Adverse effects of labor migration on the Filipino family

The shocking report of a 23-year-old OFW from Carcar, Cebu, who delivered a baby inside a toilet in the NAIA Terminal One, followed an earlier incident of a young wife from the Cordilleras, who also delivered a baby inside the toilet of an incoming plane from the Middle East. These two incidents put into focus once again the negative impact of outward migration on the morality of migrant Filipinos in general and, more compellingly, on the stability of the Filipino family as a basic social institution, in particular.

Based on relevant empirical data, and overwhelming anecdotal evidence, we can dare to say, that when the history of Philippine labor migration shall have been fully written, reviewed and analyzed by our social scientists, one conclusion, for sure, shall emerge as dominant: that the greater collateral damage of the outward movement of Filipino workers on our social institutions, shall be the one inflicted on our moral fibers and the massive breaking up of our marriages and families. This is not a mere hypothesis or wild conclusion. There is a plethora of empirical data stored in the institutional data bank of government institutions related to migration, as well as the data bank of diplomats like this writer, who have had actual immersion in the field for not less than six years.

In my data base, I have discovered that for every 10 female household workers working abroad, from 4 to 8 years, about 6 to 8 of them have broken families and dysfunctional families. This phenomenon poses a grave and imminent danger to the institutions of marriages and families. The Government and the Church, as well as civil society, should join hands on preserving our basic institutions, instead of being unwittingly embroiled in the crazy “argumenti ad absurdi,et ad populi’’ concerning the Reproductive Health issue, which is a less urgent, if not less important one than this actual assault at the human institutions. The forces of the good should all be marshaled to combat the forces of evil that do undermine the moral fibers of the nation, and the stability of the State itself.

We are not expecting the Church to mount a campaign against the deployment of domestic helpers or any group of OFWs to any country. What we envision is for our Church leaders to link with our embassies and overseas labor operations, in promoting character and value formation and strengthening these right there in the frontlines. All Church-based civil society groups, like the Couples for Christ, the Marriage Encounter groups, the El Shaddai communities, and the civic organizations like the Rotary, Jaycees, Lions, Knights of Columbus, the Freemasons, the Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities, like the Alpha Phi Omega, the Tau Gamma Phi, and many others, should all come together to save our marriages and families.

The only reasons why our country can not be won by the Communist movement and other rebel forces are strong faith and our family. If we don’t act immediately and if we don’t work together, this nation can easily be taken over by the forces that our out to undermine the stability of this country. Kun dili ta molihok, kinsa man? Kun dili karon, kanus-a pa?

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