by Antonio M. Ajero
DABAWENYO professionals are most likely to go abroad to work and enjoy a better quality of life for themselves and members of their families back home than those who have not earned a college education.
This was the finding of a recent study entitled “Contingent Valuation of Contributory Variables to the Decision of Davaoenos in Going Abroad” conducted by Adrian M. Tamayo, a professor of the University of Mindanao college of business administration.
Professor Tamayo said the study, conducted among 415 Dabawenyos, was designed to measure the probability of migration of local professionals to other countries.
“It’s amazing, but the desire to migrate to other countries is so intense among at least 17 Dabawenyos included in the study who said they were willing to cough up as much as P1 million each for placement fee and other expenses in going abroad,” he bared.
“It did not matter to them so much whether or not there was a job waiting for them abroad,” Tamayo said during his presentation of the study findings before media members attending the Kapehan sa Dabaw at the SM City Davao last Monday. Kapehan is now being held at the mall’s event center courtesy of Chicco di Caffe, forum sponsor until March.
Most preferred places
He said Dabawenyo professionals wanting to migrate have a high level of self-confidence they’ll find a job abroad because of their high educational qualifications, Tamayo said.
The study also bared that the United States of America is the Davao professionals’ most preferred place to migrate or work in (23.19 percent), followed by Canada (12.56 percent), Dubai (10.14 percent), Europe (6.76 percent), and Australia (6.28 percent).
Why go abroad?
The study respondents’ most common reason in going abroad is “having skills that can be used when already abroad” (64.9 percent), followed by “higher salary rate” (56.3 percent), and “job is waiting abroad” (44.7 percent). The other reasons cited in the Tamayo study were “due to health” (41.8 percent, “will look for a job when already abroad” (34.1 percent), “encouraged by friends to go abroad” (17.3 percent), “family resides abroad” (16.3 percent), “work experience abroad” (12.5 percent), “political, social and economic disruptions” (9.13 percent) and “will study abroad” (0.96 percent).
There has been a culture of migration developing in the Philippines for a long time now, according to Tamayo, who is the program head of business economics at the UM.
A nationwide survey of 1,200 adult respondents in 2002 indicated that one in every five Filipinos wants to migrate (Asis, 2006). This is a disturbing trend of labor migration that would affect the quality of labor left in the country, Tamayo said.
Why stay put?
On the other hand, majority of Dabawenyos who said they did not want to migrate is because they have business in Davao (56 percent), followed by “having a job” (34.3 percent), “cost of travel” (31.4 percent), “family resides in the country” (28 percent), “no job vacancies abroad” (14 percent), and “political, social and economic disruptions happening in other countries” (5.3 percent).
Other findings of the migration study were:
— better educated individuals are likely to go out of the country;
— educated/schooled males are likely to go out of the country to work than females;
— the education of the Dabawenyo provides him a strong motivation to go abroad and is willing to pay more as placement fee.
Tamayo said that if not addressed, the best professionals in Davao will go out, thus changing the structure of labor.
Impact on productivity and labor structure
“There is a serious productivity issue, which is bound to have an impact on the growth and development of the Davao region,” he said. The brain drain will also have an implication on the wage structure, given that higher salary rates is the second strongest motivation cited by those who want to migrate, Tamayo said.
