Press Release
May 1, 2009

"WE MUST PUT AN END TO HEAVY DEPENDENCE ON
OFW REMITTANCES" - KIKO PANGILINAN

Following an earlier statement urging government to create more jobs within the Philippines for its beleaguered labor force, independent senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said on Friday that the government must end "heavy dependence on OFW remittances."

"We must look to new employment generation strategies in order to lessen and eventually end the heavy dependence on OFW remittances to keep our economy afloat. The social costs are too high and the strategy has failed to ensure sustainable double-digit economic growth in the country," Pangilinan said.

He clarifies that enabling workers to go abroad is not wrong per se, but it should not be the government's main employment- and revenue-generation program.

"We have been sending our people abroad for over 30 years and yet where is the nation today compared to other nations in the region?" he asked.

Pangilinan also cited economic indicators showing that Filipinos' per capita income had grown by only 0.75% since 1981, compared to 400% in China, 150% in Malaysia, and 100% in Thailand.

The chairman of both the Senate tourism and agrarian reform committees reiterates: "The policy shift must be undertaken. We must generate the jobs here at home, build our manufacturing sector, modernize our agricultural sector, and strengthen our tourism industry so that incomes are increased and quality of life improves."

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