NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
UN Expert Group Meeting on Measuring International Migration
December 4 –7, 2006, UN New York
MEASURING INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION IN THE
PHILIPPINES
(With Focus on Emigration Statistics)
byLina V. Castro
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
OUTLINE
• Background
• Existing Data Generation Systems
• Initiatives/Coordination Efforts in the PSS
• Recommendations and Future Directions
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
I. Background
The Philippine Statistical System
a decentralized system that is composed of:
a policy making and coordinating body, NSCBa general purpose statistics producing agency,
NSOa statistical research and training center; andall government agencies engaged in the
generation of statistical information
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
National Statistical Coordination Board
serves as the highest policy making and coordinating body on statistical matters in the Philippines
Functions• formulates policies• allocates responsibilities• coordinates and prescribes standards in the
generation of statistics • designates statistical activities that will be
undertaken by the government• Develops and maintains statistical
frameworks (e.g. PSNA)
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Existing Data Generation Systems in the PSS on Emigration
• Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO)• Department of Tourism (DOT)• Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA)• National Statistics Office (NSO)
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
• Provide advice and assistance to the President and the Congress of the Philippines in the formulation of policies concerning or affecting Filipinos overseas;
• Develop and implement programs to promote the interests and well-being of Filipinos overseas;
1. Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Major Functions
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
• Filipino Emigrants and permanent residents abroad
• Filipino Nationals who leave the country as spouses or other partners of foreign nationals
• Descendants of Filipinos overseas
• Filipino youths abroad
• Exchange visitor program participants
CFO Clientele
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
I. Stock estimate on Overseas Filipinos
I. Stock estimate on Overseas Filipinos
II. Statistics on Filipino EmigrantsII. Statistics on Filipino Emigrants
a. Immigrants and Permanent Residents
a. Immigrants and Permanent Residents
b. Filipino spouses and fiancées of
foreign nationals
b. Filipino spouses and fiancées of
foreign nationals
Statistics
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00In million
Sources: CFO, DFA, POEA and other sources
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FILIPINOS OVERSEAS
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
I. Permanent – immigrants or legal permanent residents abroad whose stay do not depend on work contracts
I. Permanent – immigrants or legal permanent residents abroad whose stay do not depend on work contracts
II. Temporary – persons whose stay overseas is employment related, and who are expected to return at the end of their work contracts
II. Temporary – persons whose stay overseas is employment related, and who are expected to return at the end of their work contractsIII. Irregular – those not properly documented or without valid residence or work permits, or who are overstaying in a foreign country
III. Irregular – those not properly documented or without valid residence or work permits, or who are overstaying in a foreign country
Categories of Overseas Filipinos (CFO)
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARDSources: CFO, DFA, POEA and other sources
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF FILIPINOS OVERSEAS
Year
Permanent
Residents
Temporary
Residents
Irregular Migrants
Total
1995
19971998
1999
2000
2001
1996
2002
3.05
2.99
2.98
2.96
2.942.71
2.82
2.74
2.55
2.48
2.33
2.151.92
1.83
1.91
1.881.86
7.20
6.976.49
6.41
3.16 7.581.60
7.411.62
7.381.84
7.29
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
OVERSEASFILIPINO
WORKERS
PERMANENT RESIDENTS
IRREGULAR
3.17M
2.81M
1.60M
TOTAL NUMBER OF OVERSEAS FILIPINOS: 7.58 MTOTAL NUMBER OF OVERSEAS FILIPINOS: 7.58 M
Sources : CFO POEA
PECs
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF OVERSEAS FILIPINOS
(As of December 2002)
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARDN = 1,238,934
Source : CFO
64,53160,913
54,05955,137
57,720
49,338
45,26941,551
53,953
51,031
52,054
40,50739,009
56,242
66,390
64,15462,464
63,149
55,745
58,02056,350
42,481
48,867
010
,000
20,00
030
,000
40,00
050
,000
60,00
070
,000
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Registered Filipino Emigrants
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARDTOTAL: 1,238,934
Other Countries: 24,115 (1.9 %)
U.S.A.869,973(70.2 %)
AUSTRALIA86,223(7.0 %)
JAPAN68,419(5.5 %)
CANADA169,443(13.7 %) U.K.
