Migration:

An issue of
Development
May-an (Maria Angela) dlc. Villalba
Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation
Quezon City, Philippines
 Global Economic Crisis

 Derivatives - Financial weapons of mass

destruction (Warren Buffet)
 Government failure to regulate greed
 Taxpayer pays for greed and lack of
regulation – trillions of US$
 Climate Change
 Unsustainable economy &
ecosystems
 Loss of lives, property &
assets
 Relief, rehabilitation and
relocation costs
 Crisis in Values
 Selfish individualism - Personal
advancement and interest vs
common good
 Consumerism - unsustainable
consumption & waste
 Greed – insatiable lust for
money and material wealth
Hubris – arrogance derived
from delusion that the mere
size of one’s holdings alone
will insulate one from any
economic distress
 Impact on Migration
• Retrenchment, lay-offs, repatriation
• Protectionism and stringent border control
• Localization labor policy
• Decrease in remittances
• Emergence of “environmental migrants”
36 million people were displaced in 2008
• 70 million move from developing countries to
developed countries
 Impact on economy
 Job losses – jobless growth?
 Reduced remittances
 Lower consumption (PCI)
 Foreign investments at cross purposes
Mining in precarious areas
Long term lease of prime agricultural land
 Focus on “green jobs and green growth”
Marine preservation – “tuna ban” may
cost 150,000 jobs in tuna industry
Migration & development nexus

 Overseas work has improved our standard

of living and quality of life.
 We prefer living and working at home if our
needs are adequately met.
 We will continue working overseas:
 3-5 years
 until all my kids finish college
 for as long as it is possible.
 International migration is a
power problem!
A new face of an old problem
Migration will continue:
 Demographic factor – ageing population
 Structural labor imbalance
 Poverty and underdevelopment in origin
countries
 Wage differentials and opportunities for
advancement in destination countries
 Savings, Investment
& Entrepreneurship
Reversing the power imbalance
 Savings
reduce vulnerability
build capital
 Investment
plan for productive return and re-integration
Creating financial value
Accessing productive assets
 Entrepreneurship
building productive activity
Creating jobs
Migrant entrepreneurs

Famdev Integrated
Farm
Malaybalay, Bukidnon
Matin-ao Rice Center
Mainit, Surigao del Norte
Issues in entrepreneurship
 Bearing the cost of (under) development

 Access to technology
Issues…
 Underdeveloped conditions for local
entrepreneurship
 Vagaries of the market, e.g. rice crisis,
importation, etc.
 Lack of incentives and protection
 Legal disincentives: high corporate tax; long and
expensive process of business registration;
shipping-transport cartels; cabotage law; etc.
 Corrupt practices
 Quality of labor – “Pwede na” culture
Issues…
Access to and high cost of capital
Challenges to migration
and Development
 Breaking the cycle of dependency
 Building the entrepreneurial mindset, spirit
and skills
 Building the minimum conditions of viable
enterprises
Challenge to policy makers
 Dealing with power agendas and competing
interests
 Building the entrepreneurial mindset, spirit
and skills
 Invest and enable the development of the
nation’s assets that lower the cost of
development
 Development Plan – coherent and wise use
of national patrimony
 Policy recommendations
 Strengthen regular migration channels
 Regularize undocumented migrants and their
children
 Increase access of migrants to continuing
education and skills training and upgrading.
 Provide migrant workers the same education
and training opportunities in the workplace as
local workers.
 Policy recommendations
 Enable the development of the nation’s assets
 Effective support to MSME – lower cost of
capital
 Legislate an enabling policy for OFW and
social enterprises
 Coherent and strategic use of national
patrimony (assets)
 Lower the cost of development: infrastructure
support, access to technology, R&D
 Mag-impok, Mamuhunan
Itatag ang kabuhayan sa
sariling Bayan!
Maraming Salamat Po!

Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation

73 Maningning Street, Teachers Village West, 1101 Quezon City
Phone: 794 1399/ Telefax: 433 1292 / unlad_kabayan@globelines.com.ph