Most Filipinos are willing to work overseas if given the chance, the reasons for which include purportedly better job opportunities, higher salaries, and an overall better quality of life, according to OCTA Research.
According to the results of its Tugon ng Masa (TNM) poll, conducted from March 9 to 25, 57 percent of Filipinos aged 18 and above said they were willing to live or work abroad if provided the opportunity, with only 39 percent opposed to the prospect and four percent undecided on the matter.
“Migration is not a fringe aspiration – it cuts across regions, income groups, and educational levels,” the polling and research firm observed.
The willingness to migrate was highest in areas of Luzon beyond the National Capital Region (NCR) at 59 percent, followed by Mindanao at 56 percent, Visayas at 55 percent, and NCR at 53 percent.
Meanwhile, the disinclination to migrate was highest among participants in NCR at 45 percent, and lowest in Visayas at 34 percent, with the area logging the most undecided respondents at 11 percent.
Moreover, the results indicate that the willingness to migrate was almost uniform among all socioeconomic classes—57 percent from Class D and E and 56 percent from Class ABC.
However, unwillingness was found to be marginally higher among Class E participants at 40 percent, followed by Class D at 39 percent, and Class ABC at 38 percent.
These findings, the research firm said, indicate that “migration remains a mainstream aspiration among Filipinos rather than a preference limited to specific sectors of society, and continues to occupy an important place in how many Filipinos envision economic advancement, career development, and long-term family well-being.”
Among the primary reasons for participants’ willingness to migrate were economic ones—the prospect of improved job opportunities at 67 percent, higher wages at 61 percent, and better quality of life at 58 percent.
Other reasons cited were education opportunities (20 percent), gaining international experience (20 percent), family reunification (16 percent), and safety or political stability (14 percent).
“Filipinos want better jobs, higher pay, and more promising futures – and as long as those are more reliably found abroad than at home, migration will remain a rational choice. The policy response must therefore go beyond investment pipelines and economic growth targets. It must grapple directly with the quality of work available to ordinary Filipinos,” OCTA Research said.
