Spain cites Pinoy workers’ contribution to economy

MANILA, Philippines - Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs said recently that his country recognizes the important contribution of about 60,000 Filipinos to their economy.

In an interview last Wednesday, Gonzalo de Benito Secades said an important part of Philippines-Spain relations is the fact that there are about 60,000 Filipinos all over Spain and the Filipino community is very much respected because “Filipinos are very serious, very hardworking people and they contribute to the economy and development of the country.”

De Benito visited Manila and led the Spanish delegation to the Philippines-Spain high level political consultations held at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last Wednesday, under the framework of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation of 2000.

The Secretary said there is no indication that Filipinos in their country, who are mostly engaged in the service sector, are affected by the economic and unemployment problems Spain is undergoing.

“We have reviewed the money they sent to the Philippines. Their remittances in 2011 have not decreased. It even increased a little bit compared to 2010 so we can say that the unemployment and economic crisis are not affecting the Filipino community there,” De Benito told The STAR.

But De Benito said there are no bright prospects at present for workers who want to seek employment in Spain.

“There is not much room now for newcomers because of our unemployment rate and so we are under a lot of pressure. A few years ago we were growing and creating jobs but now we are not creating jobs,” De Benito said.

“We hope to get out of the situation starting second semester of next year but right now there are limited possibilities for immigration in Spain. Maybe few specialized workers for some very special jobs but nothing compared to what it was 10 or five years ago,” he said.

The European Union said Spain was making progress in tackling its debt problems and reforming its economic structures.

Spain is very valuable for the Eurozone since it is among the large and strong economies of the union.

Spain is also ready to impart insights on its autonomous regions to the Philippines to serve as models for the establishment of the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, according to de Benito.

He said the process of decentralization is a flexible system requiring good coordination with the central government.