Mutual Empowerment Examining the Power Relationship Between.pdfVIP

Research Mutual Empowerment? Examining the Power Relationship Between Overseas Filipino Workers and the Motherland Audrey Wozniak Te relationship between overseas Filipino workers and the Philippine government is ofen portrayed as one of “mutual empowerment.” However, the comparison of the efectiveness of recent policies intended to enfranchise overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the economic consequences of reliance on OFW remittances questions the validity of this depiction. Rather, the relationship between OFWs and the Philip- pine government is best described as one of “mutual enabling.” Te political measures intended to beneft OFWs are ofen inefective or may even limit OFWs’ civil liberties, while a remittance-based economy fuels massive consumption spending and entrench- es a culture of political inertia that impedes long-term sustainable development at the national level. Superfcially, the Philippines seems to be thriving economically: the national economy grew 7.2 percent in 2013, and in the last decade the country’s gross domestic product 1 (GDP) growth has closely mirrored trends in prosperous South Korea. However, a closer look reveals a country struggling to stay afoat, where poverty afects one in four citizens and weak government and infrastructure inhibit industrialization.2 In fact, such tremendous overall growth would be impossible without the nearly 15 mil- lion Filipinos residing overseas, whose reported remittances ($25.1 billion in 2013) 1 “Philippine Economy Posts 6.4 Percent GDP Growth,” Philippine Statistics Authority, August 28, 2014, .ph/sna/2014/2nd2014/2014qpr2.asp. 2 “Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas as of December