Making a place for Filipinos in the Phl

Recently, I touched on the sad fact that many of our countrymen leave the Philippines for lack of opportunity and support here. My daughter told me of a musician who had made it big in the independent scene. She was hoping for some government art funding, but there was lack of interest in her craft. In time she decided to leave for abroad to find artistic support there, much to the sadness of the local music community. This is just one of many similar stories of professionals in varying fields. The arts definitely have it hard, but another profession that is challenging as well is teaching. Though teachers shape the future generation of our country, they are often earning next to nothing with minimal benefits. It is not a wonder that a lot of them try to find educational and job opportunities abroad.

This truly saddens me. What’s even more lamentable is the fact that once some of our countrymen do get the chance to leave, they go without ever looking back. I’ve seen Filipinos abroad, particularly in the United States, who are sometimes ashamed to admit they come from a third world country. They try their best to blend in and just disappear into the veritable melting pot of cultures that is the USA. This is especially true, of course, of Filipinos who are residing abroad on visitor’s visas. They really need to hide their nationality for fear of getting deported.

It’s quite sad, but they have found a better life there. I understand why they would want to stay. In the same minimal salary job they might have here, over there they can afford a place to live, a car, and even to send their children to school. Flawed though it can be, the American public school system gives them the chance to send their children to school without high tuition fees. Even books and other supplies are sometimes provided without charge. Meanwhile, over here the education is expensive, and continuing to get more expensive as years go by. It’s understandable that parents would be drawn to the concept of free education.

I don’t know the immediate answer to this growing and ever-present problem of losing our citizens to foreign lands, but I do know that something needs to be done soon. We are losing some of our best and brightest to other countries, and sometimes the youth even go to college specifically for a degree that they know will help them find work in other countries, like nursing and engineering. Recently, DOLE actually issued a reminder to students to switch from nursing and other over-subscribed courses to try to ensure they can find a job after graduation.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz told nursing students they might want to consider shifting to other courses such as dental assistants, medical and clinical laboratory technicians, or front office and receptionist agents. This was their way of helping students get jobs post graduation. The problem is people subscribe to courses such as nursing, engineering, hotel and restaurant management, and information technology education because they know that if they are not able to find a job here, they will most likely be able to find a job abroad. Possibly at a higher pay grade as well.

Filipinos wanting to leave the country in search for a “better life” is not something new. In fact, it’s a tale as old as time. My family and I have been to the United States several times and have seen and met so many Filipinos living there. Though life is hard, they have found a way to support themselves and their families. Something they might not have been able to do if they stayed here.

So how do we keep our countrymen on our own shores? DOLE might have the right idea to start with. Remind our incoming crop of students where the job opportunities lie and we might be able to get them good jobs that utilize their talents and abilities here. We have to dispel the notion that things are better in other countries or “the grass is always greener...” If we can find ways to give our citizens decent jobs and good enough benefits, there will be no reason for them to leave the country.

Unfortunately this premise only works in a country where the people have strong government support. Not just government support in education and labor but also in healthcare as well. Healthcare is such a poignant argument in countries all over the world and rightfully so because health is wealth. A family that might have saved their whole lives and worked hard for retirement could lose everything in an instant due to dreaded critical illness. Philhealth has been working to expand their disease coverage and that is a good first step. Filipinos should work together to look out for one another. If we are all educated, healthy, and cared for there is no doubt in my mind we could easily raise our living standard and our economy. There is just so much talent on our shores we only need nurture it for it to yield amazing results.

Support for our people is really the root to a more thriving economy and to keeping our talents here in the Philippines. And not just support for the regular working jobs and professions but support for all our talents. This includes music, the arts, the sciences, and even our athletes. I was watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics last weekend and proudly cheered for our contingent. At the same though it was quite disheartening to see we had only sent a handful of athletes to vie for Olympic glory when countries in our same economic situation could send hundreds. How can we expect to nurture strong athletes when we cannot support them to train and be their best? With just a handful competing with other athletes all over the world, how can we honestly expect to win medals?

Hopefully this will change over the years and perhaps in our next Olympic bid we can send more hopefuls who have had the opportunity to train with a world-class coach in good facilities. Senator Edgardo Angara urged the government recently to provide adequate support to Filipino athletes competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and to possible future Olympians as well. He reminded everyone that our Filipino athletes bring the country great pride in international events such as the Olympics despite the Philippines’ lack of sports infrastructure and policies. Filipinos are natural athletes, after all, and imagine what they could achieve with the right support. We currently have the Philippine Sports University Act of 2010, which seeks the creation of an institution to oversee athletes’ welfare, training and development. Hopefully this will continue to grow and expand as the years progress. We’ve already proven we can compete at the world level. We just need the platform on which to push our national talent.

In the end, I believe Filipinos have incredible potential, and as a country and as a people we have it in us to achieve great things. If we can nurture our talent and help it grow, there isn’t anything we can’t achieve. In the meantime though, we realistically see hundreds of our own flocking to other lands looking for opportunities they cannot find here.