Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs): New Heroes or Obstacle to Development?

Overseas Filipinos, estimated to be over 10.23 million (2013), are found in practically every corner of the world. Since the Marcos regime (1965 – 1986), Philippine labor export has become an important feature of the... [ view full abstract ]

Overseas Filipinos, estimated to be over 10.23 million (2013), are found in practically every corner of the world. Since the Marcos regime (1965 – 1986), Philippine labor export has become an important feature of the country’s political economy, in large part due to the state’s role in incentivizing and managing outward labor flows. The government has framed overseas workers as bagong bayani, new heroes, a tribute to the macroeconomic spillover effects of the workers’ remittances. But is there a difference between the government’s perception of labor out-migration and that of the Filipino people’s? Through frame and critical discourse analysis of Philippine news media, this presentation explores how the OFW is currently (2012-present) situated in the Philippine imagination. Based on these findings, this presentation then poses the question, to what extent has the Philippine government’s labor migration policies co-opted Filipinos’ migration decisions and experiences? The evolving answer contributes to the dialogue on migration as a development strategy, especially when development as an area of policy and research has had its share of “miracles” and “magic bullets”.