Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are among those severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, we saw an unprecedented mass repatriation of OFWs and their families, all of whom lost their jobs in their countries of destination. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) facilitated the repatriation of 327,511 overseas Filipinos last year. This is one of, if not, the biggest mass repatriation program the world has ever seen. Repatriation costs are mostly shouldered by the government or by the employer for land-based workers and by the manning agency for sea-based workers.
Close to 70% (69.89%) of the repatriates came from the Middle East. Repatriates from Asia and the Pacific countries made up 11.26% of the returning overseas Filipinos while those from the Americas made up 9.46%. Repatriates from Europe made up 8.83% of the total number of returning overseas Filipinos while repatriates from Africa only constituted 0.57%. Those who came from the Americas and Europe are mostly seafarers who were stranded in their cruise ships when countries closed their borders to international tourists. Given the new strain of the virus and the reimposition of lockdowns in several parts of the world, we continue to expect a significant number of our people to return home in the first quarter of 2021.
We had the privilege of spending the last days of 2020 in the Kingdom of Bahrain on an official mission. The mission had three goals: 1) to send sweeper flights in the Middle East to bring home all those who need to come home before 2020 ended; 2) to strengthen our anti-kafala (anti-slavery) partnership with the Kingdom of Bahrain; and 3) to check on the situation of the more than 50,000 Filipinos who are working and living in Bahrain. Originally, the mission also included Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, we had to postpone our trip to Saudi Arabia because of the lockdown imposed to abate the spread of the UK strain. We are still hoping to push through with the mission by the first quarter of 2021.
Our first sweeper flight to the Middle East brought home 285 distressed OFWs from Bahrain, Lebanon and Syria on 29 December 2020. They were composed of 29 OFWs from Bahrain including 3 infants, 253 Filipinos from Beirut, and 3 Filipinos from Syria who are victims of trafficking in persons. The second sweeper flight which arrived on New Year’s Day is the same flight that the Philippine delegation from the DFA and Office of the President joined. The Philippine delegation brought home 234 distressed overseas Filipinos. The repatriates consisted of 121 OFWs from Dubai; 51 from Abu Dhabi; and 62 from Manama. Included in the flight was a medical stretcher case, an amputee, and 23 infants.
What we found striking in Bahrain is that most, if not all government officials whom we met, have already been vaccinated. No less than their Crown Prince and Prime Minister led the solidarity Phase III trials.
Our Ambassador to Bahrain, Ambassador Alfonso Ver, has already been vaccinated. Many of our OFWs, most especially our medical frontliners, have also been vaccinated there. Since Bahrain is a country of only 1.7 million people and they have been vaccinating at an average of 5,000 people a day, it will not be impossible for them to vaccinate 60-70% of the population before the end of the second quarter this year. It is also quite notable that their policy is very egalitarian since they treat citizens and migrants alike when it comes to access to the vaccine. Citizens are not prioritized over migrants. It is also very impressive that the individual can choose which vaccine to use. To date, Bahrain is using both Sinopharm and Pfizer in their mass vaccination.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has likewise started its vaccination and Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Adnan Alonto, has already been vaccinated. Several diplomats and OFWs have been vaccinated too. We also get the same news of mass vaccination in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The GCC is a political and economic union of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. It was established in 1981 and its six members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. As of 2020, we have close to 2.6 million OFWs living and working in the Middle East, many of whom are in the GCC.
What is significant in this development is that while the rest of Europe and the Americas are still reeling from the new strain and the second wave of COVID-19 infections, the Middle East, particularly the GCC countries, have already flattened the curve and have proceeded with mass vaccination.
What is unique about the GCC is that each country has a bigger migrant population than its citizens (with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Oman). Thus, the GCC is very much dependent on foreign labor.
Based on the 2020 World Population Review numbers for 2020, save for Saudi Arabia which has a population of about 34.9 million, the rest of the GCC countries have relatively small populations. World Population Review numbers reveal that in 2020, Bahrain has a little more than1.7 million people. Kuwait has less than 4.3 million. Oman has more than 5.1 million. Qatar has less than 2.9 million while UAE has close to 9.9 million people. Given this, it appears that most of these countries may soon attain herd immunity by the end of the 2nd quarter this year since they are aggressively inoculating. According to John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, depending how contagious an infection is, 50% to 90% of a population needs immunity to achieve herd immunity.
Migration experts and specialists should then expect that since the COVID-19 pandemic is not seen to be letting up until the end of this year, vaccination might become a prerequisite for employment and foreign travel, particularly in this region once they attain herd immunity. Hence, a vaccination passport or certificate of vaccination will be needed by all who will avail of the government vaccination program for them to be able to take advantage of the opportunity for overseas employment.
While we do not promote foreign employment as a means to sustain our economy, the fact remains that the pandemic has plunged our economy into recession. Hence, many of our citizens will resort to migration as a means to work and to sustain their livelihood should there be no opportunities available domestically.
While we believe the vaccine is not a panacea to this pandemic, it will bring significant improvement to the lives of many. It can be a catalyst to lower the infection rate, minimize deaths, jumpstart economies, and allow people to have new beginnings.
Our trip to Bahrain has given us much hope that things can get better - that once we start our mass vaccination, the economy will soon open up and there will be new opportunities. For now, we need to be patient and wait for the roll out of vaccines for emergency use. While it is true that many countries are ahead in their vaccination programs, it is also worth noting that most of these countries are either makers of the vaccine or they have made significant investments in the development of these vaccines. Indeed, in a time of pandemic, richer countries always have a comparative advantage. Those who have more resources tend to get ahead of those who have less.
As my favorite Jesuit Father Joaquin Bernas once said: “Hope becomes a virtue when everything seems hopeless.” At a time of great need, we should never despair. We must continue to hope and pray. There are good people in government who are relentless and are fighting tooth and nail to get the vaccines. They will continue to fight for our right to health and our right to life. To date, there is already light at the end of the tunnel. When the vaccine finally arrives, we will be certain that it will be worth the wait since we will be assured of its safety and efficacy.
