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Board Exams, Bar Exams, NCLEX, Civil Service, the different kinds of
examinations meant to determine the level of qualification for employment worldwide.
Philippines have its topnotchers in these examinations, but, where are they now? With
amazing jobs, higher wages, and better lives offered in other countries, did our geniuses
actually leaving for good? Brain Drain. Is there truth to this?
Brain Drain or otherwise known as Human Capital Flight is the emigration of
trained and skilled individuals to other nations or jurisdictions, due to conflicts, lack of
opportunity, health hazards where they are living or for some other reasons. The term
“Brain Drain” has gained wide usage in the year 1960s when growth of migration of
skilled personnel from developing countries to developed countries accelerated. Brain
drain can occur either when individuals who study abroad and complete their education
do not return to their home country, or when individuals educated in their home country
emigrate for higher wages or better opportunities. The second form is arguably worse,
because it drains more resources from the home country. This phenomenon is perhaps
most problematic for developing nations, where it is widespread. In these countries,
higher education and professional certification are often viewed as the surest path to
escape from a troubled economy or confused political situation.
Among the countries in Asia and the Pacific, the country with the largest amount
of brain drain is the Philippines, with 7,924,188 migrants. With these, the great majority
have a tertiary education. The first wave of Philippine labor migration to the United
States was based on skills needed in the farms, factories, and military facilities, the
second wave included many more professionals. Doctors, nurses, and engineers traveled
to the United States in the 1960s to support its booming economy while young American
men were busy fighting in the Vietnam War. It was also at this time that the U.S.
Government started to encourage Filipino graduates to study in U.S. universities through
generous scholarship and exchange programs for master and doctoral degrees. Many of
these students stayed on as professionals and became American citizens. This second
wave was small and short lived, but it started the phenomenon now known as “brain
drain” as it attracted some of the best and brightest graduates of the top Philippine
universities. Up until now, the so-called “Brain Drain” continues to live through these
developing countries. Until when will this Human Capital Flight end? If this Brain Drain
crisis continues to pave its way, just what will possibly happen to the Philippines?
Indeed, we cannot deny the boom of population in our country today. Mostly
everyday, hundreds of people are taken to the hospitals seeking for help and medical
assistance. Yes, many are attending to those unfortunates but are they really the experts?
The chronic shortage of personnel to serve new and continuing demands upon public
health has now assumed crisis proportions. In some professional categories, staffs of
public health agencies have decreased nationally in absolute numbers. Too few trained
workers are entering to replace those who are leaving [Schaefer, D.P.A., and Hileboe,
M.D., M.P.H., F.A.P.H.A.; 1967]. Table1.1 shows the estimated Filipino migrants living
the Philippines for greener pastures. It includes the total Domestic employment
conditions and overseas migration as of 2005.
Push Factors
Pull Factors
• Job opportunities
• Better living conditions
• Political and/or religious freedom
• Enjoyment
• Education
• Better medical care
• Security
• Family links
Push Factors
Push factors come in many forms. Sometimes these factors leave people with no
choice but to leave their country of origin. Following are three examples of push factors
driving people to emigrate from their home country.
Lack of Jobs/Poverty
Economics provides the main reason behind migration. In some countries jobs simply do
not exist for a great deal of the population. In others, the gap between the rewards of
labor in the sending and receiving country are great enough so as to warrant a move. For
instance, India has recently experienced a surge in emigration due to poverty and lack of
job opportunity. . The greatest challenge facing India is creating enough jobs for its
burgeoning population. India's unemployed have never been properly estimated but they
could total 100 million. The number of skilled workers coming out of Indian universities
has never been higher. Meanwhile, the number of domestic jobs available to them is
minimal. Only about 0.7m jobs a year have been created in the past few years, most of
them in the public sector. This will not keep skilled workers in the country. Many instead
go to the United States, where their skills and their lower wage demands are sought after
by high-tech companies. As the population grows at 20 million per year, and more and
more students graduate from technical universities, India may experience a great deal
more emigration. “As to the Philippines, key reasons include poor remuneration, bad
working conditions, an oppressive political climate, persecution of intellectuals, and
discrimination. Researchers cite lack of funding, poor facilities, limited career structures,
and poor intellectual stimulation as important reasons for dissatisfaction. Other key
reasons for emigrating are personal ones. These include security, the threat of violence,10
and the wish to provide a good education for their children” [Pang; 2002].
