To be an OFW -- What are the Tradeoffs?

**rishee** · 04-04-2008, 10:48 AM

can you say then that contentment can't e found here?

**simpleelle** · 04-04-2008, 11:30 AM

i have nothing against OFW's. I myself lives in the US for more than ten years. I think most people do it because they want more of what the PH can offer to them. What I have a problem with are parents leaving their kids entrusting them to familes for what they call a better future for them. I can't blame them for doing so, but my mom was an OFW, left me with my aunt when I was just barely a year old, i got raped by my aunt's husband when I was eleven over and over again. I didn't have a good life. I was not even well provided even if she sends money home. She only came home and sees me every 3 - 4 years. We never have a good relationship ever and she could hardly relate with me. As a mother now, I would never risk my child and will never trust someone else to raise him. So please think twice before you go abroad and leave your kids, you might think that they're in good hands and you're doing them a big favor by being well provided but things aren't always what it seems.

**David Dennis** · 04-04-2008, 01:13 PM

@Ray - Glad you found my stuff to be of interest. I hope it is useful to have a view from someone in the USA.

Originally Posted by rishee

can you say then that contentment can't e found here?

You know, in answering that question it might be amusing to start at the top.

There is a person in the Philippines I feel an immense admiration for. During my trip, whenever I heard about a business I really liked, like Robinsons land that creates all the beautifully-designed malls (as opposed to SM with the shoddily built ones), and Cebu Pacific with the clean new planes and clever service, and even the Robina hard candy which is as yummy as any hard candy sold in the US, it was always made by some division of this one firm, J G Summit.

Even the only bank whose ATMs worked consistently during my trip was a partnership with J G Summit, and once J G Summit sold their share in the company, the ATMs mysteriously stopped working well and the employees (I was personal friends with one of them) started grumbling about their raises going away.

So I looked up the company on the web, and it turns out it's owned by this 80-odd year old character named John Gokongwei, Jr. Now, I'm sure everyone here has some familiarity with him and his many companies, but what struck me was that at 80 years old he was still coming to the office every day.

Forbes magazine reported an edifying exchange with his son. The patriarch asked his son, in front of the Forbes reporter, when he would get married. His son answered, "When you stop buying companies."

So one wonders, here we have a figure in the Philippines that probably has about 100 times the reason to be contented than most people, and he's still out there and still buying companies. But he has a twinkle in his eye and you know he just loves buying companies, so I guess he's doing all right for himself - it would be STOPPING the purchase of companies that would kill him!

So I wonder if maybe you have to figure out how to define contentment, and look at which of your goals would genuinely create it. From what I can see from reading this thread, it appears that being an OFW might be a false way, because there has to be a balance between your happiness and those of others. If you devote your life solely to others and don't take care of yourself, you have pretty much guaranteed that you're not going to be able to enjoy life.

I think that anyone who wants to become an OFW should select a country where they can achieve a path to full citizenship and actually find that they belong in that country. It sounds like you have a much better chance at such a path in the United States as opposed to, say, Singapore or the Arab states. In other words, if you want to go to America and think America would be a great place to live your life, go for it. But if you're planning to go to America just to suffer and be miserable while sending all you can to your family, I don't think that's a good path for anyone.

But okay, maybe I haven't answered your question. And maybe the desire for contentment is a Filipino trait. In America, we are always trying to improve ourselves, to make more money and gain more things, and that may be thanks to an emotional emptiness in our lives. So maybe if you are looking for contentment, you are looking for emotional support from friends that you would be happy being around. And that is something I would say is much harder to get in America than the Philippines.

It seems to me that the problem you face might be a little different. I strongly suspect that you could enjoy contentment today; go back to your family, bring them a few stray passa lubong items and talk to them. You will bask in your family's affection, which forms contentment. Or spend time with your boyfriend, if you have one, and enjoy his company. It is the warmth of love and affection that causes contentment, which is something Filipinos know and Americans have a hard time figuring out.

But if you are working all night in the call center and have only enough energy to drag yourself to bed and sleep during the day, then obviously it is hard to be contented, because your only potential social life is with your fellow call center workers, and they are probably 90%+ girls, none of whom you have any particular relationship with.

So is it possible to be contented? Probably, yes. But I have a feeling you are asking more whether it is possible to be self-supporting and contented. I have a feeling that you are a very self-reliant person and really want to stand on your own two feet. So part of contentment for you is some kind of success in the world.

