they were able to industrialize and now they're returning to become I think the 12th 11th strongest economy in the world today. >> Yes. And even a lot of people seem to have forgotten Japan too before the war people hardly any to eat there. And you Jika before I studied Japan. I published a paper on on Japan immigration before Jaika was created. It was the Japan immigration authority. They were assisting many Japanese who could not find employment employment abroad and they sent many of them to South America second generation Japanese and then they were able Japanese who did not return to Japan right after the war and uh yeah they were there as a matter of fact used to be Japanese [laughter] I think somebody there was some Japanese activity going there is going there per now s up u we we are not the executive arm of government we are the human resource arm of the grand national university um we one of the most transformative thing we did in UP was to create the vice president for research and innovation and the purpose of here is to not just to increase our PhD through research but to come out with research with geared towards application. So impact missiondriven research based on what we call now and we're making this uh we're trying to popularize the term client discovery relevant research we're going to innovate based on proven and validated needs communities and Filipino community. So that's the direction we're going. We have to cut it open from the powerful vice president for academic affairs which is historically uh what we have focused on for the last 100 years. Today we're focusing on research and innovation together with enterprise development and uh and partnership with the with the private sector with the industry as well. Academ industry closer tie up. Not just for making sure that there is no mismatch from the academ to the market, job mismatch, but also to ensure that we can help local industries develop further technologically uh and benefit the value chain but also to to encourage more startups. goal is to create ecosystems will technohab will return back to UP in a few years now. So we're thinking of really a Silicon Valley kind of development. Wow. >> We're in the research in UP and uh startups will go there and there are so many other models there. So I'm talking in advance about the future but this is for the next president. No, but what we're trying to do is really develop this new vice uh vice president for re research and innovation. Um we were able to attract a lot of people to to really be active and I think they're very excited about this project. But these are baby steps towards that. The other one that we're trying to do is we encourage I created on my first month the president's committee on culture and arts because we wanted to develop the creative industries. >> I see. and really encourage the flowering of creative work, artistic work inside university because I know that we are a hotbed of creative talent and you're right the the the new economy will be knowledge based economy and it will be creative economy. It's not going to be industry content. So we're riding that future with digital technology, AI and soon we're talking about AI but within the next few years people will be talking about something a greater wave that we call it quantum computing. No anyway we're going to ride into that information economy and that's why we also created a vice president for digital transformation. We're we are preparing the university for the next 100 years. >> Okay. >> Yeah. based on our experience but the University of Philippines was created as a tool of US colonial policy. >> No. Uh they wanted to produce leaders is they introduced the Jefferson the Jeffersonian democratic representative democracy. This is a foreign implant. No. And they a purpose was to develop leaders to man this new bureaucracy and and this new way of organizing life in the Philippine Islands then. But I think this time we have to reestablish UP based on our aspiration as a people. Mr. President ecosystem it's a it's a real estate developing UPLB as well. were preparing as well their their echosones as well recent news very disturbing hunger 23% according to social That's why I really wanted to focus in Mindanao considering that Mindadaw is producing a large part of our exports on agriculture. So what's happening there? We're trying to strengthen up Mindanao. >> Okay. >> That's one thing innovation and they they already have champions there. I see. uh by this semester we're introducing the college of medicine in UP Mindanao. >> Okay. >> By next year we'll have the college of engineering. That's a plan. This this year approved board engineering we will borrow the curriculum from Dilliman and Dilliman and UPLB has been so cooperative and not only that we were a UPLB was able to set up the uh the UP school of agriculture entrepreneurship in Panabo Davo. >> Yes. Uh this is a five hector grant from the from Tadeo. >> Okay. Alson family Anflow Anflow city and they gave us a building and we are going to train this because it's not just how to plant but to create agriculture system systems and we're all over Mindanao. No, we're all over Mindanao. Second crisis bio we're able to extract bacteria that is nitrogen fixing from talah I see >> that's coarse grass Englishahib and using this you can reduce the you can reduce ura uh element and fertilizer by 30 to 55% or 50% ura imported [clears throat] ura as a matter a lot of people don't realize that it's not just oil but made of our fertilizer are all based petroleum based. So we have trans and second we have we're developing as well battery powered battery technology appropriate technology this is not a high-tech battery but these are batteries that can be used river up technology from the AA no electronics and electrical engineering we're also developing battery powered banka if you go to the to totramurus today me bus battery powered. That's up technology being tested right now. And every now and then is battery powered, solar powered that we're trying to introduce to the rest of the country. The point is our research is making a difference because I'm just mentioning a few things. um