1 month ago
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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
January 30, 2025 | 3:13pm
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with supporters after a news conference at Trump National Bedminster Clubhouse on August 15, 2024 in Bedminster, New Jersey. In his second news conference in a week, Trump attacked Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as recent polls in battleground states show gains for Democrats.
Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images / AFP
MANILA, Philippines — While the fate of many Filipinos remain uncertain under US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) believed that there are upsides as long as the government can reintegrate them properly.
NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said that the agency has yet to fully discuss it with the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) but there are already reintegration programs for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in place.
“I think, syempre on the positive side, maganda kasi magsisibalikan sila and many of them have high level skills, so ang importante talaga dito is to be able to place them… parang mutually beneficial to them and to us,” Edillon said in an ambush interview in Quezon City.
(I think, of course, on the positive side, it will be good because they would come back and many of them have high level skills, so what is important here is to be able to place them … that is mutually beneficial to them and to us.)
There will likely be a transitory impact, but Edillon said that this would hopefully be temporary.
However, it will not be an easy road, she said, particularly when it comes to realty and spacing.
“Pero mayroon tayong glut sa real estate so okay lang,” she said.
(But we have a glut in the real estate so it is okay.)
But would the incoming OFWs steal jobs from local workers? Edillon does not believe so.
“I think they have different skills, so I think it will be okay,” she said.
One of Trump’s promises was enacting a massive deportation of illegal immigrants. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez initially estimated that up to 300,000 Filipinos could be affected by the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Trump also announced a temporary suspension of foreign assistance, which has already affected organizations across the world.
There are other sources of official development assistance, but Edillon also said that the government is already preparing for the eventuality that they will dry up.
At the moment, public-private partnerships are providing the Philippines with a “very good source of funding,” Edillon said.
