Hero for a Hero

Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs are considered as great heroes of this generation for they choose to leave their homes to serve their families. They choose to care for other people instead of their own child, a huge sacrifice a mother or a father would make. Yet, their heroic hearts are met with fists and sharp words from the same people they work for. Their rights are muddied and dirtied and yet they still continue to give hope for their families and their country.

OFWs are one of the main reasons why the Philippine economy is still in shape; the foreign money they earn for their families contribute as a huge channel. By remitting their money through Philippine's bank or giving it to a personal courier and delivering it door to door, the Gross-International Reserves (GIR) goes higher and the country's currency becomes stronger. Higher GIR means stronger foreign investments, exchanges, gold, special drawing rights and debt servicing for the country.

Yet, many Filipinos are against sending OFWs because of several poor treatment and harassment reports. They believe that the OFWs should be sent back home and given proper jobs in their own country.

Without OFWs, the country's economy will fall from a great height. There would be a huge decrease in GIR and a huge decrease in the value of our country's currency, taking the whole country lower and lower and lower. The Philippines cannot afford to lose such huge chance or they will yet be given none.

The Philippines also cannot hold more workers, and more people would lose their jobs to give slots for them. This would not help in the economy at all and will even cause more problems in the future if the unemployed decided to rally or commit crimes just to give their families something to fill their stomach.

The Philippine Labor Migration Policy encourages emigration and grants Filipino passports to allow them to enter foreign countries to work. It also institutes policies to establish higher protection and promotion of their welfare. This shows that the country is not oblivious to the cries of their own people.

Instead of decreasing the number of OFWs to work abroad, the country should instead improve their policies, acts, and monitoring to give them more assurance and protection. The country should make more moves to see to it that its people are given respect and treatment that they deserve.

The OFWs sacrifices should not be put to vain yet sending them back would not help much at all. The Filipinos must take action in order to protect those who protects them.

It is the OFWs that saves the Philippines. But who will save the OFWs? No other than the people it serves for: Filipinos themselves.