we are responding and this is the reason why we are trying to develop our research and innovation muscle with greater urgency. Now maritime marine science fisheries >> and hopefully [clears throat] base at least physical base virtual university that they call the archipelagic university of the Philippines the virtual archipelagic. Uh another thing is uh is uh uploban UT uploban uh we were able to get an autonomous college status. Now uh on May I will be presenting to the board and hopefully it will approve its full constituent university status and we have been preparing for this for two years. But what with TLoban? Takloban and vision will become will focus on resilience and of course history and culture. They have a very rich culture and history there in eastern visayas banko rebellion. No people were so one thing even before strengthening giving uploban autonomous status breakthrough red tide the moment there's an economic crisis 300 million estimate cost because are the artisanal fishermen the poorest of the poor sers fisher folk per they were able to come out extract an element in the uh in in a tahome that has been affected by red tide that can be used for cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. We already set up the laboratory to scale this uh technology developed by UP in the new campus site for uploban which is Santa Elena 30 minutes away from the city center but we're preparing uploban upu of course will be focusing on ICT internet and creative industry agriculture. So these are just [snorts] some of the developments that were to make sure that the university can respond to to develop a strong industry in the country based on the unique features and strengths of the of the Philippines as a as an island nation Mr. President. Yeah, it was something I set up during the first few months of my term because I will always be a migrant advocate global Filipino and as a matter of fact before I was elected UB president I was in >> cartoon >> in Sudan I was developing a the legal framework for migrant protection in in Sudan which is the worst case >> in the world no funded by the UN of course but anyway I returned it was a state of civil war seems that wars attract my career here. But anyway, I'm still alive. But at any rate, envision what we're trying to do is offer degrees, undergraduate, masters up to PhD for overseas Filipino workers. >> We're estimating there are well, there are the stock estimates of Filipinos all over the world is still about 10 million, but let's just say three 2.5 to 3 million would be overseas contract workers. So target so we're offering these degrees to them online. Um and we are we we have really gained ground. We want to offer this to them. Uh undergrad Filipino citizen libri. So we offer we open this in in the UAE uh in Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia, even Vietnam in Cambodia. No. So we're offering this course to them online. online PhD graduate teaching railroad engineering in Dubai >> and just last year up one year after we set it up because they wanted ano baong PhD UP. So I work one year and it's finally achieved recognition from the Dubai Ministry of Education. >> This is why why is it why is it a very important development? There are 1 million Filipinos in Dubai. Not only that, Dubai is part of the Gulf Cooperating uh country council for Gulf Cooperation, GCC. Normally, Ministry of Education. Now, what is the idea? The idea is to move in large scale masses of Filipino workers from lower paying jobs to higher paying jobs. from higher risk jobs to lower risk jobs. You become supervisor to manager >> less vulnerable >> and finally to to to increase in a very significant way the remittance. Let me tell you I met a medtech a laborator technician in Maryland in the US and he told me press I failed in my nursing exam so I immigrated to United States I didn't become a nurse but I work as a laboratory technician in the United States especially in Washington they have this category called scientist one scientist two he wants to move from scientist one to scientist two chem M >> basic camp. What if we can offer this camp online because the United States recognize our degrees? >> Then his salary can increase by say 500 to even $1,000 depending on what laboratories you're working on. Can you imagine this happening? estimate if we can capture 3% of the potential market that's 4 to5 billion dollar extra for what a program that cost us nothing extra internet no so we're trying to promote this idea that Filipinos can get degrees from the University of Philippines and instead of sales lady you can learn supply chain management short course and you can be a sales supervisor or in charge of a warehouse All of these can be increases of 300, $400, $500 each. And remember, we have PhDs. >> They can take PhDs. And so, we're strengthening the OU as a tool. Uh it's it's what we call perhaps development jiu-jitsu. Libri, it's an online platform. You don't have to set up schools. >> Okay. And remember alo CAD academy one teacher 1 million students. >> I see. So no vint because and they probably got that idea of vint because they know I'm from Mindanao. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much for being here. No, I mean um I'm I'm very glad to be able to discuss these things with you. We would have invited Sana si my colleague before no s secretary Hanskdak or evensek Bernard Olalia who's the usek of DMW but they're all so tied up with the current crisis today but uh I'm still very happy that we have this very lively discussions but I I I came I miss my uh because I operated in that region I know the countries there >> I've been there I mean Jordan Iraq Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, um anyway uh we have a very interesting audience. Yes. Ano one of our professors, Professor Joe Tabada who is also a Middle East. He graduated from the American University of Beirut. No. and he has been I was in the circles of migration researchers and I've been meeting professor Joe in many of my activities for the last two decades >> and I'm very happy to join him in the University of the Philippines and make sure that he does not uh go to pasture