We had a debate in English 1 yesterday. Our topic was about whether the government should stop sending OFW's abroad or not. I got to defend the side that said the government should not stop sending OFW's abroad. Well, personally, I believe that the government should really not stop sending OFW's abroad because they benefit the country.
First, OFW's contribute a lot to our economy. If the government stops sending them abroad then our economy will fall down because a big part of our economy depends on them. Our country is a third-world country. We are not that industrialized compared to other countries such as America and we also cannot afford the latest technologies. Because of this, we cannot improve our products. Thus, we do not have a lot of good products to export. And even though we have good products, it does not help much in boosting our economy because there are many more industrialized countries which can produce better products than what we can produce. Since Filipinos are known around the world as hardworking persons, we can "export" labourers and professionals to other countries. Philippines is one of the countries who produce good labourers and professionals. Thus, it will be easier for OFW's to get job abroad. This will boost our economy a lot. When the time comes that our economy is very stable, we will be able to afford the technologies needed to improve our products. There will be no need for Filipinos to go to abroad anymore. OFW's can get back to our country and start their businesses in here.
Second, sending them to abroad is an opportunity for the Filipinos to be productive. As we all know, we do not have a lot of job opportunities here in the Philippines. A lot of Filipinos, even if they graduated from prestigious schools, can't find a job easily. The government cannot offer a job to every single person that is aspiring to have one. And even if there are job opportunities in here, the salary that you will get is not that high. Sometimes, this salary is not enough to pay for all the needs of a Filipino family. Instead of doing nothing and seeing their family die from poverty, Filipinos have to seek for other choices. Going to abroad opens a lot of opportunities for Filipinos to have a job. In abroad, they can earn more money to sustain the needs of their family and at the same time, help in boosting our economy. They will be able to use what they have learned here in the Philippines and show their abilities and talents there. They will also be able to improve their knowledge. Not all OFW's plan to stay in abroad forever. Most of them are just saving money so that when they come back in here, they will have a more stable life. When they come back in here, they will be able to share what they have learned there to other Filipinos.
Third, it shows to the world what Filipinos can do and gives a preview to our culture. Others may say that sending Filipinos to other countries takes away their nationalism. I guess that idea is wrong. What is nationalism anyway? Nationalism is loyalty, devotion and love to a nation. It is promoting the nation's culture and interests. OFW's are willing to sacrifice and work in abroad for the benefit of the country. Isn't that nationalism? Also, when OFW's go to abroad, they are able to show their abilities and greatness. When they become successful persons, other people will see that Filipinos are great talented people. OFW's bring honour to our country. Today, there are a lot of successful Filipinos around the world. This is the reason why the Philippines is starting to get respect from other countries. Also, when Filipinos go to abroad, they bring their "being a Filipino." They show to other people how we live our life. For example, there is a famous designer now in America who uses the designs of the clothes of the native Filipinos in the clothes she makes. Through this, people there have a glimpse of our culture. Another example is how OFW's deal with other people. They show that Filipinos are friendly people. This is why Filipinos are known around the world as friendly persons. The examples above are evidences that when a Filipino goes to abroad, the Filipino culture in him or her is never lost.
Fourth, it will encourage the Filipinos to be hardworking. People say that the government should stop sending OFW's to abroad because it will result to "brain drain" here in the Philippines. They say that when all the good professionals are already in abroad, we will be left with nothing. But I do not believe on that idea. I think that the reason why we do not have enough jobs for all the Filipinos and enough resources for the jobs to be improved is that our country is starting to be overpopulated. This is why a lot of people are poor and jobless because the ones who have jobs in our country are those who are educated in good schools. If some of these professionals go to abroad, there will be job vacancies for the Filipinos left in here. There will be enough jobs for the Filipinos because our population is reduced. There will also be enough resources that the government can use to improve the jobs and job salaries here in our country. Those people who are not so good and talented will be encouraged to work harder because they know that there are already available jobs for them. And in order for them to get those jobs, they will exert a lot of effort to improve their abilities so that they will get hired.
Sending OFW's abroad does not harm us. It gives benefits to our country. Also, it is a person's right to choose where he or she wants to be. So why stop sending OFW's to abroad?
