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MANILA, Philippines -- The Middle East could be the "shock absorber" for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose prospective destinations become limited as the effects of the world financial crisis spread further, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said.
Roque is in the Middle East, particularly Qatar and Bahrain, to discuss with his counterparts there ways to improve the working conditions of guest workers, including OFWs. He will then go to Singapore for a human resources summit this week.
In a long-distance phone interview from Qatar, the labor chief said the financial crisis is not being discussed in the Middle East.
"[The] Middle East may be our shock absorber. We can bring our workers who might be displaced [by the crisis] there. The region is booming," he said.
"[The crisis] has not reached their shores…Pinagtatawanan nila dito yun [They're just laughing it off here]," he added.
Asked about the decline in the stock market in Saudi Arabia, he said authorities there immediately shut down the stock market on orders of the king.
"It's that simple here...The problem is credit, which is not a problem here," he added.
Roque said he was given a tour of sites where construction is "ongoing left and right."
"There's no way for the doomsday scenario to come true here," he said.
Roque said the four so-called “mega cities” in Saudi Arabia continue being built and would need skilled engineers and construction workers.
He said that aside from the construction industry, the hotel service sector is a market for OFWs in the Middle East, noting four new hotels opening in Qatar.
About 1.7 million or half of the estimated 3.8 million OFWs are in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia getting more than a million of the workers.
While government figures put the number of Filipinos overseas at 8.2 million, only 3.8 million are OFWs; another 3.2 million are permanent residents, and about 875,000 are irregular residents of the destination countries.
The figures are based on government stock estimates released by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas of December 2007.
