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Item Restricted An analysis of physician migration in the Philippines(1987-09-30) Aguilar, Germinia; Melo, Raphael JoseThe search for better employment and higher incomes have motivated the Filipinos to travel all over the world ana offer their services to foreign employers. At present, they may be found countries doing a variety of jobs, from playing the piano to performing brain surgery. It is difficult to come up with an accurate number of these workers because their movements out of the Philippines and back have only been closely monitored during the last few years. Nevertheless, the international movements of Filipino workers are undoubtedly large, and the figures are becoming larger as new migration areas are discovered and information about them is spread. ^2 The expectations of the continued outflow of Filipino workers in large numbers have led to serious questions regarding the desirability of promoting or even permitting such movements. Should the government allow the international migration of its workers especially the skilled manpower of the local industry? Some sectors believe that some control are necessary if only to prevent the loss of skills needed for the country's own development. Others argue that the Philippines have a surplus of skilled manpower, and to stop them from leaving the country amounts to a violation of their basic human right which is to pursue a better life in other countries.^3 This paper's objective is to examine the implications of this massive flow of Filipino workers overseas, dealing specifically on the emigration of physicians. The study will focus on temporary emigrant doctors who leave the country under a temporary work contract and not those who leave under an immigrant visa with the intention of settling down permanently in another country. The government has become actively involved in promoting the export of manpower since the enactment of Labor Code. Three new institutions were established to undertake this activity, namely, the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEB), the National Seamen Board (NSB), and the Bureau of Employment Services (BES). The OEDB and the NSB were empowered to enter into contracts with foreign employers for the supply of Filipino manpower, while the Bureau of Employment Services was given the responsibility to operate the public employment offices and the regulation of private employment agencies.^4 Many accepted jobs abroad on the understanding that they would receive more, only to realize that the working conditions are far less satisfactory than what they were led to believe. The export of manpower involves the loss , even for a temporary period, of many high-skilled and experienced workers. some sectors in the local industry have complained of productivity losses due to the emigration of their skilled workers. Even government ministries such as the Ministry of Health have complained of difficulties in getting enough doctors and nurses for assignment to the rural areas. Even if it is the policy of the Ministry of Labor to restrict scarce skills, there are still many cases of workers being "smuggled out" of the country. But aside from the complains coming from the local industry, the workers also complain about inadequate wages in the local companies. Because of this, the employer is faced with the problem of heavy cost of training new workers and the temporary dislocation that can be caused by departure of these experienced workers. Looking at the domestic labor market, it is interesting to note what impact the export of manpower has on local wage and salary rates for the skills being demanded abroad. It is expected that the expansion of the job market will push wage rates up for skilled workers category since the supply of these skills is also limited. Aside from remedying unemployment, the export of manpower is expected to benefit the country in the form of foreign exchange earnings and the acquisition of news skills. ^6 Current estimates place the amount of yearly remittances at about $600 million. ^7 However, the question that is being raised is whether the export of manpower is an efficient way of generating foreign exchange income. In the case of permanent migration, it is not the same. Workers come back bringing with them knowledge of methods and techniques employed in other countries. It is now up to the government how it will utilize these new skills to maximize the benefits that can be derived from them. The other side of the issue is the cost to the Philippines of supplying foreign market with educated manpower. Filipinos are offered jobs because of the skills they possess that are not readily available, or if available, the cost to the employment if he will hire a non-Filipino worker is higher. Filipino labor is relatively cheap compared to other nationals. The government invested resources in the education and training of these workers. Resources which could have been used for other purposes that will benefit the country. It is therefore legitimate to ask if the country recovers these costs eventually in the form of worker's earnings. An important objection to the policy of exporting workers is the argument that it perpetuates and even worsens the distortions in the labor market. Private decisions regarding investments in education are in turn greatly influenced by these distortions in the labor market. Private decisions regarding investments in education are in turn greatly influenced by these distortions. Hence, the Philip- pines has a situation where people go for the study of medicine not because doctors are greatly in demand at home, but because doctors are greatly in demand abroad. According to this argument, this by itself is not bad. What is objectionable is that government subsides the study of medicine and therefore imposes a burden on the rest of the society while the returns accrue only to private individuals.^8 If the government at present assumes that there are substantial net advantages to exporting Philippine-trained manpower, it cannot deny the fact that there are questions regarding how the Philippine government should go about manpower export to maximize these benefits.