Roughly half of the 1.75-million Filipino contract workers who went abroad in six months in 2007 (from April to September) was composed of women. The National Statistics Office (NSO) said further that “one out of three (35 percent) OFWs were laborers and unskilled workers, which include domestic helpers, cleaners and manufacturing laborers.” An educated guess is that a majority of the 800,000 or so Filipino women ended up as “domestic helpers.” And how many among them will not suffer physical, sexual or emotional abuse (or worse, a combination of all three forms of abuses)? And to think that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a woman herself, aside from being a mother and a grandmother at that? How many of the Overseas-Filipino woman workers left a growing family – with school kids – just to support the family members have enough to eat, have clothing on their backs, roof over their head and funds for education? And how many of these families will end up as broken homes because the husbands would be alone, and especially if unemployed or underemployed, would have lots of idle time?

This writer has been writing about the need among the Filipino national and local political leaders to protect the Overseas-Filipino woman workers. Please read again these essays:

The Woman Leaders of the Philippines Must Protect their Fellow Women

Does the World Care About Japan’s Modern-day "Comfort Women"?

The Continued Abuse of Filipino Maids

 
There are other sad stories in the Women's section of this website that readers may like to read.

So, when will the Philippines stop “exporting” its women, with some of them ending up as bar girls, prostitutes and what not in Japan, the Middle East and other foreign destinations?

So, when will President Arroyo and the other top Filipino woman political leaders end their callous indifference to the plight of the Overseas-Filipino woman workers?

Here are excerpts of an article posted by GMANews.TV:

There are more male than female OFWs - NSO

BY FIDEL JIMENEZ, GMANews.TV

05/23/2008 | 08:00 PM

The National Statistics Office (NSO) on Friday said that out of the 1.75 million workers deployed abroad during the period April to September, 2007, there were more males than females.

However, it added that the number of female OFWs are younger than the male OFWs, according to the report furnished by the NSO headed by administrator Carmelita Ericta.

The report indicated that OFWs who were deployed abroad from April to September 2007 reached 1.75 million.

The figure was 15 percent higher compared to the 1.52 million OFWs deployed in the same period in 2006.

In the 2007 figure, 50.9 percent were male and 49.1 percent were female. In 2006, the NSO data showed that female OFWs were higher with 50.4 percent compared to 49.6 percent of male OFWs.

The 2007 OFW survey also indicated that 55.2 percent were below 35 years old, of which the largest number was in age group 25 to 29 years.

“Female OFWs were generally younger compared to male. The total number of female OFWs, 28.8 percent belonged to age group 25 to 29 years. And 23 percent were in age group 30-34 years," the NSO report said.Male OFWs belonged to age group between 25 to 29 and this comprised 20.3 percent of the sample.

Those in the age bracket of 30 to 34 years old comprised 20 percent.

The report added that 92.4 percent of the 1.75 million OFWs were classified as legal workers or overseas contract workers with existing work contract abroad.

The number of legal OFWs increased by 16.6 percent or more than 1.38 million compared to 2006.

(Snipped)

(12.1%); Saudi Arabia remained to be the top destination of OFWs with 19.8 percent of the total number of labor deployment. Included in the top destination list are United Arab EmiratesEurope (9.2 %); North and South America (9.3 %); Hong Kong (6.7%); Singapore (6.0); Japan (5.6 %); and Taiwan (5.5 %).Half of the total number of OFWs in 2007 came from Calabarzon area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon) with 17.7 percent; National Capitol Region with 16.0 percent and Central Luzon with 14.3 percent.- GMANews.TV

To read the news report in its entirety, please click on this link:

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/97004/There-are-more-male-than-female-OFWs---NSO