early in life professor Joe >> uh good evening uh Mr. President and good evening Dean of Reneo actually question intervention role up in helping OFW's repatriation and reintegration. Um studies have shown that uh most of the remittances go into the purchase either of luxury items or of uh um some necessities consumption consumption goods. Barely Talibani goes into investment and uh one reason for that is that OFWs are not sensitive to investment opportunities Mr. president now enterprise development is one possible uh opening for OFWs university actually institute for smallcale industries I don't know what they are doing now but I used to work for that institute for maybe close to 15 20 years ago before I retired um they started Ed teaching uh financial literacy um and they I think they can move from there to uh enterprise development targeting OFWs as students uh who can potentially or who should potentially be encouraged to go into business. I think the university probably can play a bigger role in that uh uh assistance tow Mr. President and well taken. >> Yeah. But let me tell you something know uh I've been OA I was a deputy administrator of OA. Yeah. We did have loans and training even to social preparations for them but we realized collection rate and we realize that entpreneurship and business is not for everyone. No, they they cannot manage and then most of the problem business preparations business plan most of the problem is the market they couldn't succeed but realize business is not for everyone. So we focusing on financial literacy. We he goes there and make lectures of financial literacy. No. And then these are not business assets. As a matter of fact, these are liabilities. So we're not saying they really want literacy. They know how to save. And then second, investment opportunity. I remember when I was in Japan uh then governor board of investment governor of Bulaong I think came there and there are magazine warehouses there is warehousing they're going to invest invest but it will be run by professional managers so We're talking about 1999. So there was there is this excitement. Can you imagine package uh warehousing because sub is going to be international preforta? Sure money. So but uh you know Arab was ousted. So was no because the other thing is I was talking to this person our big industries can really help they can invest for example poultry shares market bonus chicken I don't know how many hundreds of thousands chicken they need it there sure market so ISSI maybe they can help them with with skill skills with setting up business but setting up the business itself. How to place money where to invest is better because going into business is not for everyone. It's not even for professors. [laughter] Mr. President. >> Yes. Vice President DFA Secretary OFW bands but the biggest buyers from Japan because they have money program. President Ramos 1990s crisis 100% no repayment we realize returning distress if you are distressed you go into business capital to a certain extent integrated approach in enterprise development for the poor. >> Yeah. migration work now I'm now with anadem let them stay there safely and let them earn enough so they can save but the long-term strategy is create industries here so that less people will want to go abroad as a matter of necessity finally second OFWs go abroad not just because of the money. >> Some of them I've talked to so many I've been here for three decades now advocating their their their welfare. Some of them left for abroad because of the lifestyle. >> They like the security. They like the efficiency of governments. They they live in Europe, in Japan, in Taiwan, in Hong Kong. So Middle East most of the time not for immigration. if they go to Europe and United States, Canada immigration track. >> So it's not just the money. Second, um I was talking about the shortage of teachers here. Just an example of a group of people nurses. There is the world has an insatiable demand for Filipino nurses. But teachers can teacher how much can you get paid for sED? No, maybe 40,000 is good. I mean grade 40,000 starting most. But if you're offering the same teaching job in even Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, I was talking to some of them. It's between starting 100,000 to 200,000 >> and I was there. >> I was there with the president in Cambodia and I found that there's a lot of Filipino teachers in Cambodia, >> in Vietnam, in Indonesia. the teaching there >> earning that much earning. So nurses there is as I said insatiable demand nurses such that many of our nursing schools are producing nurses not for home domestic uh work but for foreign employment we know them all so that's why we have this response because our school of health sciences are producing nurses yes ah pala I'd like to welcome again uh my former professor in sociology. So good to see her again after all these years. Uh we have here Dr. Joyad discussion although can you imagine a Philippines that does not send workers abroad? >> Yeah. or destiny to be the laborers and the teachers and the nurses of the world. >> Yes, we have been dreaming about it for our OFW was was ours employment program under Blasople just the time of the oil crisis. Our first labor office was in Jedha early labor. We thought it will be temporary crisis non and there was a lot of jobs in construction in the Middle East. After 10 years this construction job became service jobs all over even general contractors EI was there AG and P were there we built the Middle East now like many other countries in the world did no best example of course I really love this the example of Japan and Korea so we just simply must not stop dreaming and working towards that large source of remittance that as I have mentioned is practically almost 10% of our gross domestic product that is too critical we are allowing people to have a dagger about our neck that they can move we cannot control it no uh so um Well, as the UP president, I must remain hopeful and we are going to do something. That's why we're trying, that's why we created all these initiatives in industry, innovation, research plus partnership industries which are just really