6,229(0.5 %)
GERMANY9,427
(0.8 %)
Distribution of Registered Emigrants by Major Countries of Destination (1981-2003)
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
SOURCES OF DATA
Emigrant registration from CFO
Statistics on departing overseas Filipino Workers from POEA
Reports from Philippine Embassies and Consulates
i. From the number of passports issued ii. Reports on inter-marriages iii. Assistance-to-Nationals cases iv. Head Count
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
SOURCES OF DATA
Statistics on tourist arrivals from DOT
Reports from Filipino associations and organizations overseas
Reports from foreign Embassies and Consulates
Census of foreign governments on their immigrant population
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS
Double counting
No comprehensive and accurate data on returning Filipinos
No comprehensive data on 2nd and 3rd generation overseas Filipinos
No available comprehensive data yet on those who acquired foreign citizenships
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Use of embarkation and disembarkation card of Bureau of Immigration to enhance collection of data on departing and returning Filipinos
Use of census on families of overseas Filipinos
Enhance the collection of data of Philippine Embassies and Consulates
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Adopt a specific and common procedure and mechanism in gathering statistics on overseas Filipinos (particularly on the number of irregular migrants)
Adopt common definition of terms and international statistical standards Analysis and interpretation of statistical data and flow
Conduct an international conference on stock estimation of migrants
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
OUTBOUND PHILIPPINE RESIDENTS:
“ … departures of Filipinos who are permanent residents of the Philippines as well as aliens and naturalized citizens of the Philippines with permanent residence in the country.”
Source: DOT Statistical Report
Department of Tourism: CONCEPTS
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Travel and Tourism Statistical System (TTSS) by DOT
•Objectives
–To generate statistics on the profile and travel characteristics of outbound Philippine residents, former Filipinos and overseas Filipinos
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
TTSS Scope and CoverageTTSS Scope and Coverage
Included in Visitor Count Not Included in Visitor Count
Tourist Transit /change plane
Excursionist Aliens with pre-arranged
Cruise passengers employment in Phil.
Overseas Filipinos Immigrants
Overseas Filipino workers
Returning Residents
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
TTSS Scope and CoverageTTSS Scope and Coverage
Included in Outbound Not Included in OutboundPhilippine Resident Count Philippine Resident Count
Overseas Filipino Visitors/tourist to the Philippines Workers Overseas FilipinosForeign Residents/ExpatriatesFilipino Residents
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
TTSS Sourcesof Data
TTSS Sourcesof Data
Arrival/ Departure Card
The Arrival/Departure Cards Processing Center (ADCPC) located in NAIA is responsible for the gathering, collection, encoding, data validation and downloading of initial files in NAIA, Cebu, Laoag, Davao, Subic and Clark. The downloaded data are further processed by the DOT’s TTSS.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
TTSS OutputsTTSS Outputs
• Statistics on visitor arrivals by– country of residence– demographic profile– travel characteristics– mode of travel– port of entry– nationality
• Statistics on the actual volume of Overseas Filipino permanent residents abroad
• Statistics on former Filipino citizens by country of residence• Statistics on Outbound Philippine residents
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
TTSS OutputsTTSS Outputs
• Statistics on Outbound Philippine Residents– by port of disembarkation
– demographic profile
– travel characteristics
– by nationality
– mode of travel
– port of entry
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
3. Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA)
Shared OFW Database
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Mandate
Sec 20 of Republic Act No. 8042• Establishment of a Shared
Government Information System for MigrationDFA, Commission of Filipinos Overseas,
DOLE, POEA, OWWA, DOT, DOJ,
Bu of Immigration, NBI, NSO
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Concepts & Definitions
• Migrant Worker or OFW - a person who is to be engaged, or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which he/she is not a legal resident
• Documented OFW - a migrant worker with valid visa or work permit whose employment contract has been processed by POEA
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Concepts & Definitions
• Undocumented OFW - a migrant worker with insufficient employment documents, whose employment contract has not been processed by POEA
• Name-Hire - an OFW who was able to secure an overseas employment without the assistance or participation of any recruitment agency
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Concepts & Definitions
• Worker on-Leave - an OFW who is on vacation and is returning to the same employer (Balik Manggagawa)
• Seafarer - Any person who is employed or engaged in any capacity on board a seagoing ship navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial purposes e.g. fishermen, cruise ship personnel and those serving on foreign maritime mobile offshore and drilling units.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
What is the NSO Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF)?
• It is undertaken every year as rider to the October round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS)
• A nationwide survey that gathers information on Filipino citizens who left for abroad during the last five years
National Statistics Office 22
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
• Provide estimates on the amount of cash received by the families
• Obtain national estimates on the number of overseas Filipinos
National Statistics Office
Objectives of the SOF
33
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Landbased Seabased
Who are the Overseas Workers?
Filipinos who are presently and temporarily working overseas during the 5-year reference period.
They may or may not have an existing work contract abroad.
