Astoria Plaza, Ortigas Center

22 May 2009

Background of the Forum

The sharing of research findings in the three countries – the Philippines, Italy and Spain – during the second annual meeting held in Dumaguete City, Philippines revealed the rich data gathered during the research phase. Particularly for the Philippines, the MAPID research was a rare opportunity to survey the state of knowledge on international migration and development in the regions, provinces and local communities.  The documentation of good practices by the study was a treasure trove of doable practices that offer possibilities for replication.

All the dissemination activities – forums, policy summits, the release of feature stories and policy briefs, and publications – were originally planned for Year 3 (2010). The interest on migration and development issues sparked by the conduct of the research indicated the need to sustain the momentum.  Apart from providing inputs to the training programs, findings from the research in the three countries filled hitherto knowledge gaps.  In the Philippines, due to lack of data on the migration-development nexus, it became apparent that the findings, especially the documentation of good practices, need to be shared soon to a broader audience. This led to the consideration to advance the dissemination of some feature stories based on the research phase in Year 2 (2009).  The research forum was later conceived to provide a platform to share the research findings in a more interactive way. It was also an opportunity for the members of the research team to know about the findings of MAPID in the other regions and to critique each other’s work.

The Research Forum

The objective of the forum was to present highlights from the research phase of the MAPID Project in the Philippines, Italy and Spain, although the forum focused on findings from the Philippines. The forum also served to launch the training programs that will be carried out later in the year:  in August in the Philippines and between September and November in Italy and Spain.

The forum was attended by 50 participants representing government agencies; NGOs, academe, media and private sector; and international organizations. Most of the participants were representatives from government agencies, many of whom participated in the research in 2008.  The government agencies represented included: the Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Tourism, Department of Health, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Foreign Affairs (Office of the Undersecretary of Migrant Workers Affairs), Board of Investments, Philippine Regulatory Commission, the Commission on Higher Education, National Economic Development Authority, League of Provinces of the Philippines and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (one of the partner institutions). The forum, thus, was able to attract government agencies other than those directly involved with international migration. Participants from Unlad-Kabayan, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, De La Salle University, the University of the Philippines and the People Management Association of the Philippines represented the NGO, academe, media and private sector. The Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines and the International Organization for Migration sent representatives.

The forum started at 13:40, facilitated by Atty. Golda Roma of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Following the welcome remarks, Dr. Fabio Baggio proceeded to present the major findings of the research on Filipino communities and migrants’ associations in Italy and Spain. The overview of MAPID and the national framework of the research in the Philippines were described by Dr. Maruja Asis. This was followed by the presentations of the regional reports, starting with the Mindanao report (presented by Adonis Gonzales, a co-researcher of Dr. Chona Echavez), followed by the report on the Visayas (Dr. Alan Feranil). A short coffee break was introduced, after which the presentation resumed with the reports on the Ilocos (Dr. Nenita Villarama), CAR and Cagayan Valley (Ms. Alicia Follosco), Bicol Region (Dr. Cristina Lim) and Southern Luzon (Dr. Jorge Tigno). The next part was a panel on the response and reaction of selected government agencies: Director Merliza Makinano of the Labor Department (among others, she noted that she will convey the recommendations from the MAPID Project to the officials of the department); Mr. Juan E. Dayang, Jr of the Department of Foreign Affairs (he focused on the post-GFMD scenario); Director Lourdes Orijola of the Department of Science and Technology (she discussed the history, current status and future directions of the Balik Scientist Program); and Atty. Golda Roma (she shared the learnings from the MAPID Project for the work of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas).  Due to time limitation, the open forum was able to entertain only one question addressed to all panelists. The synthesis was skipped because of time constraint. In the closing remarks delivered by Ms. Camilla Hagstrom of the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, she noted the relevance of the research findings for the work of the Commission in the Philippines. She urged for the integration of migration and development policies. The review of the Medium Term Development Plan of the Philippines may be an opportune time to integrate migration in development policies; she called on the National Economic and Development Authority not to miss this opportunity.