starting to go in earnest right now. Uh, of course uh to find uh Miss Jojo Sanchez. You know Jojo is with TV up but she used to be my welfare officer when I was assigned in Tokyo, Japan and theater groups Japanto. Uh Jojo is a veteran welfare officer of OA. So actually >> [laughter] >> Mr. President reintegration program returning skilled professionals of Thank you. >> Yes, of course. Uh, of course you returning um depend of course on how old they're returning retirement maybe we can help them. No uh but we are not really the agency. We are the human resource arm of the government. We can provide skills, retraining, even help with business development. But eventually the other source other offices will be in charge of it. um reintegration center but if they want to go back to school then they can possibly enroll in our certificate courses special courses including ISSI including even you short-term courses but if they want to group together invest then of course we have up technologies that and we're waiting for partners for that. No, but eventually this is really something that we really have to build a connection. No, cuz this is now the University of the Philippines directly engaging in in activities that goes beyond our normal research and teaching function but goes into public service. Now, uh you training component tying them up and introducing technology You will be astounded by the talent you will meet abroad who have left the country. I was just going around and I met this director of Mona from the college of medicine. I told him he's willing to help. No, I mean I found scientists in Dubai, scientists doing advanced research in London and of course the US and we want them to invite back here and we have this balik scientist program so they can really assist that's more up our alley for one thing is this we cannot hire them because there is an interpretation that the UP professor is part of the civil service and the constitution says that only Filipino citizens can be hired in public offices and I found out that even if you're dual degree you cannot even be hired too scientist there are real experiences we we crafted a new kind of employment for them a professional profess professorial uh chairs contract I wanted to offer them tenure but it's almost equivalent to tenure except that there's no security you will also be rehired one of them brought their Italian wife with them press I couldn't even take out a loan in the bank when they see that I'm only a contractual employee they want to resettle back in the country raise their family here from abroad but they can't do that. So contractual professional professorial chair because they want to be here. So what we did was that of course we uh I know uh Congressman Mark go our regent has filed a bill in Congress that will allow dual citizens to work in government. But for foreigners and there are foreign professors who want to teach that requires constitutional change. It cannot be cured by legislation. So nationalism university universities are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge they are agnostic to to nationality. If you really want to be in a university the university has this universal element. As a matter of fact everywhere else in the world they will offer you citizenship if you're really good. We don't we don't allow our contribution to their human resource development to their economic development. Yes. Yes. I doubled the budget for for our scientist program up in collaboration with SU's regions. >> Very good. >> Yeah. So I met this professor in Oakland University. You know it's one of the top university in the world not top 100 if you can get the tenure I wanted to offer them >> and many of these professors want to study here for some personal reason. They married a Filipina but we really wanted to to to do this. So, so we're working on on on ways on how to get talent back, but citizens see they're all over. I mean, writers, Michael, College of Arts and Sciences or letters, NYU, no, New York University. And there are others I found out in Europe. You know, they're they're all out there. And every time I visit them and they they become very nostalgic. They really want to help the country but they were just wondering whether the country wanted to be helped. No. So we're we're we're coming out with this message that we're opening up again and we just have to do something otherwise. Mr. Mr. President to your presidency. >> Thank you. Let's [laughter] we do our best. So anyway uh We missed my colleague Secretary Hamscott Dak my colleague from the college of lawseek Bernardia topic we could have invited another colleague from the college of law up the current administrator of uh he's from the UP law I mean they I'm sure if they were here they would love to visit their alma matter again let's try that another time but in the meantime u thank you very much for the presence to everyone here our very appreciative uh participants as well and to you Dr. for being here. You have always been a stalwart of the labor group and so uh so at this point uh I cannot let this program pass without giving you perhaps the last word or the penultimate word. [laughter] Mr. President possible affirmative measures regarding reintegration. But not only reintegration, uh revitalization economy using savings provided by our uh OFWs. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Uh so this first edition of this program I'm still in contact with them and um the OFWP has been here with us formally for almost for practically 50 years now. Uh there will always be problems there. We cannot solve all these problems because it's a continuing problem. But we are doing steps to bring light to their experiences as a university at least uh to make their invisibility visible to us so that we can appreciate them more and actually do something. So uh it's part of our client discovery. What can we do research technology? What can we do to assist them? So we'd like to engage ours many of them anyway are from our university. So this is a part as a university of the people. So episode Okay. [applause] [music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Heat. [music] [music]