PRESS RELEASE NO. 4

Pitching a note for Filipinos to support a Philippine plan for Migration and Development, Ayala Foundation co-vice chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said the country as a whole is benefiting from migration, and every Filipino family gain its   development.

Speaking at the opening of the 2^nd Global Forum on Migration and Development – Civil Society Days, Zobel cited a number of positive effects of migration.

“Workers’ remittances have strengthened  our banking system and spurred local consumption; our telecommunications companies serve the needs for connectivity of our overseas Filipinos and their families; our real estate sector, especially in localities outside the main urban areas, has expanded significantly due in part to sales of homes and condominium units to migrants and their families,” Zobel said, adding that these opportunities show why businessmen across the country should be interested in the Forum.

Zobel added that the private sector - together with civil society and governments and multilateral institutions – have important roles to play in finding solutions to problems that beset the country, including the negative effects of migration.

“I believe it is in everybody’s best interest to offer specific recommendations for action to all sectors particularly to the business community,” Zobel said.

Another reason why businessmen  should participate in the Forum is the fact that they employ migrants.

“From agricultural and ‘blue collar’ jobs in factories to ‘pink collar’ jobs in the services to ‘white collar’ jobs designing software or engineering buildings and large-scale infrastructure; migrant workers and expatriates form a significant part of the global workforce. Indeed, the challenge for global corporations is to find the best talent anywhere in the world. It is therefore in our best and mutual interest to make sure that this continues to happen in ways which serve global economic development and growth,” Zobel noted.

Zobel further stressed it is worth celebrating that Filipino workers in the service sector, including health care, business process outsourcing, and education, are employees of choice.

“Their competence, their proficiency with the English language, their dedication, as well as their compassion and eagerness to please, have been noted and are appreciated by companies and recruiters. We have become an important leg of the global service industry,” Zobel said.

The third reason why the business sector should be interested in the Forum is because in the GFMD process is seen as an opportunity for business players to get more deeply involved in understanding and shaping the country’s policy-formulation process for migration and development.

“Fourth, we would like to learn from the experiences of all of you who are deeply immersed in the discourse and in many cases more knowledgeable than we are,” Zobel cited.

He said the business community, with the exception of a few, has not generally spent a great deal of time studying all aspects of migration and development. “We can learn from civil society, experts, and scholars. Learning will better equip us to make a more meaningful intellectual contribution than we otherwise have done so far,” he said.

And finally, Zobel said the business community must strive to create a world where migration comes by choice and not by force of circumstance.

“ We know that aspirations and local conditions are factors which come into play when individuals make their decision whether to stay or leave. By being responsible corporate citizens, we can help create those conditions where some realities begin to match aspiration,” Zobel stressed.

He concluded the GFMD should be seen as a tremendous opportunity for the world to move forward on finding a global agenda on migration and development that will be truly mutually beneficial for all concerned.