One thing I am wondering is if you might want to become an entrepreneur, which means the owner of a business, like Mr Gokongwei. I think there are fewer obstacles to that kind of career than you might think. You might be surprised to know that he started his amazing career on next to nothing. At 15 years of age, his father died and his father's business enterprises went bust. He was out there, trying to eke out a few pesos for his family. In the end, he scrimped, saved and built up his business to the point that a bank manager was impressed enough to gamble a 500,000 peso loan on him, and then he was up and running.

Could you be happy running your own business? It generally means long hours and hard work. But if you are successful it gives you pride like nothing else, and I think in your case it just might lead to contentment ....

I hope this has helped or at least been entertaining to you.

D

**cebu1029** · 04-04-2008, 01:21 PM

at least one parent should stay with the kids!

**David Dennis** · 04-04-2008, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by Godfather

While I think it beneficial to provide hints to would-be OFW's on how to succeed in far away lands, I deem it better to preach about changing the status quo in our country so that parents no longer have to leave their children. Instead of planning to move to Hongkong to become servants, wouldn't it be best for our generation and that of our children's children if we were to boot our corrupt officials and replace them with competent and honest ones who will lead our country to true economic growth?

I notice that many Filipinos talk about their government as though it has an obligation to make society work. It is the individual members of society who, for better or worse, make it work.

Do not think that the Philippines has a monopoly on incompetence, greed and corruption. Such things are seen in the USA, they are seen in China, they are seen in many countries that are more economically successful.

I know of only one country that I believe has quite satisfactorily defeated corruption. The country is Singapore, and as you probably know it is one of the wealthiest in the world. To prevent corruption, Singapore pays their high officials the equivalent of US$1.3 million a year. If you are proved corrupt, you lose your job. Nobody wants to lose $1.3 million a year. It works.

If we pay the President of the Philippines roughly the same amount as an OFW Filipina maid - yes, not even a nurse, a maid! - could make in the USA, something is clearly out of whack.

*

I do not think the best way to improve life in the Philippines would be to start with the government. The government is run by incredibly entrenched interests, who watch each other like hawks and who will balk at even the slightest hint of reform. It would be a multi-decade project to do that. The fact that GMA forgave ERAP for all his multitude of sins makes that obvious, at least to me.

What I find intriguing is that I see people using the government as an excuse, as though we'd love to do stuff but the government is against us every step of the way.

Actually, I strongly suspect the government doesn't even know you exist.

I can't help but notice that the Filipina-Chinese are doing rather frightfully well, in the exact same economy, government and conditions Filipinos do poorly in.

I don't think this is a racial matter.

It is simply that when a Filipino-Chinese is being brought up, he has an education something like this:

Teacher: The reason for life is money. Profit is the goal!

Student: Yes! Profit is the goal! I will go and make profit!

while the Filipino is brought up with a different message:

Teacher: Who takes care of us?

Student: God! And the Government!

Teacher: Very good! Who are evil and rotten?

Student: Businessmen! They are greedy and steal!

So Filipinos are taught to see the Gokongweis of the world in a very negative light.

And yet ... if you want to make money, it's the Gokongweis you need.

If I were to consider reform that might have a chance at working ... it would be to teach people to become entrepreneurs. Teach people to add to the economy, tell them it's a Good Thing instead of a Bad Thing, and I'll bet you'd see great results even if the same government was in place.

After all, the Communist Chinese don't have such a hot government either, and they made my iPhone and PowerMac G5!

D

**Godfather** · 04-05-2008, 01:30 AM

Society is not composed only of the governed. Government leaders are part of that society too. In fact these are the people who has more accountability for the success of the said society, them having been elected to lead. As followers, what are the people supposed to expect? I agree that the people should fend for themselves and not depend on their government but it is also government's role not to lead society asunder. Just to cite an example: as an ordinary citizen eking out a living, the government levies taxes on what I earn. When I see my taxes being pocketed or used extravagantly by political leaders and I see my country going to the dogs inspite of mine and most everybody else's efforts, am I encouraged to stick around and strive some more?

