Lack of jobs here forces many Filipinos to work abroad

From the Tribune:

Only the lack of airplane seats is stemming the exodus of Filipinos who find employment abroad.

The deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Taiwan, for instance, had posted sharp declines for the past two years with the scarcity of available flights.

Jackson Gan, president of the Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to

Taiwan Inc. (Pilmat), yesterday said about 50,000 to as high as 100,000 workers were unable to leave the country because only a few airline companies offered direct flights from Manila to Taiwan.

“For the past two years, we had worked hard to regain our market share but we have never been appreciated for our achievement,” Gan pointed out.

Prior to the suspension of the direct flights to Taiwan, he said, the deployment of OFWs there ranged from 80,000 to as high as 100,000 anually.

If the direct flights are not resumed soonest, Gan warned, Filipinos would be losing the Taiwan market.

Mahirap na talaga ang buhay ngayon.