National Statistics Office 44
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
OFWs in April to September 2004 reach 1.18 million...
20.2%20.2%
0.98 MM
2003
1.18 MM
2004
National Statistics Office 66
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
OFWs in April to September 2004 reach 1.18 million...
2003 0.98 MM
2004 1.18 MM
OCW =OCW = 0.93 MM
OCW =OCW = 1.10 MM
17.717.7%%
National Statistics Office 77
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
AsiaAsia 76.4
%%AustraliaAustralia1.9 %%
EuropeEurope10.7 %%
AfricaAfrica1.3 %%
N & S AmericaN & S America9.2 %%
Saudi Arabia 258 Thousand
Japan115 Thousand
Majority of OFWs were in Asia...
Other CountriesOther Countries0.5 %%
National Statistics Office 1111
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
20032003 20042004
Remittances from April to September 2004 amounted to 79.3 billion pesos…
National Statistics Office
PhP PhP 70.4 Billion Billion
PhP PhP 79.3 Billion Billion PhP PhP 8.9 BB
1313
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Seven out of ten OFWs used banks in sending their cash remittances…
71.971.9 % %
BanksBanks
22.7 % %
Door Door to to
DoorDoor
2.9 % %
Agency Agency
1.8 % %
Friends/Friends/Co-Co-
WorkersWorkers
0.7 % %
OthersOthers
National Statistics Office 1414
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
More than 66 percent of the cash remittances came from OFWs in Asia…
N&S AmericaN&S AmericaTotal = PhP Total = PhP 7.2BB
Ave = PhP Ave = PhP 80,800
EuropeEuropeTotal = PhP Total = PhP 8.4BB
Ave = PhP Ave = PhP 81,000
AsiaAsiaTotal = PhP Total = PhP 37.4BBAve = PhP Ave = PhP 52,000
National Statistics Office 1515
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Current Initiatives in the PSS
• IAC on Shared Government Information System for Migration (IACSGISM)– Objectives/Plan: (1) Make available among all
concerned information contained in existing databases; (2) Linking of databases for free-flow of data exchanges and sharing
Lead: Department of Foreign Affairs assisted by the CFO
Issues: Lack of funds in implementing an integrated systemConvened last in 2002, but hold small group meetings with CFO
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Initiatives in the PSS
• Central Bank’s IAC on Overseas Employment and Tourism Statistics– Aimed at rationalizing data collection and
harmonize measurement methodologies concerning Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) incomes and international travel variables
– Initial outputs:• Assessment of current practices and
methodologies• Average salaries of OFWs• Common methodology in estimating economic
contribution of OFWs
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Most Current Initiatives• NSCB Task Force on Overseas Filipino
Statistics’ Terms of Reference
– Review and evaluate the data generation activities of all concerned agencies for monitoring the stock and flow of overseas Filipinos
– Review concepts and definitions– Formulate recommendations on appropriate
concepts and definitions and the estimation and utilization of data on the stock and flow of overseas Filipinos
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Outputs
• Assessment of existing data generation systems including issues and concerns of the various agencies
• Proposed Operational Framework which situate the Overseas Filipino Workers(OFWs) among the Overseas Filipinos (OF), and OFs classified into:– Permanent– Temporary
Proposed Standard Concepts and Definitions
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Framework
• Permanent Overseas Filipinos
• Temporary Overseas Filipinos:– Documented OFWs– Visitors– Undocumented Filipinos– Others (Students and dependents of OFWs,
etc.)
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Concept of Overseas Filipinos
• Are Filipino nationals abroad categorized as:
– Migrant Workers– Permanent residents or immigrants– Former Filipino Citizens– Holders of non-immigrant visas like
tourists/visitors, students, medical patients, those on official mission and others
– Descendants of Filipino nationals overseas
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Permanent Overseas Filipinos
• Shall mean Filipinos who are permanent residents abroad, including Filipino immigrants who are already citizens or are still Filipino citizens awaiting naturalization, recognition or admission
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Temporary Overseas Filipinos
• Shall mean Filipinos whose stay overseas is employment related and are expected to return at the end of their work contracts (including their dependents), holders of non-immigrant visas like tourists/visitors, students, medical patients, those on official mission and others
NATIONAL STATISTICAL COORDINATION BOARD
Future Directions
• Optimal utilization of the A/D card to enhance collection of data on departing/returning Filipinos
• Revision of the A/D card to reflect information on length of stay and purpose of travel
• Adoption of common definitions• Harmonization of reporting systems of DFA and
CFO• Revisiting the design of the NSO Survey of
Overseas Filipinos • Reactivating the IACSGISM