The sad fact about the Philippines that you forgot to mention is that it has been the most corrupt country for the last two years. Politicians don't even think about having to raise their salaries as you suggested because they make more money from corruption. The people shouldn't even mind political leaders raising their salaries to acceptable levels. You know why? Because the money lost in graft and corruption is more than what that raise would amount to. You say that corruption is everywhere and gave the example of China as still succeeding economically. They do shoot blatantly corrupt officials in China and imprison them in Korea and in the US. That is the difference! The Philippines still has to imprison or better still, execute a corrupt official.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that individual reformation is necessary in the country. Where to start is where we differ. As to why Chinese filipinos are succeeding where natives are not, my observation is that it is in values where lies the answer. Filipino parents are wont to tell their children to study hard so that when they graduate they can find a good job. Chinese parents tell their children to study so that when they graduate they can take over or start their own business. Ours is a culture that emphasizes service while the chinese culture is more bent towards business. That probably explains why our OFW's perform very well wherever they are.

**giddyboy** · 04-05-2008, 01:22 PM

There's no place like home. ladies & gentlemen, we are living in a borderless world. no matter where u r abroad, never forget who u r or where u come from...

here's an old essay that is worth reading:

Hope amid hopelessness

by Cherry Piquero-Ballescas
The Freeman
February 26, 2004

..."I am writing this letter in response to the forwarded e-mail titled Shattered Dreams by Silverio Aquino. Atty. Aquino wrote about how four of his six children left the Philippines because of its hopeless state.

In this letter, I will respond by telling him that despite living my own humble version of the American Dream, I am still determined to go back to my home, the Philippines.

Like Atty. Aquino, I am a lawyer 45 years his junior. I am a graduate student and teaching fellow in Columbia University, New York. Last night, I was invited to dinner by one of the most enlightened and honorable political
scientists in the United States. He was the Census Bureau Chief appointed by former US president Bill Clinton who was responsible for the most successful census implemented in the US. He is currently my professor.

Earlier this year, the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University gave me the honor of delivering a speech at the Plaza Hotel in New York before Madeline Albright, the former Secretary of State of
President Clinton. In that speech, I proudly talked about my hope for the Philippines.

I am also teaching a graduate course called Politics of Policymaking in the same university, wherein one of my students is a real-life princess in one of the world's remaining monarchies.

Sounds like a scene from a movie, but it's true. I take pride in the fact that what I teach in class could somehow affect the lives of my student's subjects when she goes back to her kingdom.

To complete the picture of my American Dream, on my walk home today, I saw a couple of kids giggling in the snow and building a snowman.

In his letter, Atty. Aquino said that he was dumbfounded when his daughter from the University of the Philippines came home one day and announced, "My future has been ruined by (Ferdinand) Marcos. I want to leave."

Thereafter, she went abroad. Atty. Aquino said that he agreed with the wisdom of his daughter's decision. I happen to disagree.

The easy thing to do is blame our leaders for everything that goes wrong.

Even easier than that is to leave the Philippines to seek the American Dream. But would that mean a better future for our country?

Atty. Aquino also expressed his desperation in what he thought was the impending election according to him, of "another movie actor who hasn't even finished high school." He implied that this was another reason to leave
the Philippines.

Again, I disagree. I believe that if the Philippines is in trouble because of our leaders, all the more reason not to forsake our country. As citizens, we should come to the rescue of our country.

Atty. Aquino also talked about his disappointment about the migration of educated and talented Filipinos to find greener pastures abroad. He said that this was a serious case of brain drain.

I would first worry about heart drain. I am worried that Filipinos leave because they no longer love the country. That is the first thing we have to protect, love of country.

And I would no longer worry about brain drain because when our heart yearns for our country, our minds will fight for it.

My fellow "Scholars ng Bayan" from UP Law School who attended Harvard University last year have already gone back home to lend a helping hand. Most of my college batchmates in Ateneo have lived up to their calling of
being "men for others" by being productive citizens in the Philippines.

I am sure many other students from all the other universities still love our country. That makes me hopeful.

This May, I will be graduating. Hopefully, I can go home to leave my American Dream behind. Don't get me wrong. I love the good life, too. I just love the Philippines more.

I will send this e-mail to all my friends in the hope that it will somehow get to Atty. Silverio Aquino. And pañero, when you do get this letter, let's talk about why we should love, not leave the Philippines." (Written by
Bebong Muñoz, lawyer and graduate student)

**David Dennis** · 04-06-2008, 08:18 AM

Warning: The below is just opinion. I think it's interesting opinion, but it's based on a very shallow base of knowledge about the Philippines. If I am wrong in any way, feel free to correct me. I'm very interested in deepening my understanding of the country and how it works.

One reason corruption may continue to exist is that on a personal level it is liked.

