Statistical compendium on RP migration and development launched
By MARIA ALETA O. NIEVA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/12/2009 10:59 PM
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A compendium of statistics containing information on Filipino migrants in 239 global destinations was launched Monday.
The book called Philippine Migration and Development Statistical Almanac is a collaboration of years of work of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI) with government and academic partners.
“Because people are frequently asking (for data), this spur the institute and government and academic partners to develop this migration and development statistical almanac and since the context is the state of the Philippine social economic development and how international migration is considered into the equation, this dual milieu called international migration and development is what we all look at,” said Jeremaiah Opiniano, IMDI’s executive director.
The launch of the almanac was held at the Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC) of the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila.
Opiniano said the almanac attempts to present data from administrative sources, as well as data from surveys and other selected quantitative studies, on Filipinos’ international migration and development.
Global leader
Around 8.7 million Filipinos are now in 239 host countries--209 are members of the United Nations and the rest are mostly islands and territories.
“The Philippines is a global leader some analysts have said in international migration--whether we like it or not. And the information you will get from this almanac will make foreigners say this unto to Filipinos "Imagine a world without Filipinos" the thought of that is unimaginable. Not many do know however that the Philippines is lucky to have a developed and sophisticated statistical system on international migration,” said Opiniano.
Opiniano said that many have also remarked the Philippines’ unique way of recording international migration statistics “something other countries do not have.”
Although the almanac will not be a complete statistical compendium on the country’s overseas phenomenon as it has still many things lacking “we can only be lucky that we have something to start with.”
“Our express wish is that after today, data crunchers will sit down and assess collectively how the country's international migration statistical system will plug the loophole,” he said.
He added that the first statistical almanac on Philippine migration and development can be considered as an innovation, wealthy of information, and free.
“It is about time we find a way how the overseas movement of people--if this wont stop--it must be more safe, more rights based, more productive and a supplementary, not a primary need for Philippine development. This is where the first Philippine Migration and Development Statistical Almanac comes in,” he said.
Opiniano said the almanac took them years of monitoring, compiling and harmonizing statistics on Filipino’s international migration.
For adoptive, responsive programs
The 339-page almanac covers over 600 tables, 239 countries of destinations and 79 Philippine provinces. The almanac is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 is about harmonized statistics on overseas Filipinos while chapter 2 covers the countries of destinations of Filipinos and chapter 3 is about the provinces of origin of overseas Filipinos.
Lawyer Golda Roma of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) believes that the almanac is going to be significant not just to the academe and students, and researchers but also to the government and non-government organizations “in making their programs more adaptive and responsive to the needs of their clients.”
“Above all, we hope that the compendium will serve a medium especially to the legislators, policy makers and our economic development officers in linking migration, given its depth, trends and importance to Philippine national development,” Atty. Roma said.
Major economic drive
For IMDI’s Treasurer Emma Lim-Sandrino, the publication of the almanac comes timely at a crucial period when the country’s socio-economic development continue to rely on international migration with millions of Filipinos deployed in 239 countries and territories sending over US$120 billion in remittances for the last three decades.
“Overseas migration is undeniably a phenomenon in the Philippines and major economic drive. While the Almanac may be far from being a complete databank on Philippine overseas migration it is an important milestone in attempting to consolidate the enormous data from various government sources and academic partners,” she said.
“May it be a vital instrument for all relevant stakeholders in coming up with migration policies and development programs that not only attempt to address unemployment and sustain remittances for macro-economy but also respond adequately to the multidimensional concern of overseas Filipinos,” she added.
Meanwhile, Camilla Hagstrom, deputy head of operations section of the European Union, lauded the launching of the first Philippine Migration and Development Statistical Almanac.
“I think it’s a very good thing. Someone was mentioning there that this is something that not every country has. I really think that this is important. I think any policy decisions, we need proper data and I really think this is something very useful, very good,” Hagstrom said.
The compendium was developed with the collaboration of the CFO, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, University of Sto. Tomas-Social Research Center and its partner organizations, Peace and Equity Foundation, Philippine Migrants’ Rights Watch, Feed the Hungry-Philippines, Save-a-Tahanan, Inc. and Economic Resource Center for Overseas Filipinos.
The almanac also has a Web version and can be accessed at http://almanac.ofwphilanthropy.org.
