Migrant Focus Magazine: Issue #2

Migrant's Focus Magazine: Issue #2

Feature #3

When More Pesos Mean Less Living

He peso-dollar exchange rate in the Philippines broke the barrier. It is now more than 50 pesos to a dollar. Thanks to the scams and scandals created by the Estrada administration, the overseas Filipinos may now have "more pesos" to remit to their families. It was even reported by a Philippine newspaper that one of the economic strategists of the Estrada administration claimed that it is the Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who will benefit out of this peso devaluation.

True enough, the official report was that there was a slight decline on the amount of remittances from overseas workers during the early part of the last quarter. Migrant workers interviewed said that they are holding back their remittances hoping that the dollar will still appreciate vis-à-vis the peso. But, the government is very hopeful that come December, more remittances from overseas workers will come in. They are banking on this to prop up the fast deteriorating economy and the fast devaluating peso. Really, the migrant workers are the "new economic heroes and heroines".

But, the new heroes must be told the truth. More pesos in exchange for the workers' dollars do not necessarily translate into more money and prosperity for the families of overseas Filipinos.

With this, the Mission embarked on random interviews and surveys to get the real picture from migrant workers and to have an objective view on this phenomenal development of having more paper bills on their hands yet, their families continue to complain of hardships to make both ends meet.

Juana is remitting an average of HK$1,500 to her families back home. The rest of her income is spent for her upkeep in Hong Kong and payment for loans incurred in processing her papers.

The HK$ 1,500 when converted will amount to Pesos 9,375 at the current rate of 16 centavos to a Hong Kong dollar. Indeed, her families receive more peso bills.

What the government is not saying is that the real value of peso went down to 65 centavos, as reported by Ibon Facts and Figures, an independent research institution in the Philippines. Meaning, Juana should know that a peso her family receives is actually worth 65 centavos only. Thus, in reality, the P9,375 Juana remitted is only worth P6,093.75. So, daily expenses of the family should not exceed Peso 203.125, being the real value of the money received by her family.

Furthermore, according to Ibon statistics, the cost of living in the National Capital Region for a family with four children is P484.74. This means that the income of migrant workers is not even sufficient to meet the daily requirements of her family. Just to give an example, a kilo of rice now cost 22 pesos. Chicken is 100 pesos per kilo and LPG used for cooking now costs 255 pesos per tank. And this are but some of the expenses excluding tuition fees, water and electricity bills and other basic necessities.

The fast declining real value of the peso is eating all the additional income and benefits of migrant workers. The fact of the matter is that the real value of peso is not appreciating. The decline is consistent and continuing. This can be attributed to so many factors. Aside from the political and economic crisis that the Estrada administration is creating due to corruption, cronyism, bribery from illegal gambling called "jueteng" and maintaining luxurious living for his many mistresses, many devastating incidents happened. The oil price increased more than twenty times and the unending war in Mindanao against our Muslim brothers and sisters are factors to the deteriorating livelihood of the populace. Overall, the president is really incompetent to govern our country and this adds to the burden of a depreciating peso.

The easy way out for migrant workers like us, in order to cope with the hardships our families face in the Philippines, is to do part-time jobs. Even if the law does not allow this, we take the risks for the sake of our family. Some of us even resort to loans with high interest, especially for emergency reasons. And all these additional income are being remitted to our families. These additional remittances add to the Gross National Product projecting that our economy is okay, even if it is not. In effect, the solution that we adapt to the pestering economic woes our families experience only benefits the bankrupt Philippine government. In the first place, the main target of our government's labor export program is our remittances. Statistics show that the combined remittances of overseas Filipinos amount to US$4 to 7 billion annually.

Of course our remittances is the lifeline of our family. Without it, our family will suffer more or even die of hunger. We were put in a situation wherein no choice was provided to us. But all the more that we have the reason and right to demand from our government to be sensitive to our plight.

We sacrifice a lot by being away with our loved ones and we provide the lifeline for our country, it is not too much to ask or even demand for the protection and promotion of our rights and welfare.

Juana will still remit. Juana will still do "illegal" part time jobs. Juana will still be forced to loan for emergency reasons. But this time, Juana knows why and can explain why she's forced to do it.

Export of labor by our government is a profitable industry. It is already a permanent fixture in the economic life of our country. And it will remain so as long as country remains backward, agricultural and has no basic industry that will generate employment in our country.

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