NEDA sees bright side to Filipinos returning due to Trump’s immigration policies
MANILA, Philippines — While the fate of many Filipinos remains uncertain under US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) believes there are upsides—provided the government can reintegrate them properly.
NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the agency has yet to fully discuss it with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) but there are already reintegration programs for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in place.
“I think, syempre on the positive side, maganda kasi magsisibalikan sila and many of them have high level skills, so ang importante talaga dito is to be able to place them… parang mutually beneficial to them and to us,” Edillon said in an ambush interview in Quezon City.
(I think, of course, on the positive side, it will be good because they would come back and many of them have high level skills, so what is important here is to be able to place them … that is mutually beneficial to them and to us.)
There will likely be a transitory impact, but Edillon hopes it will be temporary.
However, she noted that the road ahead will not be easy, particularly in terms of real estate and space.
“Pero mayroon tayong glut sa real estate so okay lang,” she said.
(But we have a glut in the real estate so it is okay.)
But will returning OFWs take jobs from local workers? Edillon doesn’t think so.
“I think they have different skills, so I think it will be okay,” she said.
One of Trump’s promises was enacting a massive deportation of illegal immigrants. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez initially estimated that up to 300,000 Filipinos could be affected by the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Trump also announced a temporary suspension of foreign assistance, which has already affected organizations across the world.
There are other sources of official development assistance, but Edillon said the government is already preparing for the possibility that these funds will eventually dry up.
For now, public-private partnerships serve as a “very good source of funding” for the Philippines, Edillon said.
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