For example, from what I understand, if I am caught speeding a Filipino cop pulls me over. I ask him if I can pay him on the spot. P500 or so later I'm on my way.

In the USA if I am caught speeding, a USA cop pulls me over. About two weeks later I get a bill for about 5,500 pesos. And, when it eventually gets presented to my insurance company, I might have to pay 5000 more pesos a month on insurance that's already costing me about 7,500 pesos a month, or even be refused insurance entirely. (That's about what I'm paying and I have a clean driving record with no tickets or accidents in years).

Now, if you like speeding (and in the USA virtually nobody obeys speed limits), which system is better?

(This may not be a particularly good example for you since when I was in the Philippines I noticed very little speeding going on - traffic was too clogged for it. Rest assured that roads in the USA are not generally as clogged as Philippine roads and there are many places where you can easily drive way over the speed limit.)

Another example: In Malibu, California, if you want to build a beach front house, you have to petition the Coastal Commission, which takes care of our coastal environment. It can take two years to go through this process even for an innocuous single family home, and you are going to be refused unless you do tens of thousands worth of studies. One person did in fact bribe a member of the Coastal Commission. It cost him $200,000 [8,000,000 pesos]. If you don't do that you may wind up buying an unbuildable parcel (for $50,000 or about 2.5 million pesos) as a habitat for the pink-winged snapping cockroach and having to pay its property taxes every year, just to help the cockroach. Then they might let you build your building on the land that was previously pink-winged snapping cockroach habitat. The cockroach gets a better deal on this kind of thing than humans![*]

Because of this, an incredibly cheap looking beach house in Malibu costs over $1,000,000 [40 million pesos].

I would say that for anyone wanting to build a modest beach house, the Filipino attitude towards bribes, as opposed to actually having to obey some outrageous law, looks pretty decent.

Now, I would probably feel otherwise if I were the victim of an extortion operation. I am not trying to say I agree with the system, but I am trying to say it does support people who are not necessarily corrupt officials. To be able to receive bribes, someone must want to give them to you. The fact that people participate in this system supports it.

There is another aspect of this, which I find a little interesting. I get this feeling that the Filipino on the street feels some affection for their politicians. This has a strange consequence. People generally feel an attachment to people they see on their TV sets as part of their entertainment. ERAP, I guess, is a lovable rogue. Do you put ERAP in jail for life or do you let him go? People watching the soap opera probably want to see him let go to live again in a future episode. So GMA pardons him, and he goes back to Forbes Park. How could he afford a house on Forbes Park on the salary of the President of the Philippines for a few months? Don't answer that.

Finally, the Filipino preoccupation with close, extended families is largely because the powerful members can protect the less powerful members, get them jobs, etc. If the power were to collapse, this protection would collapse and a lot of people in the Philippines would be frightened for their livelihoods.

The fascinating thing about this to me is that the Filipina women so beloved by Western men such as myself have been shaped by this system to care the most about people and relationships between people. This is what creates their charm, and their service orientation that so many men love about them. So if you eliminate corruption you may eliminate some attractive aspects of Filipino culture too. Eliminate corruption and using family connections to get ahead and family is no longer so important, no?

This confluence of forces means that corruption is not as unpopular as it seems, and corrupt officials are not as despised as they should be. This would appear to make reform nearly impossible.

Now, I have only spent three weeks in the Philippines, so I don't claim that I know everything, or even all that much. So I could well be wrong about all of this. I guess what I'd like to ask of you is this:

Is it not true that fighting corruption is almost impossible?

You have admitted that the reason Filipino-Chinese are successful is that they are taught to enjoy and believe in business.

So why not teach your children to succeed in the Philippines by giving them a Filipino-Chinese style education and letting them loose on the market?

You might then have kids that were both successful and Filipino.

Another interesting consequence might be is that if we can prove that Filipinos can succeed without bribes or influence, then the bribery system might collapse under its own weight.

I think that would be a more sensible line of attack than trying to get people to go against their own very obvious self-interest to keep the corruption system going.

D
[*] I am joking about the Cockroach. It was actually a butterfly, or a rat. Not joking about the rat.

**cebu1029** · 04-06-2008, 10:38 AM

nice views david. I like your suggestion of getting a fil-chinese education. but the problem is that... private schools are expensive. and the public schools are not at par with the private schools.

Rats are now a protected species?

**giddyboy** · 04-06-2008, 11:40 AM