Environmental Problems
Environmental problems and natural disasters often cause the loss of money,
homes, and jobs. In the middle of the nineteenth century, for example, Ireland
experienced a famine never before seen in its history. By late fall 1845, the main staple of
the Irish diet, the potato, was practically wiped out. With the government not clear on
how to respond, people started dying of starvation. The famine killed hundreds of
thousands and forced millions of Irish to flee. These emigrants were also encouraged to
leave Ireland by their English landlords, who often rented out unseaworthy vessels that
became known as "coffin ships," and by the British government, which offered cheap
fares to Canada. The large population of Americans and Canadians of Irish descent,
especially in Boston, New York, and Chicago, can trace its ancestry to this period.
Pull Factors
Whereas push factors usually drive migrants out of their countries of origin, pull
factors generally decide where these travelers end up. The positive aspects of some
receiving countries serve to attract more migrants than others. Following are three
examples of the pull factors attracting migrants to receiving countries.
Economics provide the both biggest push and pull factor for potential migrants.
People moving to more developed countries will often find that the same work they were
doing at home is rewarded abroad with higher wages. They will also find a greater safety
net of welfare benefits should they be unable to work. Aware of this situation, migrants
are drawn to those countries where they can maximize benefits. For example, Mexican
migrants coming to America do not move in order to escape unemployment at home.
Rather, it has been estimated that 80 percent of those who leave Mexico have jobs before
they go. But, the wage gap between American and Mexican workers has widened since
the creation of the North American Free Trade Area. U.S. wages are in fact an estimated
13 times Mexico's. Thus, Mexican migrants come to America because they are attracted
by the higher hourly wages, not simply to find any work at all.
Labor Demand
Almost all developed countries have found that they need migrants' labor. Rich
economies create millions of jobs that domestic workers refuse to fill but migrant
workers will cross borders to take. In 2001, the British minister of foreign affairs, Robin
Cook, gave a speech in which he argued that the country needed to continue taking in
foreign workers to meet labor demand. He said, "Legitimate immigration is the necessary
and unavoidable result of economic success, which generates a demand for labor faster
than can be met by the birth-rate of a modern developed country." The speech was
unpopular, however, because many British citizens are concerned about immigration
changing the national culture. Likewise, Ireland has recently seen a surge of immigration
because its economy prospered during the 1990s. Ironically, Ireland, which had sent so
much of its population abroad over the last two centuries, started receiving immigrants
seeking work. This has caused conflict among native Irish and the newcomers, including
discrimination not unlike that faced by Irish who had previously immigrated to other
countries.
The countries with the largest numbers of Filipino permanent residents are the United
States, Canada, and Australia. In the United States alone, there are reportedly 2 to 2.5
million Filipinos with a median family income of about $60,000. The five states with the
largest populations of foreign-born Filipinos are California, Hawaii, New York, New
Jersey, and Illinois. Combined, these five states constitute 71% of total foreign-born
Filipino population in the United States (Commission on Filipinos Overseas). In addition,
it is estimated that there are approximately 1.5 million undocumented Filipino migrants
living primarily in the United States, Malaysia and Singapore. Temporary workers
number about 3.4 million and are found primarily in Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Hong
Kong. “Globalization has opened a lot of opportunities for Filipino professionals. The
diaspora of Filipino professionals is mainly related to the performance of the Philippine
economy as well as the general feeling of hopelessness the country is plagued with."
[Benitez-Chua; 2006].
We have noted several reasons why Filipinos choose going and living
abroad. There are a number of factors included and all of them are fairly reasonable. On
the other hand, even if those reasons are good enough, there are other elements to be
reflected upon. The naked effects of it on our health care system and our economy may
not be noticeable to the blindfolded eyes of Filipinos, but good or bad it may be, it might
possibly cause a drastic setback to the Filipino race.
Economic Outcome
For a large number of Filipino families, the money sent home as remittances by
their love ones abroad is a lifeline - their only means for staying afloat. Most workers,
though, once resorting to finding work overseas, are forced to continue that for the rest of
their working lives. When they return to the Philippines, there are still no jobs for them to
fill as there are millions of unemployed Filipinos also looking for work
This chart shows how remittances are sent to family members remaining in the
Philippines:
Courtesy of http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2001/of00tx.html