Quezon City, May 2, 2026 — The class on Migration and Development of the International Studies Graduate Program, in partnership with Miriam College – Women and Gender Institute (MC-WAGI), convened a webinar titled “Gender and Migration: The Philippines’ Role in Addressing Overlapping Intersectional Vulnerabilities across ASEAN”. The session was attended by over fifty participants from the academe, civil society organizations (CSOs), and government agencies nationwide.
The event featured two distinguished speakers: Ms. Ellene Sana, Executive Director of the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), and Ms. Jean Enriquez, Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women – Asia Pacific (CATW-AP). Together, they shed light on the persistent vulnerabilities faced by Filipino and ASEAN women migrant workers, including labor exploitation, gender-based violence, and exclusion from bilateral labor protections.
Rising Deployment Numbers Not a Cause for Celebration
Ms. Ellene Sana began by situating Philippine labor migration in its historical context, noting that labor export—originally introduced as a temporary measure over fifty years ago—has only grown, reaching record numbers from 2023 onward. She questioned whether rising deployment figures should truly be celebrated, pointing out that nearly half of all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are employed in elementary occupations such as domestic work.
She further noted that destination countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, and several Gulf states, do not consistently afford migrant workers the same rights as local workers. Ms. Sana also raised emerging concerns in the sea-based sector, where the growth of passenger and cruise ships has drawn more women workers into an environment where gender-based violence goes significantly underreported due to limited access to reporting mechanisms.
While acknowledging the Philippines’ comparatively strong migration governance framework—including mandatory agency-covered insurance and early ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189—Ms. Sana stressed that critical gaps remain. Duty bearers are constrained by limited budgets and uneven training, particularly on gender-based violence, and bilateral labor agreements have yet to compel destination countries to adopt clear protections for migrant workers.
“Illegal recruitment persists despite what is often described as an overregulated labor export program,” Ms. Sana stated. She called on civil society organizations to continue serving as fiscalizers, connectors, and amplifiers of migrant voices in both regional and global policy forums.
Labor Migration as Structural Dependence
Ms. Jean Enriquez traced the roots of government-facilitated labor migration to the 1970s Marcos Sr. administration, framing it as a response to poor local economic conditions that has since become a structural dependence. She argued that remittances serve as a crutch for the Philippine economy rather than a foundation for genuine development.
By 2024, approximately 2.19 million OFWs were deployed, nearly 60% of whom were women, with over 41% working in elementary occupations. Ms. Enriquez described working conditions marked by:
- 10 to 12 hours of daily labor
- Wages of USD 400 to 500 per month
- Minimal rest days
- Exposure to gender-based violence, including passport confiscation and sexual abuse
These conditions, she noted, are compounded by the lack of freedom of association and the persistence of kafala-like practices in Gulf destination countries.
Ms. Enriquez also highlighted trafficking as an escalating concern, with recruiters increasingly using social media to target economically marginalized Filipinos through deceptive job offers. Women and girls bear a disproportionate share of this risk. She connected these vulnerabilities to patriarchal cultural norms and the broader global undervaluation of care and domestic work.
On reintegration, she noted that existing programs remain largely self-driven, underfunded, and focused narrowly on undocumented or distressed returnees, leaving the majority of returning migrants without meaningful support.
Key Takeaways and Call to Action
The webinar underscored that despite the Philippines’ existing migration governance framework, significant gaps remain in: (1) Reintegration support, (2) Anti-trafficking enforcement, and (3) Protection of migrant domestic and care workers abroad.
With the Philippines set to chair ASEAN in 2026, both speakers called for a more inclusive, civil society organization (CSO)-participatory approach to migration policy—one that centers the rights, dignity, and voices of women migrant workers across all stages of the migration cycle.
The webinar asked: What can the Philippines contribute to ASEAN in policy and practice to protect migrant women workers and leave no one behind?
In response, this lies in moving beyond paper reforms toward genuine implementation, accountability, and the meaningful inclusion of migrant women themselves in shaping the policies that govern their lives.
