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The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that more
than 500,000 documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been
deployed globally in more than 190 host destinations worldwide
during the first five months of 2008.
Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D.
Roque also cited a report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
that global OFW remittances have reached $5.4 billion (more than
P240.89 billion at current rates) from January to April this year.
The Labor Chief said that the continued growth
and strength of global OFW deployment reflects the distinct global
preference for Filipino workers.
He added that increased OFW deployment
significantly figures in the substantial rise in global OFW
remittances, projected to approach or even surpass the $15 billion
mark by end-2008.
In particular, Roque cited BSP’s report that
the growth in the number of deployed OFWs reinforced remittance
flows, alongside the “upbeat prospects” in the global market for
sustained OFW opportunities.
The BSP report mentioned that the number of OFWs
globally deployed grew by 14.0 percent from 350,520 in the same
period last year to 399,638 during the first four months this year.
The BSP noted that the prospects for global OFW deployment remain
upbeat due to the Philippines’ efficient deployment system,
reinforced by the country’s continuing bilateral cooperation for
OFW employment opportunities with emerging markets like Canada and
other host countries.
The Philippines, the same report said, had also
been singled as the “Best Practice Country” by the Human
Resources Development Service of Korea due to the efficiency of the
OFW deployment system and the process improvements.
Roque said that in the first five months of 2008
alone, the country has already attained more than half a million of
the total annual goal of deploying at least one million OFWs in more
than 190 host countries around the world.
Roque cited the latest preliminary report of the
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration that some 516,466
documented OFWs have been globally deployed from January to May this
year.
The five-month deployment is inclusive of an 8.6
percent increment in new hires from 142,618 in the same period last
year, to 154,841 from January to May this year.
“The 516,466 OFWs deployed from January to May
2008 represents a substantial growth of 12.4 percent [or an addition
of 57,052], from the total 459,414 OFWs deployed in the same period
in 2007,” he noted.
Roque added that the number of OFWs deployed in
2008’s first five months alone now represents some 51.6 percent or
more than half, of the total annual goal of one million documented
OFWs.
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