EDITORIAL - What, brain drain?

Days ago, thousands from across the country took their oath as new nurses. In Cebu, hundreds trooped to the Grand Convention Center for the oath-taking after they passed the licensure exam held late last year.

These new nurses took their oath in this time when the country’s school year is about to end. And tens of thousands would soon join in the ranks of new professionals wanted to have a secured future in the country.

But since the country cannot accommodate all of them, thousands of new professionals will end up joining the ranks of the unemployed. In a country where even the brightest among the graduates cannot be sure of a bright future, it has not become unusual for young professionals to train their sights overseas, denying the country the opportunity to take advantage of their talents.     

This made some to express alarm by the exodus. They predicted that the country would be left someday without its best engineers working for local IT firms, and doctors and nurses manning hospitals.

Who will someday remain to work for local industries when almost all professionals are leaving the country for greener pasture abroad? This seems to be the question lingering in the minds of those who are afraid that the country will soon cease to be a productive nation.

Some sectors would say if the problem on exodus of Filipino professionals abroad won’t be solved soon, chances are high the country will suffer a brain drain in the near future. 

But has the country already been on the road to self-destruction? Is this thing called brain drain the beginning of the end of the Filipino nation, which has been in existence long before the Spanish colonizers found their way into Mactan Island?

However, given its vast population, is there such a thing as brain drain in the Philippines?

A thorough study would tell us that there’s really nothing to fear about Filipino professionals leaving the country. Look, the country has been producing enough professionals since the end of the Second World War.

In fact, when Filipino professionals started leaving for other countries in the 1960s, the country never suffered a shortage of workers until now. We even have thousands of professionals who are jobless and who could fill the vacuum left by those who sought employment abroad.

So there’s really no such thing as brain drain in the country. When a professional leaves the country, there are always new graduates who can take over his job in the country.