ICT and labor migration technology

There is an urgent need to craft an information communications and technology (ICT)-based curriculum content for Filipino expatriates and future Filipino migrant workers to train them and build their capacities using the Internet and other related technologies, according to the La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG).

In a recent forum on “Labor Migration and ICTs: Connectivity, Rights and Competitiveness” supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-National Commission of the Philippines (Unacom), the LSIG said the key focus in capacity building of the Filipino migrant workers should start in the local-government units level through the community e-centers. “The ICT services for Filipino migrant workers at the national level are not maximized and felt at the local level,” said the LSIG.

With more than 1 million Filipinos working overseas, the LSIG said the Filipino migrant workers have become an important component in national development. In return, the LSIG said the government should develop more ICT-based services for their welfare.

As of December 2009, remittance of Filipinos working overseas totaled $17 billion.

For instance, the LSIG said ICT can promote and educate migrant workers about their rights through information from government and nongovernment organization web sites. ICT, according to the LSIG, can also be tapped for capital formation activities and other productive endeavors, especially to returning Filipino expatriates.

“ICTs have the potential to be utilized for illegal recruitment and trafficking,” said the LSIG.

Although national government agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration have online services, the LSIG pointed out that these are not integrated through the community e-centers, which are the mainline online access points in the community.

LSIG traced the cause of the absence of a vital program from the absence of ICT baseline data. In the prevailing scenario, the LSIG noted that the private sector handles the majority of the basic ICT information in the country. “Data on how many Filipino expatriates use the Internet, e-mail or mobile phones for various purposes are absent,” said the LSIG.

“The need for a national ICT database can support policy and research directions toward the use of ICT as enablers for development,” the LSIG added.

Although it is a gargantuan task, the LSIG said there is an urgent need to mainstream ICT and migration in the comprehensive ICT plan of the national government. The LSIG added the plan will need the support from higher levels of government and policymakers.

Furthermore, the LSIG said the research community and policy stakeholders must work hand-in-hand to ensure better results and, at the same time, develop and establish a policy community that will answer to the issues.

The LSIG said there is a need to promote an ICT agenda in the next global forum on migration to underscore the importance of a big issue.

The Unacom team, composed of Ambassador Preciosa Soliven, secretary-general of Unesco National Commission in the Philippines; Dr. Wilfrido Villacorta, commissioner, social sciences committee and Dr. Felice Santa Maria, chairman of the of the social and human sciences committee, said Filipino workers should get all the support in return for their huge sacrifices and service to the country.  –Rizal Raoul Reyes, Businessmirror