Indonesia and the Philippines send their migrant workers to many countries in the world. However, there is a significant difference between both countries in terms of remittance management. Between 1994-2007, the Philippines has more migrant workers and more remittance than Indonesia.
That was said by Ratih Pratiwi Anwar, explaining about her book entitled "Developing Model of Remittance to Support Target Achievement of MDG’s, a Case Study of Indonesia and the Philippinesâ€, Thursday (11/2) at UGM. The book which was co-written by Ratih and five other researchers: Almira Rianti, Esti Anantasari, Rahayu Wulan Djani, Bambang Agung Jatmiko and Puspita Kusuma, was published by Center for Asia Pacific Studies of UGM in year 2009. “Most of migrant workers in Indonesia and Philippines are women.†Ratih explained.
Ratih explained that overseas Filipino workers are more varied than Indonesian workers. Factors that cause international migration in the two countries are relatively similar, such as economic development. Poverty rates are still high in both countries, and this is an unsolved problem of development until now,†Ratih explained, representing the other writers.
In terms of remittance values produced by international migrant workers, the Philippines’ remittance is higher due to their higher number of migrant workers and most of them have professional skills, such as engineering, and medical.“ In year 2008, the Philippines was the 4th country receiving highest remittance in the world while Indonesia was not even listed in the the top 10 list,†she added.
Ratih also explained that remittance is spent for things such as daily needs and education, but not so for health. “In Pampanga Province, the high international migration is followed by reduced poverty rate while in Cilacap Regency, Central Java, the high international migration is still followed by high poverty rate,†Ratih ended.