Two award-winning Canadian filmmakers yesterday said that the migration of Filipino overseas contract workers to other countries, a phenomenon they had noticed in the early 1980's, has now turned into the Philippines' main industry.

Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy have produced short documentary films that tackles pressing issues of Filipino overseas contract workers. Guy said close to 3,000 migrate everyday and remit about $12-$14 billion to the Philippines. He said the phenomenon they started to notice in the early 1980's has now turned into the Philippines' main industry - the export of its most valuable commodity - its people.

He said the Philippines trains its people as teachers, engineers and nurses to work in other countries and depriving the Philippines of its brightest and best people.

"Therefore you have this odd situation when there is no development in the Philippines, no jobs, and obviously problems, but you are sending the people who could make a difference out of your country to build up other countries," he said.

Migrante International spokesperson Garry Martinez said if the President wants to uplift or upgrade the lives of the people, she should not veto the P125 wage hike approved by the Lower House.

He said the government should push for a national industrialization and should implement genuine land reform.

Meanwhile, Boti said one of their films, "When Strangers Reunite," is about the impact of migration on families and on the Philippines.

She said today 75 percent of migrant workers are women, who work abroad to take care of other children but their own children back in the Philippines have no mother and are left to fend for themselves or left to other family members. They grow up without the supervision of a mother so families are broken up, she said.*CGS

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